This ship is 172 feet long on the keel, 182 between perpendiculars on deck, and 190 over all; she has 38½ feet breadth of beam, 24 feet depth of hold, including 7 feet 9 inches height of between decks, and registers 1175 tons. Her sheer is 4 feet, rounding of sides 1 foot, and dead rise at half floor 12 inches. She has a long, buoyant floor, concave lines, an easy and graceful inclination of stem, an oval stern, and good, clean ends for sailing. Designed to stow a large cargo, as well as to sail fast, her bow and run, though easy and beautifully formed, are not cut, but show substantial bearings, which harmonize finely with her general outline. Viewed as a picture, she is very beautiful. The dashy rake of her bow, her smooth and rounding sides, her true and lively sheer, all blend in unison, and make her appear perfect as a pilot-boat. A full female figure, represented blowing a trumpet, ornaments the blow, and gilded branches ornament the stern. The ship is sheathed with yellow metal up to 19 feet, and above there is painted black. The whole height of her bulwarks is 5½ feet, including the monkey-rail, which is built solid, and bolted to the main rail.
Like the general run of clippers, all her accommodations are on the upper deck, and consist of two houses. The forward house is 38 feet long, 15 wide and 6½ high, and contains quarters for the crew, the galley, staterooms and storerooms; and the after house, which is built into a half poop deck, is 40 feet long, by 24 wide and 7 high. She has two fine cabins, wainscotted, with oval panels painted white, and set off with papier-maché cornices and gilded flower work. The after cabin has a staircase which leads to the poop. It also contains two spacious staterooms and two beautiful recess sofas; and in its forward partition there are panelled mirrors, which give a reflected view of the whole cabin. The forward cabin contains three staterooms, the pantry and a bread-locker; and both cabins are elegantly furnished, well lighted and ventilated. The ante-room contains staterooms for the officers, and also shelters the entrance to the forward cabin; and is itself sheltered by a projection of the deck above. The frames of her cabin skylights and windows are of mahogany, and her rails are covered with composition. She has two capstans, a patent windlass, copper chambered pumps, and the good old-fashioned steering gear. She has also an open topgallant forecastle, the height of the main rail, with wing closets, lockers and other useful arrangements. The bulwarks, houses, &c., are painted cream color, relieved with white, and the waterways are blue.
Her keel is of rock-maple, her frame, breast-hooks, knees in the hold, and all the outside planking, from the keel to the gunwale, are of selected seasoned white-oak; her deck-frames, lower deck keelsons, and ceiling are of pitch-pine, and she is square fastened throughout, edge-bolted in the thickwork, butt and bilge bolted with yellow metal, and her fastening varies from 1¼ inch to 7/8ths of an inch.
Her keel is sided 16 inches and moulded 2 feet, the stem is moulded 18 inches below and 16 at the head, the sternpost 2 feet 4 inches below, and 18 inches above, and both are sided the same as the keel. The stern knee extends 8 feet along the keel and 7 feet along the post, and is bolted through all with copper. She has 6 transoms, the main one of which is 18 inches square, strongly bound to the sides by heavy transom-knees of oak, which are bolted alternately from both sides.
The floor timbers are moulded 17 inches and sided 12, and over them there are four depths of midship keelsons, each depth 15 inches square; also sister keelsons 15 inches square; and over the latter, and bolted to the sides of the former, there are angular supports to the steps of the masts. These supports resemble the truss-work of a suspension bridge, with an angle under the heel of each mast, and they are 7 by 14 inches. The floor timbers are bolted through the first keelson and the keel, with 1¼ inch yellow-metal, driven through and riveted; and they have also an iron bolt, of the same size, through the second keelson, driven within three inches of the base of the keel. The nave timbers are bolted through the third keelson into the keel, and are also diagonally bolted through the sister keelsons into the keel. The sister keelsons are bolted vertically and horizontally, and the upper midship keelson is bolted through all the others. The whole depth of her back-bone, including the moulding of the floor timbers, is 8 feet 5 inches, and its spread, including the sister keelsons, is 45 inches.
The floor ceiling is 5 inches thick, and over the first futtocks there are 4 strakes of 12 by 14 inches, scarphed, square fastened and bolted edgeways. The rest of the ceiling diminishes without projection to 10, 9 and 8 inches thickness, all square bolted. About 7 feet above the floor, she has 10 hold beams, with a clamp under them, and these are kneed to the sides, and are supported by stanchions amidships, which are fayed and bolted to the lower deck stanchions. These beams are 10 by 15 inches, the same size as those under the upper deck; the lower deck beams are 15 inches square, the stanchions under them 7 by 15, which extend the same size to the upper deck beams, and the stanchions are clasped with iron to the upper keelson and to the beams.
She has three pairs of oak pointers forward and two aft, which cross all the cants diagonally, extend to the deck, and are filled in the angles with oak hooks, the whole bolted alternately from both sides. The hanging and lodging knees in the hold are of white oak, the former moulded 22 inches in the angles, sided from 10 to 12 inches, and the latter are scarphed together in every berth, and bolted through all. The hanging knees have 16 bolts and 4 spikes in each.
The between decks waterways are 15 inches square, with one strake of 10 by 12 inches inside of them and two of the same size over them, the whole bolted vertically and horizontally. The ceiling above varies from 5 to 6 inches in thickness and is square fastened. Forward and aft she has two massive hooks, which completely span the angles of both ends, and that forward is beamed and kneed before and abaft the windlass paul-bitt, which is stepped in the lower deck. Her between decks are lofty and light, have cargoports opposite the main hatchway, are painted white, and their thickwork blue. She has in all 63 beams, secured by nearly 100 knees. The knees connected with the upper deck are of hacmatack, nearly of the same size as those below, but have 18 bolts in each hanging knee. Her mast-partners and hatchway comings are kneed off in the wake of both decks.
The upper deck waterways are 10 by 14 inches, the planking of both decks is 3½ inches thick, and the coveringboard and main rail are each 6 inches in thickness.
We have already stated that she is planked with white oak from the keel to the planksheer. The garboards are 7 inches thick, the next strake 6, champered to 5 inches, the substance of the bottom planking, and her wales are 5½ by 7 inches, the whole square fastened with treenails, and butt and bilge bolted with yellow metal. The most fastidious could hardly desire to have a vessel more thoroughly finished than she is; every seam of her planking, and all her fore-and-aft mouldings, harmonize with her sheer, and her sheer is beautifully graduated her whole length, with just rise enough forward to impart an air of lightness to the bow.
Her frame is seasoned with salt, she has air ports below, and eight trunk ventilators, one in each corner of both houses, with circular openings on deck, and, superior to them all, Emerson's patent ventilators. She has an iron water-tank below, a forcepump on deck, for wetting sail in light weather, washing decks, or, in case of accident, it can be used efficiently to extinguish fire.
She has built fore and mainmasts and bowsprit, hard pine topmasts and jibbooms, and Howes's rig on all three masts. The lower masts, commencing with the fore, are 30, 31 and 27 inches in diameter, and 75, 80 and 70 feet long; the topmasts 42, 44 and 33 feet long; topgallant masts 22, 24, and 19; royalmasts 15, 16 and 13; and skysail masts 11, 12 and 8 feet long, crowned with gilded balls.
The yards upon the foremast are 69, 62, 56, 42, 30 and 21 feet square; upon the mainmast, 76, 69, 62, 46, 35 and 25 feet; and upon the mizzenmast, 57, 51, 46, 36, 25, and 18 feet. The bowsprit is 17 feet outboard; jibboom divided at 16 and 12 feet, with 6 feet end, and the other spars in proportion. Her standing rigging is of Russia hemp, and she has all the chain and iron work aloft and about the bowsprit, now in general use. The fore and main rigging, topmast backstays, &c., are of 10½ inch, and the other in proportion. She is strongly and neatly rigged, and looks beautifully aloft. Mr. Chessman, long and favorably known as one of our best riggers, rigged her.
In ground tackle, boats, and all her other outfits, she is most liberally supplied, and viewed as a whole, is one of the best and most beautiful ships of her class belonging to this port. She was built by the Messrs. Briggs, of South Boston, and is another monument of their genius and skill. Few mechanics have risen more rapidly in public estimation. By calm, unobtrusive energy, excellent workmanship, and above all, sterling integrity, they have raised themselves to the front rank of their profession, and are now as well known by their works, as any builders in the country. Long may they live to enjoy their well-earned reputation.
This beautiful ship is commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Matthews -- is owned by Messrs. Baker & Morrill, and is now loading with rapid despatch in Messrs. Glidden & Williams' line of California clippers. As she is of a fine model for sailing, is built in the best style of workmanship, and most thoroughly ventilated, she is quite popular with traders and receives freight faster than it can be taken on board. We advise those, who wish to see one of our best ships, to call and inspect her before she sails.
Boston Daily Atlas, March 29, 1856.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius
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Copyright © 1997 Lars Bruzelius.