This is a beautiful vessel of 1074 tons register, built of white oak, copper fastened, and sheated with yellow metal. Her lines are slightly convex, but her ends are very sharp and clipperly in their form, and upon the line of the between decks are nearly alike in their horizontal angles. She is 173 feet long on the keel, 181 between perpendicluars, on deck -- has 37 feet extreme breadth of beam, and 23 feet 4 inches depth of hold, including 7½ feet height of between decks. At half floor her dead rise is 13 inches; the rounding her of sides is 9 inches, and her sheer is 3½ feet. Bow on, she looks well. For a head she has a full figure of the great tragedian, represented in the character of Spartacus, painted white and relieved with gilding. The face is slightly turned to port, the right foot is advanced, and in his hand is the appropriate sword. Every one who has seen Mr. Forrest is aware, that in physical formation, for many beauty, he has few equals, and that to represent him truly upon the limited extreme of a sharp ship, must be rather a difficult task; yet, to our eye, we think the artist has succeeded well. The expression of the countenance, the form of the head, neck and chest are admirable, and although the lower parts of the figure and its attitude are rather stiff, yet these were controlled by the limited space of the pedestal, and the fore rake of the vessel. Upon the whole, however, we consider the figure creditable to the skill of the artist.
the ship has a narrow waist of 4 strakes, enclosed between the mouldings of the upper wale and the planksheer, and her stern is nearly oval in outline, and is tastefully ornamented with gilded carved work. Her run is long and clean, and tapers in fine proportions from the fullness of amidships. She is sheathed with yellow metal up to 19 feet draught, and is painted black above it; inside she is dark buff color, and the waterways are blue.
The whole height of the bulwarkks, including the monkey rail, is 5 feet 4 inches, and all her accommodations are on the upper deck, leaving nearly all the space below for the stowage of cargo.
She has as open topgallant forecastle, which extends aft to the windlass; and abaft the foremast, is a large house, which contains quarters for the crew, the galley, store-rooms, state-rooms, &c. Her cabin is built into a half poop deck, and is splendidly finished with mahogany, rose and satin wood, relieved with papier maché cornices, gilding, and scroll work. The after part of it conatins two large state-rooms, two sofa-recesses, in the rear of which are stained glass windows, and on the after ends, plate glass mirrors. This part of the cabin is separated from that before it, by damask curtains, which, of course, can be drawn aside when required. The forward part contains state-rooms, a large mahogany table; and both divisions are furnished in the first style of marine art. The cabns, and all her other joiner work, were executed by Messrs. Manson & Ford, and her furniture was made by Messrs. Jas. H. Beal & Brother, the best in their line of business in the country. They have furnished the cabins of all the magnificent fleet of vessels which Mr. McKay has built.
Adjoining the cabin is an ante-room, which contains the pantry, and also state-rooms for the officers; and its windows, like those of the cabin, are of stained glass. There are two entrances to the cabin, one amidships forward, and the other aft, which leads to the poop, where she is steered.
The ship is well built, of good materials, and is finished in excellent style; the details of her fastening and construction are about the same as most vessels of 1500 tons, which we have enumerated again and again. It may be proper to state, however, that she has two bilge keelsons on each side, of 12 by 14 inches, and two strakes of 10 by 12 inches under the lower deck hanging knees, and all the rest of her hold ceiling is 6 inches thick, square bolted. The between-decks waterways are 15 inches square, having a strake over them of 9 by 14, and another inside of them of 8 by 14 inches, the whole cross-bolted; the ceiling above is 5 inches thick. Her ends are well secured with hooks and pointers, and all the hold stanchions are kneed above and below. The between-decks stanchions are of oak, turned, with 1¼ inch iron rods through their centres, which set up with screws, and bind both decks together. The lower deck is of hard pine, and the upper one of white pine, both 3½ inches thick.
Her garboards are 7 inches thick, the bottom planking 4, the wales 5½ by 6½, and the waist 3½ by 4 inches. She is square fastened with treenails, many of them of locust, driven through and wedged in both ends; and she is butt and bilge bolted with copper. The main rail and planksheer are each 6 inches thick, and the monkey rail 4 inches. She is seasoned with salt, has Emerson's ventilators, an iron water tank below, Crane's self-acting chan stoppers, a patent steering apparatus, and all the other improvements of the day. Her fore and main masts and bowsprit, are built and hooped over with iron, and the other masts, &c., are of single spars. Her lower masts, above deck, commensing with the fore, are:-- 55, 61, and 51 feet long; the topmasts, 13, 14, and 32 feet; topgallant masts, 22, 24, and 18, and others in like proportion. She has pole topgallant, royal and skysail masts, with long, tapering mastheads, crowned with gilded balls. The bowsprit is 20 feet outboard, and the jibboom is divided at 20 and 14 feet for the two jibs, and has 5 feet end. The lower yards are:-- 67½, 74, and 54 feet square; topsail yards, 52, 57, and 44 feet, and the others in proportion. She is well rigged, and looks beautiful aloft. No expense has been spared to make her what sge is, a complete ship in all her details. Her spars were made by Mr. Pigcon, she was rigged by Capt. Brewster, who is now rigging the Great Republic, and her ornamental work, including the figure head, was made by Mr. Gleason.
Mr. Daniel D. Kelley, of East Boston, an excellent mechanic, and a worthy representaive of Young America, built her, and she is owned by Messrs. Crosby, Crocker & Co., and others, of New York. She is now ready for sea, and in a few days will proceed to New York, and there load for San Francisco. Success to her.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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