Polynesian., 1853-01-01
Gle ]Dolpnesiau.
The New Clipper ship s' s'SOvereign of the
Seas,'' of Boston.

|
i More than two centuries have passed
away since this name was first applied TO a
ship. In 1857 that ship was built in Wool
wich dockyard; her tonnage cOrresponded
with the year, she was the first ship with
"fnshe deckes," and the largest Of any
vessel which had previously belonged to the
English navy Her keel measured lS7
feet and 9 inches, her main breadth Of
beam was 4S feet 4 inches, and she had
three decks. poop and Il topgallant fore
castle, and /" bare five lanthorns, the biggest
of which could hold ten persons upright. :"
She was pierced for 126 guns, but probably
only mounted 100.
How strangely this uncouth hulk would
look alongside Of her modern namesake.-
The difference between one of our clipper
schooners and Chinese Junk would not be
more marked; yet it is only by referring to
the past we can justly appreciate the i'm
provements of the present.
Behold the modern Sovereign of the Seas,
the longest, sharpest, and most beautiful
merchant ship in the world, designed to sail
at least 90 miles an hour with a whole-sail
breeze See her in the "beauty of her
strength" the simplicity and neatness OF her
rig, flying before the gale and laughing at
the rising sea; and then imagine her cum
brous ancestor, wallowing from side to side,
tearing up the ocean into whitened foam.
and drifting perhaps seven miles an hour;
yet she was the first ship of her day
Imagine all this, and even landsman can
comprehend the wonderful progress of naval
architecture.
| Mr. Mckay could not have selected a
better name for his ship; its historical asso-
citation is full of instruction, and no ship was
ever more worthy of such name.
Since the opening of the California trade,
Mr. Mckay has built five large clippers
the Stag Hound, Flying Cloud, Staffordshire,
Flying Fish, and Sovereign of the Seas, but
no two of them are alike in model. The
Stag Hound has 40 inches dead rise at
half floor, and convex lines; the Flying
| Cloud 30 inches and concave lines; the
Staffordshire the same dead rise and concave
| fines, but is much fuller in the ends, and has
deck more than any of the others; the
Flying Fish % inches, and concave lines,
but shorter ends, though sharper at the ex-
tremes, than her predecessors, and more
capacity in proportion to her register; but
the last and greatest of all, indeed the largest
merchant ship in the world, has only %
| inches dead rise and concave lines, but has
| the longest and sharpest ends of any ship or
ocean steamer, either afloat building
Owing to the length of her ends, her lines
are less concave than those of the Flying
Fish A chord from the extreme of her cut
water, to the turn of her side at the load
displacement line, go l-2 feet draf forward)
would only show a concavity of 2 inches
The angle of her bow, at the same line, is
| II ID degrees, and Of her stern Is l-2
Her leading dimensions are as follows
Length of keel 245 feet on deck, between
perpendiculars 25S, over all, from the knight
| heads to the taffrail 265; extreme breadth
of beam Al feet, about % feet forward of
the centre. breadth at the gunwale 40 feet;
depth 23 10 feet, including 8 feet height OF
between decks, dead rise 30 inches, swell
or rounding of sides foot, sheer nearly 4
feet, and register 2, 42l tons.
AS Mr.. Mckay built this ship on his own
account. he alone is responsible for her suc-
cess as a sea boat. He designed that she
should be the swiftest sailing vessel in the
world, and what is apparent to all, has made
her strong enough to carry shot in bulk
Considering the sharpness of her ends, she
has large stowage capacity for a clipper,
great surface and length of floor, and will be
|
Her construction for solidty and strength,
is of the highest order. Her frame Is en-
tirely of seasoned white oak, and all her
planking and ceiling, as well as her deck
frames, and the lower deck, are of the best
of hard pine, and she is strongly copper
fastened and square bolted, and treenailed
throughout In the hold, all her knees are
of oak. and all her hooks throughout The
knees in the between decks are OF hacma-
tack. but the hooks and staunchlons are OF
oak She is III feet inches through the
back bone, including the moulding oil the
floor timbers. which is 10 inches, and all
her keel and kelson fastening is OF IL
Inch conner and iron driven in the strongest
s,vIe and rivited. Her keel is sided 10
inches and beside the mIdshIp kelsons,
che has double sister keelsons, one over the
o,her on each side. which combined, side
n inches and mould 80. Her floor ceiling
lis 5 inches thick, and commencing beiow
the Aoor-beads, the ceiling is la inches,
4 which diminishes to 10 inches, without pro-
lection: and under the ends Of the lower
deck hanging knees is a stringer OF Ia IN
thickness. All this ceiling is scarphed
SQUARE fastened, caulked and payed. Hel
hold stanchions are kneed above and below
and her ends are literally filled with massive
hooks and pointers, and are further strength
ened with hold beams, which are also strong
Ily kneed. She has three of these beams
forward and two aft.
Her windlass, pumps. capstans, grount
tackle. Sc. are all of the first quality, ane
are made more for wear than show.
The beauty and strength of her hull art
only equalled by her completeness aiot'-
She has not only the stoutest and mos
beautifully proportioned set of sPars that ever
lowered above ships deck, but the rigging
is The very best that could be procured an,
the style in which it is fitted reflects hisf