Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-09-19
THE NEW STEAMER IRONsIDEs.
Statement, of her Dimensions, BuiId-
ers, Owners, Officers, Machinery ana
Peculiar ExeelIencies-TriaI Trip on
Saturday, &c, &c.

I L. H#anH
was alive with ladies and gentlemen, who
we're attracted by tho splendor of the
weather, the fame of the steamer, and the
novelty of the occasion. The day was all
that could be desired. The sky was indi-
20 and of infinite depth; the sun shone
with that crisp brilIiancy and warmth
which put FIRE just under the skin, known
only in autumn and the lake was as
smooth as the inner surface of one of its
shells.
Every ono knew that the trial trip must
be a success, as the Ironsides had been
built with such scrupulous care, and yet
there was observable on the faces and in
the motions of all, officers and visitors alike,
an excited questioning whether all things
would, in fact, pass off well.
This feeling, however, soon wore off, for
she steamed out rapidly and almost jar
lessly into the Lake, heading for an honr
and half toward Avon Point. Her ma
chinery worked remarkably easy and
smooth for new. Indeed we might take her
for an old boat in respect of the absence Of
jar. m-
The dimensions of this fine craft Custom
Honse measuremeng are: Length of keel,
2I9 $500 feet length over all, 23l feet /;
breadth of beam, 80 7s-IOO feet breadth of
beam over all, 50 feet; depth of hold, IA
38-IOO feet. The length of the cabin inside
is l6S feet, and the breadth of it is one OF
the peculiarities of the boat, the increased
breadth being secured by her new style OF
guard. which reaches over three and half
feet on a side, making the cabin and deck
more roomy, and adding greatly to the
strength of the hull
There ere forty-two state roomson a side,
-eighty-four in all. About one half of
these are made double for the use of fami-
lies, by means of sliding doors between the
auartments. There are mainly but two
bunks in a room, though there are three in
some. Cabin and state rooms are finished
very elegantly, with admirable taste. There
is nothing tricky and foppish in the furnish
in g and ornamentation, but everything is
wholesome-looking and excellently well
done. ...-....
The painting and vanishing, the finish,
of the cabin give it the hard-aPpearing
surface of marble. The furniture is not at all
snowy, is not the costliest and what might
be called the most elegant, but it is sub
stantial, stands there for use, and not for
idle displays The dining tables are not
continuous fixtures, but small elliPtical
structures, allowing an easy '"cireumnavi-
CATION by walters.
The tonnage of the Ironsides is 937, and
she is calculated 10 carry 700 tons of cop
per from Lake Superior through the canal,
and l I,OOO tons fro m Chicago to Buffalo.
The keel of this steamer was laid in the
latter part of February. All the materi-
ais were contracted for last winter, before
the great advance in prices. And yet her
cost runs up to the fine little sum of $685.
900.
Ezra Herrick and Milo A. Skinner made
the original draft of her, but this was cut
down by Mr.. Skinner and revised because
her lines in the after body were too easy.
The builders of the boat were Quayle &
Martin. The owners are Messrs. Hussey,
Howe, and Cooper, of Pittsburgh; Brady,
of Detroit; Turner and Holland, of this
city. The officers are, J. E. Turner, Cap
tain; George Cleveland, first mate; J..
Mundoon, second mate John Hall, clerk;
Joseph Merrill, first engineer; j. Parks,
second engineer Mr. Henderson, stew
ard. Her crew numbers about forty.
Her machinery was made at the Cuya-
hoga Works, under the superintendent of
Mr. Holloway, who joins to rare abilities
and experience as a maehinist, the quail
ties of the quiet, well l-bred man once called
gentleman. There are two powerful en-
gines, each one of which drives an inde-
pendent screw wheel, this arrangement
giving greater safety and steadiness to the
boat Of course this reporter has no spe-
ciaI or accurate knowledge, no science, of
machinery, but he was assured by those
who had, that better works were never put
into hull, nay, that the machinery of the
Ironsides eclipses that of any other steamer
on the lakes in point of power, beauty, cum
ming and excellence of workmanship.
Among her peculiarities, and excellen-
cies as well, may be mentioned,
first. her fre-room. This is plank
ed win planks of great thickness, then
lined two inches deep with salt, over which
is thick boiler iron, SO that it is absolutely
ire-proof. A man could not possibly set
the boat a-6re in that room of rooms,
A second excellence is two "hog-chains,"
one on each side of the boat, which fssten
low down 70 the hull at the bows and stern,
run up over the posts, then down to the
keelsons smidships. up over the other post,
and down again fastening to the farther
end. These chains add immensely to the
strength of the craft.
A third popularity is the width off her
cabin, or rather her guards which make
the cabin,about seven feet wider than it
could otherwise be. And, then, her quar-
ter deck is about three times the usual
size.
Another interesting feature is the bath
room in the cabin. This has long been
desideratum, but strange to say, with
water, water everywhere, there has been
no chance to bathe on board our popular
steamers. But the owners of the Ironsides
have shown themselves fully up to thelevel
of the reformatory ideas in vogue, in the
water-depsrtment." The Water-Curs-itss