Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-06-10
From the Liverpool Northern Times, May e.
M'Kay's New Ship /" Champion of the Seas.,'

This splendid vessel registers 5000 tons, and
is the largest sailing merchant ship in the world
She was built at East Boston by Mr.. Donald
MKay, and is intended for Messrs. James
Baines & Co.'s Liverpool and Australian line
of clippers. This enterprising firm own twenty
sail of frst-class ships, and have under charter
as many more, all employed in the Australian
trade. The superior equipment of their clip
pers, their unrivalled passages, and the absence
Of disasters, have given them a world wide rep
utation, which they are determined to maintain.
They have, therefore, selected the first ship
builders to build for their line class of clip
pers, which, for beauty, strength, speed, and
completeness of accommodations, shall be peer
less on the ocean. Mr.. M'Kay has already
built for them the celebrated clipper Lightning,
which, on her first passage, ran 436 miles in "a
hours, though drawing % feet of water. The
Champion Of the Seas, in beauty of model,
strength of construction, and all the other ele.
ments of perfection is decided improvement
upon the Lightning. Her ends are as long,
though not so sharp or concave, and are even
more beautiful in their form. She is 238 feet
long on the keel and $50 feet on deck between
perpendiculars, which, as the sternpost is up
right, gives her forerake Of IL feet; her ex-
IRENE breadth Of beam is 46 feet, and depth
20 feet, dead rise at halffoor l8 inches round
ing or swell of sides 10 inches, and sheer Al
feet. Her greatest breadth of beam is pre-
cisely at the centre of the load displacement
line, and she is rather fuller aft on that line
than she is forward. The concavity Of her
load-line forward is about y inches, but above
the form of the bow is decidedly convex, and
fares above the outline of the upper vale. A
full figure Of sailor, with his hat in his right
hand, and his left extended, ornaments the bow.
The ship has waist of narrow strakes de-
fined between the moudings ofthe upper vale
and the planksheer, and this is continued round
the stern, which is semielliptical in form, and
is ornamented with the Australian coat Of arms.
The run is long and clean, and bends in perfect
harmony with the general outline of the model.
Broadside on she has all the imposing majesty
of ship Of war, combined with the airy grace
of clipper. Outside she is painted black and
inside white, relieved with blue waterways
Her bulwarks are four and a half feet high,
built solid like those of q ship of war, and are
surmounted by monkey rail, which extends
fore and aft She has spacious topgallant fore
castle, fitted for the accommodation of the crew,
and abaft the foremost, house fifty feet long
by eighteen wide and six and half high, which
contains the galleys, O cabin for second class
passengers and staterooms for the forward off,
GERS. Its forward part shelters double stair
case, which leads to the deck below. Abaft the
mainmast is house sixteen feet square, the
forward part of which contains the chief mates
stateroom, and the rest of it shelters the stair
case which leads to vestibule below, from
which the cabins are entered. There is ano-
Their house aft, designed for a smokingroom,
and which also protects the helmsman, and
shelters staircase which leads to the captains
cabin. As all her cabins are below, she has
very spacious deck room. Abaft the main.
mast, we never saw a ship SO perfectly beauti-
full on deck.