The New York herald., 1872-08-31
SHIP BUILDING.

The Clipper Ship Sea Witch-Thc Latest
Model In the Commercial Line.l
The merchant navy Of the United States is RAPIDLY
growing in strength and beauty Of structure, and
every month new vessels are leaving our shores
and making their maiden voyage laden with freight
to all portions of the world. The clipper ship Sea
Witch, lately built by Robert e. Jackson, of East
Boston, and now taking in cargo for San Francisco
at pier 10 East River, is a very fine specimen Of
"what we know about ship building" In the United
States.
She is oak-built vessel, OF 1888 tons, carpen-
ter's measurement, designed for the California and
India trade, and although she has fine -ends, with
slightly concave lines, she is not extremely sharp,
like steamer Her bow has a graceful fore-rake,
and terminates in full female figure, placed to
correspond with the rake of the stem. The stern
is quite light and oval in outline but rounded in the
wake of the monkey rail, and is tastetully orna-
mented with gilded carved work. She Is sheathed
with yellow metal up to 21ji feet above that the
hull is painted black, and the bulwarks and deck
houses are pearl color. Her between-decks as well
as the lower hold, are bright and vanished. She
is 1877 feet long on the keel, 203 feet between per-
pendiculars. on deck. and 215 feet over all; her
breadth OF beam is SS feet including inches swell,
or rounding Of sides; depth, "a feet, including
feet height between decks; sheer, about AZ
feet, which, is graduated on her whole
u
half floor. She Is planked nush to the covering
board and IL smooth forward, without head boards
or trail boards. All her accommodations are on
the upper deck. Her frame and all the outside
planking up to the wales are OF seasoned white
oak; her keelsOns, ceiling, deck frames, lower deck
and wales are OF selected Southern pine. The upper
deck and houses are Of white pine; and not only Is
she square fastened throughout and through tree
nailed with locust, but her floor timbers butt and
bilges are b0lted with yellow metal, and every
plank from the garbOards to the plank shear Is
spiked with composition. The decks and bulwarks
are also composition fastened, and every eye and
ringb0t is Of galvanized iron, so that rust will not
be likely to mar her beauty. Her frame
was well seasoned with salt while IN the
course OF construction. She has open air
streaks IN the lower hold and between
decks, brass ventilators along the line OF
her plank shear and Is otherwise seasoned ana ven
tilated fore and aft. She is full rugged snip, with
built lower masts and bowsprit OF hard pine. Inc
t0pmasts and jibb0Oms are also hard pine spars.
Captain Edgar Paine, the Marine surveyor Ior
American Uovd's Register, says that ne can sug-
gest no Improvement In her, and has, therefore,
given her the highest rate accorded TO any vessel
In the country. She is owned by Messrs. Wlnam
+. Weld Co., OF Boston, who are reckoned among
the largest shipowners in the United states ana
who own some Of the best sailing vessels IN tne
world. Captain Isaac N. Jackson, Formerly com
mander of the ship Great Admiral, also owned py
Messrs. Weld Co., will command ner; Sne Is tne
largest ship that has been built IN East Boston
since the Glory OF the Seas.