Steam Ship Great Britain.
This mammoth of the ocean, which has recently arrived from Liverpool, has
created much excitement here as well as in Europe; being in fact the greatest
maritime curiosity ever seen in our harbour. She was built by the Great Western
Steam-Ship Company, at Bristol, England. Her keel was laid in July 1839, and
she was launched in July, 1844, with her engines and machinery on board. She is
composed entirely of iron, which renders her perfectly safe against accidents by
fire, and even an explosion of her steam-boilers could not sink her, as she is
divided into five different compartments, each being thoroughly water-tight, so
that in case of accident even one perfect division would float the vessel and
cargo. The length of the keel is 290 feet; total length 322 feel; beams 51
feet; depth 32 feet 6 inches. She has four decks, the upper one being flush,
and is 308 feet long; the second deck consists of two promenade saloons, one of
which is 110 feet long by 22 wide.
The third deck consists of dining saloons, the first of which is 96 by 30 feet.
The saloons are 8 feet 3 inches high and surrounded with berths of which there
are sufficient to accommodate 252 persons. Her burden is 3,600 tons, and her
engines are capable of working 1,000 horse powers. She has four engines united,
which with the boilers, weigh 540 tons. The main shaft is 28 inches in diameter
in the centre, and 24 inches in the bearings, and weighs nearly 16 tons. The
power of the engines is applied to a single submerged propeller, on the screw
principle, and 15 feet 6 inches in diameter. The engines and boilers occupy a
space of 80 feet in the middle portion of the vessel; the boilers are heated by
24 fires, and will contain 200 tons of water. She has six masts, four of which
are hinged for lowering when head winds set in; the masts are made of iron,
having iron wire rigging, so that very little surface is presented to the
resistance of the atmosphere; the quantity of canvass carried, is about 4,900
square yards. Upwards of 1,500 tons of iron have been used in her construction;
her displacement of water, equal to 3.200 tons.
The Great Britain was visited while at Liverpool by 33,000 persons,
and probably by an equal number at London. During the few days since her arrival
at New York, she has been visited by about 12,000 people, who have paid 25 cents
for the gratification. If there is anything objectional in the construction or
machinery of this noble ship, it is the mode of propelling her by the screw
propeller; and we should not be surprised if it should be, ere long, superseded
by paddle wheels at the sides; as there van be little doubt that such an
improvement would increase her speed to 18 miles per hour, and render her the
swiftest ship on the ocean.
Scientific American Vol. 1 (1845), No. 1, p 2.