THE NEW CLIPPER SHIP SARACEN, OF BOSTON.

This is a beautiful vessel of 1300 tons, designed expressly for the California trade, and while she has large stowage capacity, compared to her register, yet every element of speed appropriate to her size has been embodied in her model. Her ends, though sharp, are not cut up into half a dozen different curves, but are uniformly convex from the light water line to her bearings; and the outline of her upperworks corresponds finely with her form below. She is 190 feet long on deck, and 200 feet over all, has 38½ feet breadth of beam, and 24 feet depth, including 7½ feet height of between decks. Her dead rise at half floor is 14 inches, rounding of sides 7 inches, and sheer about 3 feet. The bow is long and sharp, has an easy, dashy rake, and is ornamented with the full figure of a Saracen warrior, placed to correspond with the rake of the stem. Her stern is nearly oval in outline below the taffrail, and rounded in the wake of the monkey rail, and is ornamented with shields and other implements of Eastern warfare, gilded upon a black ground. The run, like the bow, is long and clean, and blends in perfect harmony with the fullness of midships. Broadside on, she looks finely. Her true and lively sheer, the regular curves of her lines, and the excellence of her workmanship, all show to great advantage, even viewed alongside of the wharf; but in the stream, where the eye can survey her as a whole, she looks a perfect picture. Her bottom is sheathed with yellow metal up to 18½ feet, and above there, she is painted black; inside she is buff color.

All her accommodations are on the upper deck, leaving the space below for the stowage of cargo, except her chain lockers and an iron water tank of 3500 gallons capacity. She has an open topgallant forecastle, the height of the main rail, a large house abaft the foremast for her crew, galley, &c. and a half poop deck with a trunk built into it, for her cabins.

Her after cabin is beautifully wainscotted with mahogany, satin and rose wood, relieved with gilding and other ornamental work; the cornices are also of mahogany, and to our eye, look very neat. The forward partition has two panelled mirrors, which reflect the cabin abaft them, and aft there is a beautiful transom sofa. This cabin contains 6 spacious staterooms, &c., and has a staircase, which leads aft to the poop. The forward cabin is painted and grained, relieved with gilding, and contains the pantry, a large breadlocker and a stateroom. Both cabins are well lighted and ventilated, and elegantly furnished. The anteroom contains a state-room on each side for the officers, and the entrance to it is protected by the projection of the deck above.

Her frame, all the hooks and pointers, and all the knees and stanchions, are of Massachusetts white oak, and her deck-frames, lower deck, most of the ceiling and planking, are of hard pine. Her keel is of rock maple sided 16 inches and moulded 2 feet; and the floor numbers are sided from 12 to 13 inches, and moulded 17½ inches in the throats. Over them are two tiers of keelsons of hard pine, each 16 inches square, bolted with 1¼ inch copper and 1½ inch iron, and over the keelsons is a rider of white oak, 14 by 15 inches, fastened with 1½ inch iron; sister keelsons, 12 by 14 inches, bolted diagonally and horizontally, and ceiling on the floor of white oak, 4 inches thick. Over the floor-heads the ceiling is 14 inches thick, and continues nearly this substance over the turn of her bilge, and thence gradually diminishes to 8 inches in thickness. All the heavy work is scarphed, square fastened and bolted edgeways, with 1½ inch iron, the edge-bolt only 4 feet apart. The lower deck beams are 15 inches square, and those under the upper deck are 10 by 15. There are three hooks forward and two aft, beside the deck-hooks, all of oak, and the stanchions are also of oak, and the stanchions are also of oak, kneed above and below. Under the lower ends of the hanging knees, there is a stringer of 12 by 14 inches, which extends her whole length, and is also square fastened. The hanging knees are sided from 11 to 13 inches, are moulded 22 inches in the throats, and have 20 bolts in each, varying from 1 to 1 1/8 [?] inch; and the lodging knees are sided 8 inches, and are scarphed together in every berth. The between decks waterways are 16 inches square, with two strakes over and one inside of them, each 9 by 12 inches, fastened in the most substantial style. The ceiling above is 6 inches thick. The breast hook in the between decks extends aft to the foremast, and is supported by two beams, which are kneed to it. Her stern frame is also strongly secured with massive knees, bolted from both sides. The hanging and lodging knees connected with the upper deck beams are also of oak and are nearly of the same dimensions as those below. Her upper deck waterways are 10 by 14 inches, and the planking of both decks is 3½ inches thick, the butts fastened with composition.

Her garboards are 7 inches thick, the next strake 6, and the third 5, graduated to 4½ inches, the substance of the planking on the bottom, and the wales are 5½ inches thick, carried flush to the planksheer, which is 6 inches thick, bolted with copper. The main rail is of the same size, backed by an oak pin-rail, and the former is covered with yellow metal. The bulwarks stanchions are of oak, only 2 feet apart, and are very strongly secured below. Her bowsprit, which is 32 inches in diameter, 22 feet long inboard and 17 outboard, is secured in bitts placed 6 feet abaft the stem, and these bitts were built in the bow, when the ship was in frame, and will thereby relieve the knight-heads of the usual strain. She is butt and bilge bolted with copper, and square fastened with locust treenails driven through and wedged in both ends, and all her planking had been 7 months in the yard, and consequently well seasoned, before it was used. Every plank was on the ship before caulking was commenced, and there was only one small shower of rain, during the four weeks the caulking were at work upon her; hence every precaution has been taken to make her tight as a bottle and as strong as a church.

She has an excellent set of spars, well proportioned and strongly rigged. Her lower masts, commencing with the fore, are 77, 68 and 72 feet long, and have 30, 31 and 26 inches diameter; the topmasts are 44, 46 and 34 feet long, with diameters of 17, 18 and 13 inches; topgallant masts 24, 26 and 18 feet long, and the royal masts, &c., in proportion. The yards on the foremast are 72, 53, 21 and 13 feet square; on the mainmast 76, 61, 45 and 37, and on the mizzenmast 58, 47, 32 and 26 feet; jibboom 16 feet outboard, flying-jibboom 14 feet; and the other spars in proportion. She looks handsomely aloft.

No expense has been withheld in her outfits to make her complete in every particular. She has 4 boats, two of them Francis's metallic life-boats, furnished by Mr. Geo. P. Tewksbury, Allyn's patent capstan, also furnished by Mr. T., a patent windlass, the best of ground tackle, &c.

She was built at South Boston by Messrs. H. & H. O. Briggs, and is considered an improvement upon all their other vessels, and they have built many of the finest clippers, belonging to this port. Messrs. Curtis & Peabody own her, and she commanded by Capt. John Barry, an excellent sailor and a pious man. She is now loading in Messrs. Glidden & Williams' line of California clippers and lies at the south side of Lewis wharf. Call and see her.

Boston Daily Atlas, October 26, 1854.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius

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