Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1883-12-20
NO. s..
THE LARGEST SAILOR AFLOAT.
A Vessel IN Whose FashiOning the Il e ST
Art OF the ShipWrigtn is Displayed.
New York Sun, November 10th.

New Yorl. Sun, November 10th.
a new ship with lofty spars and a long
black hull lies at the foot of Wall street.
! Her jibbOom reaches half way across South
street, while her stern is far beyond the
! ferry house. There is not straight line
! in her model, and the inspectors and sea-
! men who have examined her say that no
! finer model is atioat if she has an equal
! Along the black planking just forward
of the cathead is the name ID gold block
letters, John r. Kelley" She was named
for her owner, who lives in Bath, Maine.
She was built for strength as we'll as speed
Her frames were allowed to season for fif-
teen months before they were put up. As
a specimen of the size Of the tim
bers put in her, it is said that the timbers
of the bilge ceiling are 14N14 inches. They
are bolted to the frames with 1S-inch iron
She has the strongest frames ever put in
wooden ship. Her length over all is $50
feet length of keel, 253 teet beam, 45
feet: depth of hold, % feet. She has three
decks Her bowsprit and .jibboom are not
very long, projecting about 60 feet out
board, but the length of jjibboom is 800 feet.
or little less than two city blocks, away
from the end of the spanker boom that
hangs over the tatfrail. She measures 3
364 tons. She will carry $500 tons dead
weight. Two sailing ships have been built
that measure more than this one. One was
the Great Republic and the other the Ocean
King. four-masted ship belonging to Bos-
ton. But the Great Republic is not now
a1oat, and the Ocean King will not carry
so much cargo as the John r. Kelley by
nearly 200 tons. She is, therefore, the
largest sailing carrier afloat. The main
truck sabout 40 feet above the deck. Her
main yard is 80 feet long. The first glance
shows that her rig is peculiar. The tops
are supported by angle iron. 1t takes a
second look to show that the lower masts
are also metal. They are made of steel
plates SIG of an inch thick, and are stayed
on the inner side with four metal stripslof
angle iron. They are the first steel masts
ever stepped in sailing ship. They are
the lightest in,:weight as well as the strong
est. They were made by the Goss Marine
Iron Works of Bath. She has the first
complete suit of steel standing rigging ever
put on ship. The shrouds are served
oyer with small stuff, but even then they
appear slender beside the common run of
rigging. With sky-sail yards crossed she
will show big spread of canvas. On deck
there is an engine house with donkey
ae1siae<ep- -get--aP the anchor, make sail,
pump ship, condense water, and do pretty
much everything that has to be done about
ship except, perhaps. taking the sun. The
windlass is the largest ever put on sail
ing ship. Her chain-cables are made of
two and one-eighth inch iron. One of the
largest sized patent anchors hangs on the
port bow and a common one equally as
hon fIn ctn orl
Portable quarters for her twenty -four sail
Ors are provided in the house forward.
There is long poop aft. An ornamental
rail surrounds the house aft, where it pro-
jects over the quarter deck. Between the
after end of the cabin and the wheelhouse
is broader space than was ever shown Oh
sailing ship "a quadrille of six sets
would not be cramped,' as the captain said
yesterday. The wheel is a work of art
1t is built of solid mahogany with rose
wood spOkes. The whole is beautifully
ca we'd and is inlaid with brass stars. The
wheelhouse is finished with ash. No yacht
on New York waters has finer steering gear
The handrails down the eompanionway are
of solid ebony, silver tipped, and supported
in silver sockets. Corrugated brass plates
of ornamental outlines keep the feet from
slipping on the steps. The floor of the
saloon is carpeted with the best quality of
Brussels. On each side of the saloon is
large sofa of carved mahogany, upholstered
in dark red plush. A sideboard at the for
ward end is built of solid mahogany, re-
lieved by rosewood trimmings and French
burl p, nels. A silver rail runs around it's
marbl top, within which are kept large
silver water pitcher and silver drinking
cups. The walls of the saloon are finished
in mahogany, rosewood, French burl and
mountain laurel. The handsome little
steam yacht Viking has saloon of about
equal allegiance. The Captains room, the
quarters of the mates, and the spare rooms
are noticeably large and are finished in
like manner No detail in the joiner work
has been neglected. The doors Will shut
and the joints come together so that they
are hard to discover. 1t is the work of
Amos Hackett, of Bath.
The John R. Kelley was the one hundred
and seventy-fourth vessel built by Goss,
sawyer Co., of Bath. She will run in the
Van Vlack California line. She will be
by Capt. Thomas P. Gibbons,
of Bath. He has commanded the Triumph,
! Boston ship, for the last five years. Philip
Mason, Massachusetts man, will serve as
nate
Capt. Kelley, the owner of the new ship
s an old sailor himself His last ship was
he Tacoma. He run in the Webb line of
teamers from San Francisco to Panama for
number of years. He is one of the best
,nown seamen in the country.
A Soft Answer.