The New Packet Ship Plutarch, of New York.

This is a beautiful, full-modelled vessel of 1300 tons register. She is 192 feet long on deck, has 40 feet extreme breadth of beam, and 24 feet depth of hold, including 8 feet height of between-decks. Her ends, though full, with rounded lines, are well formed, and her floor is long and buoyant. The bow rakes boldly forward, but preserves its angular form to the rail, and is tastefully ornamented with a full figure of the sage whose name she bears. The stern is light and rounded, her run easy and clean, and her sheer lively and truly graduated. She has painted ports in a white belt, her bottom is painted copper-color, and rest of her hull outside is black; inside she is buff-color, relieved with white. The whole height of her bulwarks, including the monkey rail, is 5½ feet, and she has a full topgallant forecastle, the height of the rail, under which are accommodations for the crew. Abaft the foremast there is a large house, which contains the galleys, staterooms and storerooms, and protects entrance which lead to the deck below. Her after house is built into a half poop deck, and contains two handsome cabins, the after one finished with fancy woods, gilding, &c., and the forward one is white, and both are tastefully furnished, well lighted and ventilated.

The ship herself is built in the best style. Her frame, wales, hooks, and pointers, and the knees in the hold, are all of seasoned white oak, and her keelsons, deck frames, lower deck, and ceiling are of hard pine, and she is square-fastened throughout, and butt and bilge-bolted with copper. She has three tiers of midship keelsons; and they are placed so that those above not only cover the scarphs of those below, but also the seams, in such a manner that the upper keelson binds and covers the longitudinal seams of all the others. Her bilge-work commences at 15 by 16 inches, and diminishes without projection to 10 inches thickness under the lower part of the hanging knees, which rest upon a lap-strake or stringer. She is cross-braced with timber outside of the ceiling, between all the hanging knees, both in the hold and in the between-decks, and these braces are bolted through all. Her staunchions [sic], too, are the width of the beams, and extend to both decks. Her ends are well secured with massive hooks and pointers. Her wales are of white oak, 5½ by 7 inches, and outside as well as inside, she is finished in superior style.

She has built lower masts of hard pine, also hard pine topmasts and jibbooms, and double topsail yards, the lower ones slung to the topmasts instead of to the caps, like Howes's rig, though the principle is the same, as the yards are stationary. In all her outfits she is liberally supplied, and, viewed as a whole, is a superior vessel.

She was built at East Boston, by the Messrs. Boole, the builders of the fine ships Weymouth, Emerald, and Endymion, which have all proved very successful. The Plutarch is intended for Messrs. Howland & Ridgeway's line of New York and Liverpool packets. She is now fitting out at the Grand Junction wharf, East Boston, and will be ready for sea in a few days. We advise all who take an interest in shipping to call and inspect her.


The Boston Daily Atlas, June 3, 1856.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius


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