This is a beautiful freighting ship of 740 tons, designed to stow a large cargo, and to sail fast. She is 133 feet, long between perpendiculars, has 33½ feet extreme breadth of beam, 22 feet depth of hold, including 7 feet 8 inches height of between-decks, 13 inches dead rise at half floor, and finely formed ends. Her sheer is 22 inches, the swell or rounding of her sides 8 inches, and her bow is carried boldly up, and has a neatly carved billet-head, which imparts a light and graceful appearance to her outline forward. Her run is clean, her counter and transom light, and the form of her stern beautiful. It swells between the quarter timbers, and from the arch-board to the rail, and is spanned by an arch of gilded carved work; but such a stern, in our opinion, requires no carved work to set it off. Instead of stern windows, she has four circular plate glass air ports, which we consider infinitely superior to the square windows now in general use.
Her frame is mostly of well seasoned white oak. The keel is of rock maple, sided 15 and moulded 21 inches; the floor timbers 16 by 11, and the keelson 15 by 30 in two depths, fastened with 1¼ inch copper, driven alternately through the floor timbers, and the first depth of keelson and the keel, clinched. The upper depth of the keelson is bolted with iron, driven through the navel timbers blunt into the keel. The floor ceiling is 4 inches thick, and on the bilge the first strake is of oak 9 inches thick, then follow 2 of hard pine of the same substance; then above these 3 strakes of 7 inches thickness; then 3 of 6 inches, and then a stringer of 10 by 15, upon which the lower ends of the hanging knees rest. The clamps above are 7 inches thick, and the knees, both hanging and lodging, are of oak. The beams under the lower deck are 15 by 16 inches, and those under the upper deck 8 by 15, and all her stanchions are of oak; those in the hold kneed in the wake of the hatchways, and clasped with iron elsewhere; those in the between-decks are turned, and secured with iron rods and screws, in the usual style. She has three hooks in the hold forward, and two aft, besides the deck hooks; a large hook in the between-decks, and hooks above and below the bowsprit. Her main transom is 15 by 18 inches, amidships, and she has long transom knees, which extend well along the wings. No vessel's ends can be better secured.
The between decks waterways are 15 inches square, above which are 2 strakes of 8 by 13 inches, and inside of them let into the beams a strake of 9 by 12 inches. This belt of thick work is closely bolted vertically and horizontally. The ceiling above is 5 inches thick, and she is square fastened throughout.
The upper deck waterways are 10 by 12, with two thick strakes inside of them let into the beams, and the planking of the deck is of white pine 3½ inches thick; the deck below is of 3 inch hard pine.
Her garboards are 7 inches thick, the planking on her bottom 4, her wales 5, and her waist 4, all square fastened and smoothly finished. The covering board is 6 inches, and the main rail 5 inches thick, and the whole height of her bulwarks, including the monkey rail, is 3 feet 8 inches.
Her deck room is spacious and well designed. She has a half poop deck, with a house in front, which forms an ante-room to the cabin below. The after cabin contains five state rooms and a water closet, is magnificently finished with mahogany and rosewood, and is furnished is the first style of elegance. The forward cabin or anteroom contains three state rooms and the pantry, and is handsomely painted and grained.
Before the main hatchway she has a large house for the accommodation of her crew, and it also contains a large galley and other apartments. She has a topgallant forecastle, with a capstan on it, and abaft is a powerful windlass of the most approved patent. Her ground tackle, boats and other furniture are of the first quality, but her hold pumps are a little extra. These are considered, by those who have tested them, the very best which have yet been applied here. They cannot be choked, are simple in design, and throw a large column of water, without any extra force. Mr. Litchfield, of East Boston, invented them. She has a patent steering apparatus, and is steered on the poop. Her capstan, of the quarter-deck, is of mahogany and locust, brass-mounted, and is both ornamental and useful.
Her frame is seasoned with salt, she has brass ventilators in her planksheer, and air ports below. Her bulwarks, &c., inside, are painted buff color, and her waterways blue, and outside her bottom is green, and from the water to the rail she is black, with ports in a white strake along her waist.
She is well sparred and rigged, and looks beautifully aloft. She was built at Medford by Mr. Forbes [?], who is well known as the builder of many fine vessels. Capt. Caleb Curtis, of this city, superintended her completion and equipment, and to his experience __ a __er may be attributed her completeness in every detail. She is owned by Mr. Welsman, of Charleston, and her commander, Capt. Commer, and is intended to trade between Charleston and Liverpool.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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Copyright © 1997 Lars Bruzelius.