American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-08-13

! thlndeFOoll ol .ioVe and the caduceus OF Me-.
curry.
I Perhaps the most interesting portion of tho
whole structure is the machinery, and the scre,c
/ by which she is propelled. The latter is on
the same principle, but Slightly modified, as
that invented by Mr.. F, P. SmIth, Of the Pat.
ent SHIP Propeller Company, (who supplied
H. ana VINO, some years ago, exhibited it at
Liverpool in the Archimedes.
The boiler platform is of plate iron, support,
ed upon ten iron nelson's of which the centre
ones are fee, inches deep. These nelson's
are formed like the foorings, Of iron plates
placed on the edge.
The hui! is divided into FIVE distinct COM
paTtments by means Of water.tight iron bulk
heads.
The whole of the materials and workman
ship, both Of ship and machinery, appear to be
OF the first order.
On the angle iron beams of the lower decks
/ there's an iron plate of from to S feet wide by
| half an inch thick, running along against each
side OF the vessel, the edge Of which is fitted
up against the ibis, and rveted on the fat iron
beam. This continuous plate is made Of the
ordinary boiler plates, united ri the end with a
joining tillet, 'singe rivited" to each, and over
1t are laid the deck planks, to which they are
oolted; 1t being, therefore firmly secured be-
tween the beams and planking, cannot fai! to
AID very materially in resisting any Sudden and
partial resistance externally, and TO maintain
the original form.
lhe upper, or main deck, is plaaked lvngi-
tudnalIy inches thick in the middle, {
inches near the. SIDES, from which there is a
mass OF timber forming the "water-ways,' in.
creasing from about six inches 20 abou; . feet
IN depth against the outside plating, forming I
curve surface against the ships sides above and
below, TO admit Of which The iron beams are
bent down at the ends. The planking OF the
first saloon deck consists also of longitudnai!y
laid planks, inches wide, inches thick with
waterways 10 inches thick al the sides: and
as It lies on the aforementioned horizon
tai plates, the projection is all above the s1r-
face Of the deck. The plank!ng Of the third
deck runs across the ship, with 6 y i inch wa
ter-ways,' as IN that Immediately above.
The performances Of the Great Britain have
proved the correctness Of the first antcipations.
1t was contended by many nautical men, and
some eminen: in the profession, that The stua-
ton Of the pIopelling force being at the stern,
would cause the vessel to run very wild in
head wind, and to counteract which the rudder
Will be IN such constant requisition as 10 cause
considerable loss Of power-but one sound and
sehtsdtdc is worth thousand opinions. TAX
ing al! the circumstances into consideration, il
does appear that if by the use Of an squag
ireight Of fact the ''duty" performance OF the
screw be nearly equal 10 that of the paddle
wheel, and that the whole Of the machinery be
so constructed as to be lasting, and not unpea-
SAINT 10 passengers, it has the merit of being
free from serious inconveniences Of the paddle
wheel, such as great top-heaviness, opposition
OF the paddie-boXes 10 the wind, Sc, and pos
sesses these advantages besides, namely, that
strength IN the upper part OF the ship is not
required to support machinery, and that the
deck is clear-a great comfort 20 passengers,
and OF great convenience in management of
sails and working the ship.
II has since been proved that the Great Brit
ain dJes not ''run wild in heavy sea, that
she steers with great ease, under sail or steam,
and without any luss OF power, mere than any
SAILING or other vessel, through the action Of the
ruGder; so that the first point may be consider
ed as settled. As to the advantages Of the
screw in doing away with the cumbersome pad
dIe-wheels and their bandbox casiEgs or boxes, |
which destroy the straight sheer of ship, by
giving her a dromedary hump, tending to strain
her upper works, and form, as it were, sails"
IN beam winds, that cannot be reeted-there
can be no question. The safety Of the screw
over the paddle-wheel, whether in collision or
contact or as regards the shot Of all enemy. is
equally undeniable; for, in both respects. the
screw is by far the less vulnerable. Another
great advantage Of the screw is, tsupposng it
equally eiicieat with the wheel rs a propeller
il possesses in tselfa mechanical power or gain.
Chat Of the inclined plane or wedge while the
wheel presents, on the contrary, direct lever
age against the engine eQuA! to It's scm-diame-
ter, or rather to the distance between its centre
or shaft and It's floats. The beating down of
the water bV the paddles III the i-s. Instance,
and the ttl OF back water n their leaving the
surface, involves also g,clt waste fpower,
that Is not attributable to the screw, which pos
ses-es uniform power Of forward propulsion.
THE CABINS. The G-aa, Britain has 2C
state rooms with ore bed each, and ll5 with
two, so that in addition 70 her crew. officers
htemcn, sc, she can accommodate -j2 rasScn-
gers, each Of whom can be provided with asin-
gle bed, anu that without making up 4 single
sofa, or any other temporary convenience,
The walls Of the after OF pr!nc}pa! promcn-
ade saloon are painted in delicate tints; and a.
long the sides are several fixed chairs 0: oak
a 70" OF we'll proportional pillars, which
range down the centre Of the promenade, serve
the double purpose Of ornament TO the room
and support to the deck. In this saloon, on
either side is range OF exceedingly comfortable
state rooms and sleeping beyths About twelve
of these on each side of the deck will be re-
served for ladies, as they are made to commu-
nicate with two commodous ladies boudoirs,
or private sitting rooms, measuring seventeen
feet by fourteen feet. The advantages of this
arrangement must be obvious, as ladies' who
may be indlsposed, or in neglige, will be enabled
to reach their sleeping berths without there be-
ing the slightest necessity for their appearing
in public. The framework of the staircase.
communicating, from this saloon, with the
deck, is Of iron. The stairs are far more wide
and commodious than is generally met with on
ship-board. From this promenade YOU DESCEND