The New Clipper Ship Belle of the West.

This is decidedly one of the most beautiful clippers in port -- a perfect seawitch -- which would win the heart of a sailor at a glance. She is 936 tons register, 182 feet long over all, 167 between perpendiculars, and 161 on the keel. Her extreme breadth of beam is 35 feet, and depth 21½ feet, including 7 feet 7 inches height of between decks. Her dead rise at half floor is 18 inches, rounding of sides 4 inches, and sheer 2 feet 3 inches. She has almost an upright stem, but the cutwater branches outwards in a curve, as it rises above the middle of the wales, and terminates in a graceful full female figure, robed in vestments of white, fringed with gold. The ship's stern is very light, most beautifully formed, and tastefully ornamented with gilded carved work, in which is a neat female bust, in basrelief. The stern is nearly oval in outline, and swells both ways, and her run, like her bow, is long and clean. She us sheathed with yellow metal painted black above it, and inside she is buff color, relieved with white. The whole height of her bulwarks is about 4½ feet, and she has a half poop deck, with a house in front of it. Her after cabin has a sunk floor, and is beautifully wainscotted with satin wood panels, relieved by mahogany and other choice woods. It contains six state-rooms, and is elegantly furnished. The forward cabin contains 4 state-rooms, and the ante-room 2 state-rooms and a pantry, all fitted in superior style. The accommodations for her crew, the galley, &c, are in a large house amidships, and she has a small topgallant forecastle with wing closets.

She is built of oak and copper fastened, and is remarkably well finished. The details of her fastening and construction vary but little from those of a ship of 1200 tons, and in her outfits she has all the improvements of the day, such as Emerson's patent ventilators, a patent windlass, patent capstans, an improved steering apparatus, a circular iron water tank below, plenty of fine boats, and Flander's patent force pump. Above all she has Forbes's rig, with the topmasts fidded before the lower mastheads, and looks splendidly aloft. We are glad occasionally to see men who have independence enough to leave the traditions of the past, and adopt the improvements of the present. Every sailor, without exception, who has tried this rig, speaks of it as the best square rig now in use, because a ship with it is always manageable, and because it greatly diminishes the labor of reefing, and to the shipowner, in the long run, is more economical than the old rig.

This ship was built at East Dennis, by Messrs. David & Asa Shiverick, is owned by Messrs. Glidden & Williams, of this city, and commanded by Capt. Wm. F. Howes. She is loading in Winsor's line of San Francisco clippers, and will sail in a few days. We cannot leave this beautiful clipper-yacht without expressing out admiration of her. We advise everybody to call and see her. She lies at the end of Commercial wharf.


Boston Daily Atlas, May 14, 1853.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.


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