This splendid ship registers nearly 1600 tons, and in the outline of her model, and the style of her construction, is much admired by all who have inspected her. She is 205 feet long between perpendiculars on deck, and 220 feet over all, from the knight-heads to the taffrail; has 41½ feet extreme breadth of beam, and 23 feet 4 inches depth of hold, including 7 feet 8 inches height of between-decks. Her dead rise at half floor is 15 inches, rounding of sides 6 inches, and sheer about 4 feet. Although her bow rises boldly, still her sheer is fairly graduated her whole length, and consequently she is more regular in her broadside outline than several clippers which have recently been built, the after sheer of which is rather straight, while their bows are turned abruptly up, somewhat like the toe of a China-man's shoe. The rise in the Cleopatra's bow is in perfect harmony with her general outline, and the rake of her stem is just sufficiently inclined to make her beautiful end on. Her lines are rounded, but are very fine and regular in their curves, and her ends are long, very sharp, and clipperly. For a head she has a full figure of Cleopatra, in robes of purest white, edged with gold and other ornaments. The ship is planked flush to the covering board, and is without head or trail boards. Her stern is oval in outline below the line of the main rail, but in the bend of the monkey rail it is semi-elliptical, and the lower part is beautifully ornamented with gilded carved work. She is sheathed with yellow metal, and painted black above it, and inside she is pearl color relieved with white.
Like most of the other large clippers, all her accommodations are one the upper deck. She has two spacious cabins built into a half poop deck, the principal entrance to which is in front, facing the quarter deck. The after cabin, however, has also a staircase aft, which leads to the poop; but this is designed principally for the accommodation of the captain, in reaching the helmsman with the least possible delay. Her after cabin is winged with staterooms and other apartments, and is finished with mahogany, rose-wood, &c., in the highest style of marine art, relieved with splendid mirrors, which multiply its beauties to the eye. The forward cabin has a small ante-room, and though not so gorgeously finished as the after one, is nevertheless a beautiful apartment; and all the staterooms are most admirably designed for the accommodation of passengers. Nothing in the design of her outfits has been omitted that can conduce to their comfort. Her hardware and silver plate were furnished by Messrs. Jones, Ball & Co. who supply most of our large ships.
The accommodations for her crew are in a spacious house abaft the foremast, which also contains the galley and other apartments. She has also a small topgallant forecastle, the height of the main rail, which extends aft to the windlass, and the space under it is devoted to stock pens, &c. The bulwarks are about 5½ feet high, and their stanchions are of oak, very close together. Her poop and the top of the cabin are protected by railings supported on turned stanchions; and she has spacious deck room for working ship.
She is built of seasoned white oak and copper fastened, and her ceiling and planking are of hard pine. Her keel is moulded 3 feet, in two depths, and sided 15½ inches; the floor timbers on it are 17½ by 12, and she has three depths of midships keelsons, each 16 inches square, all bolted in the most approved style, backed by sister keelsons of 16 inches square. The floor ceiling is 4½ inches thick, and over the first futtocks are bilge keelsons of 17 inches square, which extend her whole length, and are scarphed and square fastened. In a word, she is square bolted throughout. The principal part of the ceiling above the bilge keelsons is 10 inches in thickness, which is graduated to 7 inches as it approaches the deck.
The between-decks waterways are 16 inches square, with massive thick work, inside and over them, and the ceiling above, up to the deck, is 5 inches thick. The upper deck waterways are 12 by 14, with two thick strakes inside of them, let into the beams below, and the planking of both decks is 3½ inches thick, and their beams 16 inches square below, and 16 by 10 under the upper deck, strongly kneed and stanchiond with oak in the hold, and kneed with hacmatack in the between-decks, having stanchions of oak, turned and secured with iron rods, in the usual style.
Her garboards are 7 inches thick, the bottom planking 4½, and the wales 5½ by 7 inches, square fastened with treenails, and butt and bilge bolted with copper. The planksheer and main rail are each 6 inches thick, and her bulwarks are beaded, tongued and grooved, and finished smooth as cabinet work. She has eight hooks forward and six aft, which cross all the cants diagonally and horizontally, and completely span the angles of her ends. No vessel is more thoroughly kneed or better built in every particular. She is seasoned with salt, has ventilators along her planksheer, and Emerson's patent ventilators fore and aft, which communicate with the hold and the between-decks. She has a powerful windlass, Perley's patent capstans, a patent steering apparatus, copper chambered pumps, Crane's self-acting chain stoppers, an iron water tank below, plenty of good boats, heavy ground tackle, and all the other details of a superior ship.
She has built fore and main masts; the mizzenmast is a single spar, and is fitted aloft in the best manner. Our old friends, Francis Low & Co., have rigged her in their usual thorough style.
She was built at East Boston, by Mr. Paul Curtis, is owned by Benj. Bangs, Esq., and will be commanded by Capt. Samuel V. Shreve. She is now loading in Messrs. Glidden & Williams' line of San Francisco clippers, and lies at the south side of Lewis wharf. Viewed as a whole, she is a noble ship, beautiful in her outline, and will, no doubt, prove her a very swift sailer.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
Sjöhistoriska Samfundet | The Maritime History Virtual Archives | The Boston Daily Atlas. Search.
Copyright © 1997 Lars Bruzelius.