The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-09-15
TIE NEW RHVHNUK CUTTER.
Trial Trip OF the Vim. Pitt Fes-
sender.
APIeasant and sa~ti.factOry R~xeursIOn.

enue cutter John Sherman. The twin
brother Of that craft,-tWin, although born
a little late to make that term wholly sp-
plicsble,-namely, the VIM. Pitt Fessenden,
made his debut yesterday afternoon. and
succeeded not only in showing off his own
good points, qualities and superiorities, but
in giving q large crowd of passengers, con-
sisting of ladies and gentlemen, two or
three hours of unslloyed and memorable
enjoymenta and happiness. It was estimated
that not less than four hundred people were
on board. Among these We noticed Captain
Gilbert Knapp, of the Navy, who will be
commander of one of these cutters, Engi-
neer Plunkett, formerly of the notable Har-
riet Lane, Frank Hinmsn, Psymaster in the
the owners of the Lake Superior line of
steamers to which the Pewsbic belonged,
and the Meteor.
The boat left the dock about half past two
O'Clock in the afternoon. The enjoyment
of the guests seemed TO have been specially
consulted, SO far as the ordering of the
weather and lake was concerned. Though
| almost intolerably hot on land, q refresh
ing, nay, 9 spanking" breeze, created in
part by the movement of the steamer, pre-
vailed, and made all on board the envy of
landsmen and the favorites of fortune. The
lake was smooth, and of that deep green
color which has characterized it so many
DAYS this summer. There was not enough
motion given 10 the boat by the lake to
affect any stomach, and though several
physicians were on beard, We noticed that
SO far as the practice of their profession, or
the need for the practice thereof, was con-
eernod5 Tney were GA thia occasion a mia
cradle set of outcastsI
Capt. s. R. Kirby, of The firm of E. NJ.
Peck & Co., the builders of these cutters,
oficiated as commanding officer, while Mr..
Andrew Fletcher, of the firm of Fletcher,
Harrison & Co., of the North River Iron
Works, superintsnded the management OF
the engine.
We presume it is understood hat these
cutters, six in number, are built by and for
the use of the United States Treasury De-
partment. The contract for building at
this point two of the six which are TO be
constructed along the lake, was let to
Messrs. Peck & Kirby, the well-known
ship builders of this city, and bears date of
February 10, 1865. Work was not COM
menced on them until a month later. Con-
sidering all the circumstance, they have
been rushed through, but the work has not
therefore been st all slighted. The craft
are to day the pride of the art, and chsl-
lenge comparison with any specimens of
lske-msrine architecture. The best mate
rial has been used, and it has been used by
the best workmen whom money, if not love,
could command, and in the most approved
manne known to the ~ship-building profess
sion. Each of the cutters, the VIM. Pitt
Fessenden and John Sherman, has the fol-
lowing dimensions:
Length of keel $50 feet.
Breadth of beam 29 i"
Depth Of hold IL "
The engine of the Fessenden, which is a
counterpart of hat of the Sherman, is q
miracle and paragon ofmechanism. 1t came
from the North River Ironworks of Fletcher,
Harrison & Co., and is No. 4s, and that in
the Sherman No. As, of this style of engine
set up by this justly celebrated company.
1t is the low-pressure working beam engine,
4S-inch diameter of cylinder and 9-foot
stroke. II embraces all the modern i'm
provements, and is fitted up in the best
style. The boiler is 9-feet shell and SO feet
long. The blowing engine is 12-inch bore
and I2-inch stroke. A pony boiler 6 feet
lGggGG BsRR8&Qpf-3a Finch sdiSsI@gsta5. atSdiEZsssHa Gsss
steam for heating the cabin and ward room.
The wheels are rs feet diameter and 8 feet
face. The engines are acknowledged to be
the finest pieces of mechanism ever seen
here. They should be magnificent, since
each costs SIS, OOO. Peck & Co. contracted
to build the cutters for $3.50, 900 each, the
GoYernmant t~n---PFsy me armament and
furnish she rooms. The total cost of each
will not fall short of $751; OO.
In this connection we will state that, with
a pressure of forty-fve pounds ofsteam, the
Fessenden made thirty-two revolutions of
the wheels per minute. and shot through
the water at the rate of about tw enty miles
an hour. This will be acknowledged good
time, when it is considered she was heavily
loaded with passengers. There can be no
doubt, certainly none has been expressed
here by competent judges, that these cut
ters will easily carry the broom over the
lakes.
Of the other workmen who come in to
share the credit of the construction of two
craft SO beautiful as these twin-brothers,
mention must DO made of Mr.. Morris, who
constructed the magnificent cabin, q full
description of which we reserve until it is
furnished. The magazine apartment ID
fourteen by seven feet, and divided into
two rooms, sever feet square, for powder
and ball respectively. Messrs. Smith and
Cosby, of this city, have done the plumbing
work on the magazine rooms, and, indeed,
all of that work in the craft, amounting to
about 81 900 on each.
We repeat that these cutters are Cleve-
handmade, since the New York papers
state that the Sherman and Fessenden were
made by Peck & Kirby, of Buffalo. We are
willing that Buffalo should have all the
credit and glory which properly belong to
her, but she must not rob Cleveland of the
fame she enjoys, of superiority in the ship
building science and srt. If there were
any uncertainty about this matter, it would
be cleared up by reading the inscription on
the bell Of the craft, which rum Is follows
U. s.
Revenue Cutter,
Vim. Pitt F~eesenden.
Built by
Peck and Kirby,
Cleveland, o.,
1865.
All the while we have been making this
description of the boat, the Fessenden was
nhannninn ont irAn hhn lahn n;-I.. E.