She has a bold, raking stem and convex lines, and her bow terminates smack-smooth without head or trailboards, and is ornamented with the representation of a war-hawk on the wing. Her stern is oval in outline, elliptical in the wake of the monkey rail, and is ornamented with a circular picture representing a war-hawk picking up an unfortunate fish. The run is long and clean, and the sides in their swell and sheer are finely proportioned and beautifully finished. She is sheathed with yellow metal up to 19 feet, above there is painted black, and inside white.
The height of the bulwarks is 4 feet 8 inches, with a solid outline 14 inches square, finished as the monkey rail, and the bulwarks stanchions are of locust, bright and varnished on the outer square. She has an open topgallant forecastle, which extends to the windlass, and under which are lockers, fowl-coops, &c., and abaft the foremast a house 39 feet long, 16½ wide and 6½ high, which contains quarters for the crew, the galley, staterooms and storerooms. Her after house is 41 feet long, 23 wide and 7 high, is partly built into a half poop deck, and contains two beautiful cabins and an ante-room. The after cabin is 13 feet long and 9 wide, is tastefully wainscotted, and enamelled white, set off with gilded mouldings and flower work. On its starboard side aft is the captain's cabin, fitted in the best style of marine art, and, on each side before it is neat stateroom. On the larboard side aft, is a wash room, &c., and between it and the captain's cabin, a staircase, which leads to the poop. Before the two staterooms there are two richly covered sofas, in recesses, with gothic arched mirrors in the back ground; and in the centre of the cabin is a marble table. An oblong square skylight throws light and ventilation over the whole apartment, and the staterooms are also well lighted and ventilated. The forward cabin is fourteen feet long and ten wide, and is wainscotted with satin wood, white ash, and mahogany, relieved with gilding. It contains the pantry and staterooms, is elegantly furnished, and is lighted and ventilated in the same style as the after cabin. The ante-room contains apartments for the mates, and protects the entrance to the cabin amidships. Her cabin accommodations, considering their space, could not have been designed better, or furnished with finer taste. In every stateroom is one of Tewksbury's patent lifepreserver seats, and her mattresses are also life preservers, each set in a frame of light wood, which protects air-tight compartments under them. Each mattress will bear a dead weight of 200 lbs., and by means of beckets, several can be united together and thus form a raft. This mattress is the invention of Mr. Geo. K. Hooper, foreman of Messrs. J.H. Beal & Brother, who furnished this ship's cabins.
She has a patent windlass, two capstans, patent pumps, a force pump for wetting sails, washing decks, or, in case of accident, for extinguishing fire: Delano's patent rudder-brace, Crane's self-acting chain stoppers, Emerson's ventilators, brass ventilators along the planksheer and in the bitts, four fine boats, and all the other furniture of a first class clipper.
Of her materials and the style of her construction we cannot speak too highly. Her frame is of white oak, and she is planked with the same kind of wood up to 18 feet, is butt and bilge bolted with copper, and square fastened throughout. Her keel is of rock maple, sided 14½ and moulded 30 inches, floor timbers 16 by 12, with 1-1/8 inch copper bolt through every one and the keel; has three depths of keelsons, each 15 inches square, and sister keelsons of 10 by 15. These are very strongly fastened, having a bolt every 7 inches their whole length. The floor ceiling is of oak, 4 inches thick; she has two bilge keelsons of 19 by 14 inches each, then follow two strakes of 9 by 14, and the ceiling above is 6 inches thick up to the standing under the hanging knees, and this strake is 10 by 14, and the four clamps 7 by 14 inches. There are 3 hooks forward and 2 aft, which cross all the cants diagonally, and are bolted from both sides. The lower deck beams are 15 by 16 inches, and those under the upper deck 16 by 8½, strongly secured with lodging and hanging knees, the latter sided from 9 to 12, and moulded from 18 to 20 inches in the angles, with 16 bolts in each. The waterways are 15 inches square, with one strake of 10 by 14 inside of them, and two of the same size over them, bolted vertically and horizontally, and the ceiling above is 5 inches thick. The ends in the between decks are spanned by stout hooks, and the stanchions under both sets of beams are secured in the best style. The lower deck is of hard pine, 3 inches thick, and the upper deck of white pine of the same substance. Her upper deck waterways are 12 by 14 inches, the covering board 6 inches thick, wales 5½ by 7, bottom plank 5, and garboards 8 by 14 inches, let into the keel and bolted through it, and upwards through the timbers. Outside as well as inside she is square fastened and beautifully finished.
The lower masts and bowsprit are built of hard pine and hooped with iron. The masts, commencing with the fore, are 75, 79, and 72 feet long, and 32, 33, and 26 inches in diameter; topmasts 44m 47 and 41 feet long; bowsprit 20 feet outboard; jibboom divided at 17, 14, and 11 feet for the three jibs; lower yards 68, 72 and 56 feet square, topsail yards 57, 61 and 46, and the other spars in proportion; she has a main skysail mast, and royals fore and aft. The masts are bright; and the caps and yards black. She is strongly and neatly rigged, and appears magnificently aloft.
Capt. L.B. Simmons superintended her construction and equipment, and now commands her. He is entitled to great credit for the evident care that has been bestowed upon her every detail; and we wish him all the success he can reasonably expect.
The War Hawk is now lying at Lewis wharf and is loading with dispatch, in Messrs. Glidden & Williams' line of California clippers, and is well worthy of inspection, by all who take an interest in shipping.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius
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Copyright © 1996 Lars Bruzelius.