This fine vessel is designed to stow a large cargo, and has good clipperly ends, and great length of floor, which will enable her to sail fast. She is 175 feet long between perpendiculars on deck, has 35 feet breadth of beam, 23 feet depth, including 8 feet height of between decks, and registers about 134 tons. Her lines are slightly concave below, but convex above, and, like most of the other clippers, she us smack smooth forward, without head boards, &c., and has a gilded hound for a head. Her stern is nearly semi-circular in outline, and flares above the line of the planksheer. It looks well, and is tastefully ornamented with gilded carved work, in the centre of which is a woodland scene, with a hunter, rifle in hand, just about rising to follow the chase. The ship is sheathed with yellow metal, and painted black, and inside is buff color.
The arrangements of her decks consist of a topgallant forecastle, a house amidships, and another aft, in the front of a half poop deck. The after house contains the cabin, which has its principal entrance forward, leading to the quarter deck. The cabin is wainscotted with gothic arched pannels, edged with gilding, upon a white ground, and contains in all 12 staterooms and the pantry. A curtain abaft the mizzenmast divides the cabin, and two of the rooms forward are in the wake of the vestibule. The cabin is beautifully furnished, and looks finely.
She has good deck room for working ship, and is remarkably well fitted out and smoothly finished. Her frame is of seasoned white oak, and she is built and finished in the best style. Her keel is of rock maple, sided 15 inches and moulded 30, the floor timbers 15½ by 12, and she has three depths of keelsons, each 16 inches square, all fastened with copper and iron, every copper bolt driven through and clinched. The floor ceiling is 4 inches thick, and on the bilge the ceiling is 10 inches, and all above it from 7 to 6 inches, and she is square bolted throughout. All the knees, stanchions and hooks in the hold are of oak. The between decks waterways are 15 inches square, with two strakes of 86½ inches thickness over them, and one of 9 inches inside of them, all bolted vertically and horizontally. The ceiling above the thick work is 6 inches thick, and the knees in the between decks are of hacmatack, closely bolted. The upper deck waterways are 10 by 12 inches, and the planksheer and main rail are each 6 inches thick. Her deck frames are well secured with massive oak hooks and pointers. The deck planking is 3½ inches thick.
The garboards are 7 inches thick, let into the keel, and are bolted through it horizontally, and up through the timbers. The bottom planking is 4 inches thick, and the wales 5½ by 7, all square fastened with treenails and butt and bilge bolted with copper.
We understand that she will have Crane's self-acting chain stoppers, and all the other improvements of the day. These stoppers are spoken of in the highest terms by all who have used them. The owners of the steamer Ericsson, having heard that the new Cunard steamer Arabia had very superior chain stoppers, informed Mr. Crane that they would not adopt his until they has inspected those on board the Arabia. After inspecting them, however, they freely told Mr. Crane that his stoppers were so far superior, that they ordered them at once, and the Ericsson now has them. For strength and simplicity, we consider them the best inventions of the day for aiding in the heaving up of anchors, and we, therefore, again call the attention of shipowners to them.
The Wild Ranger has a noble set of spars, and is fitted aloft in excellent style. We believe she will prove a fine seaboat and sail well. She was built at Medford, by Mr. James O. Curtis, who has built many fine clippers and other vessels, and is commanded by Capt. James H. Sears. Messrs. Thatcher & Sears, of this city, own her, and they are entitled to great credit for the liberal style in which they have fitted her out. She is now loading with despatch in Glidden & Williams' line of California clippers, and will sail on the 21st inst.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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