The New Clipper ship Romance of the Sea, of Boston

This ship will register between 14 and 1500 tons, when measured by the Custom House officials. She is 235 feet long on deck, has 38½ feet breadth of beam and 20 feet depth of hold, including 8 feet height of between decks. Her lines are concave, and her ends very long and very sharp. Indeed she is the sharpest clipper of her size ever built in this vicinity, and is expected to beat the celebrated clipper ship Flying Cloud, which still heads the list of California passages. In model she is the most perfectly beautiful vessel we ever saw; there is not even a line or moulding in her hull that we could wish to alter. Although concave below, she is convex in the lines of her upper works, and her outline on deck is true as the sweep of a circle. She has 15 inches dead rise at half floor, about 6 inches rounding of sides,and between 4 and 5 feet sheer, which is graduated her whole length, and rises nearly alike at both ends. For a head she has a small female figure, intended to represent Romance, with the name of Scott on one side, and Cooper on the other - the greatest romancers of the century. The stern is nearly semi-elliptical in form, and rises from the line of the planksheer, the moulding of which forms its base. It is very light and graceful, and is tastefully ornamented with gilded carved work. The ship is sheathed with yellow metal and painted black above, and inside she is pearl color, relieved with white. Her bulwarks built solid inside and outside, like those of a ship-of-war, and are 4½ feet high, surmounted by a monkey-rail of 16 inches. The top-gallant forecastle is open and extends nearly to the foremast, and as it is strongly beamed and kneed, gives greater strength forward than if it only extended to the windlass.

Abaft the foremast is a large house, which contains quarters for the crew, the galley, staterooms for the boys and forward officers, and other apartments. Her cabins are built into a half poop deck, and their top as well as the outline of the poop are protected by rails on turned stanchions. The after cabin contains six state rooms and two recesses, and other apartments, and is beautifully finished and well furnished. The forward cabin contains four staterooms and the pantry, and before it is an ante-room, with staterooms on each side for the officers. The top of the house projects between two and three feet in front, and thus protects the entrance to the cabin. Leading from the after cabin is a stairway amidships, which communicates with the standing room of the poop, where she steered. Her accommodations throughout are admirably designed, and well furnished.

She is built of good materials, and is finished in the first style of workmanship. Her entire frame is of white oak, her deck frames and scantling are of yellow or hard pine, and she is copper fastened, and, us already stated, is sheathed with yellow metal. The keel is in two depths, each 15 inches square; the floor timbers are 12 by 17 inches, the midship keelsons are built of hard pine planks, bolted together, which combined, side 15 inches and mould nearly four feet. She has also sister keelsons, double bilge keelsons, and heavy thick work over the whole curve of her bilge. Her heavy ceiling is scarphed, bolted edgeways, and square fastened through the frames. Her beams, knees, hooks and stanchions, are all of the most substantial kind, and outside, as well as inside, no vessel of her size is more thoroughly constructed, or more smoothly finished. The following are the dimensions of her masts and yards:

The bowsprit is 30 inches in diameter, and 22 feet outboard; jibboom 22 feet long, and flying jibboom 17 feet, with 5 feet end; spanker boom 56 feet, gaff 38, main spencer gaff 22, fore spencer gaff 20, and the other spars in proportion.

Her lower masts and bowsprit are all built of hard pine, doweled together, bolted and hooped over, and the topmasts and jibbooms are also of hard pine. There is more than the usual spread to her lower rigging. The distance between the foremast swifter and the after chainplate, along both the fore and main channels, is about 24 feet, and along the mizzen channels, 18 feet. This, of course, is designed to give better support to the masts than if the shrouds were closer together. Her tops, too, are wider than those of most ships of her size, and are built of solid oak, instead of being gratined. Owing to her great length, and the fine proportion of her spars, her sails, when by the wind, must set well and draw finely. She is well rigged, and looks beautifully aloft.

In ground tackle and all her other furniture she is found agreeably to the requirements of Lloyd's. In a word, no vessel is more complete in her outfits.

We have already said that she is expected to beat the Flying Cloud, still the "king of clippers", and this expectation is based upon her great length, the sharpness of her ends, her moderate depth, buoyancy and length of floor, and the care that has been bestowed in balancing her spars. If appearance are any indication of speed, every one who has any knowledge of clippers, we think, will agree with us, that she must "like the wind". To our eye she is a perfect beauty; indeed, the most beautiful vessel of any class that we have ever seen.

She was built at East Boston by Mr Donald McKay, the builder of the Great Republic, and is owned by George B. Upton, Esq., of this city. Capt. Dumaresq commands her, and it is not too much to say, that as an accomplished, daring and successful shipmaster, he has few equals.

The Romance of the Sea is now lying at the south side of Long wharf, and is loading with despatch in Messers. Timothy Davis & Co's line of San Francisco clippers. We advise every one, who admires the beautiful in naval architecture, to call and see her.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.

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Copyright © 1996 Lars Bruzelius.