The Portland daily press., 1885-05-25
THE CUMBERLAND.
A Description of the Steamer.
Her Successful Trial.

on the New England Shipbuilding Company
of Bath, and the Portland Company. She Is
an exact counterpart OF the State Of Maine, of
the same line, so far as her architecture and
finish are concerned, except that she is eight
feet longer and somewhat broader. Her length
over all is 262 feet, beam 81 feet and depth of
hold 10 feet. She has been built in the same
thorough manner as the State of Maine, and if
anything will be more competent tosendure
strain than her companion proved herself to
be by her suspense of several months on the
jagged reef of Point Lepreaux. The keel of
the Cumberland is Of white oak, twelve inches
deep, fourteen inches wide, and has an oak
shoe four inches thick. The floor timbers and
frame are also of white oak. the frame being
strapped diagonally with the best American
iron, four inches By one-haf, one strap COM
mencing on every frame and connecting on
the top with fore and aft iron strap, six
inches by three-fourths, running the entire
length Of the boat each side. The iron strap
ping was painted with red lead and boiled lin
seed oil before it was put on. The frames and
crooks were salted. The bottom planks are Of
the best quality white oak, the waist hard
pine, and the whole square fastened with
Long Island locust treenails and spikes, those
below the twelve-foot water line being OF cem-
position and above that of galvanized iron.
The deck beams over the boilers are of iron,
and for distance of twelve feet forward and
aft, and from gunwale to gunwale covered
with galvanized sheet iron. Three wrought
iron water-tight bulkheads have been built in
to the hull in conformity with the United
States Steamboat regulations. The forward
cabin is below the main deck, 40 feet long, and
contains 40 berths with walnut fronts. The
after lower cabin commences aft of the boiler
space and iron bulkhead, and extends aft to
the end of the boat IS feet, and has 100 berths.
In the after part of this cabin are sliding doors
to divide the cabin SO that the after part may
be used in connection with the ladies' cabin on
the main deck, if required, by stairs from the
ladies' cabin The ladies' cabin is so feet long,
with sc berths running thwartship in alcoves,
The stateroom hall is 200 feet over all, and has
"a staterooms containing berths finished with
spring wire bottoms, same as the State OF
Maine, and walnut wash stands and towel
racks. The doors to the staterooms are two
feet three inches wide, by six feet two inches
high, double nodded, with top panel of orns-
mental ground glass, bottom panel raised and
ventilators OF approved pattern in the lower
portion of the doors. The distance from the
saloon floor to the under side of the dome is
about eleven feet, and the hurricane deck is
about 230 feet long and 50 feet at its widest
part. The officers rooms are on the hurricane
deck, aft OF the pilot house, and furnished
like the staterooms. No iron has been used
within twelve feet of the compass. The stairs
leading to the saloon and from the ladies'
cabin to the lower cabin are of walnut
throughout, inclosed with panel work. The
height from the main deck to the promenade
deck is about nine feet. The vessel is heated
by steam apparatus similar to that on the State
of Maine, and has circulation through all the
statesrooms. She is also equipped with a
Providence steam windlass.
The boilers and engines of the Cumberland
were built by the Portland Company, and were
OF the same frst-class quality as the hull The
two boilers are each % it, 8 in. long, each con-
tanning three furnaces with combustion cham
bers thirty inches long. The engine is Of
1900 horse power with cylinder sixty inches
in diameter, and thirteen feet eight inches in
length. The cylinder of the air pump is forty
inches in diameter and has stroke of fifty
inches The walking beam is twenty three
feet and six inches in length between the end
centres, and eleven feet and nine inches ex-
treme width Of the stoop. The donkey pump
has twelve inch steam cylinder, and the two
bilge pumps are six inches in diameter, with
fifty inches stroke. The two smoke stacks
are ffty-one inches in diameter and twenty
eight feet in hight. Her water tanks have an
aggregate capacity Of 1000 gallons, and her
anchors weigh 2500 pounds each. The engines
are exactly like those of the State Of Maine,
bat it is expected that the new steamer will be
able to make as good, if not better time, than
the State OF Maine, owing to the improvements
in the model.
W. I. Kilborn furnished the carpeting and
W. II. San born &c Co. manufactured the fur
nishings for the rich and elaboratoly appointed
cabins. Sanborn & Co., also furnished the
mattresses and T. P. Beals the wire mattresses.
The efficient ships company is officered fol
lows:
Captain-John Thompson.
First Mate-G. Mccarthy.
EDgineer-John NJ. Taylor.
Second Engineer-Jonn Sanborn.
First Steward w. E. Leonard.
Second Steward-Wm. H. Mitts.
Purser-Chas. Il. Laechler.
Every facility is afforded for ease in the man.
agement of the steamer. The detaching ar
rang ements on the small boats attracted the
atte ntion of men familiar with the sea. BY
an ingenious device when the boats are low.
cred into the water, the movement of a lever
placed at each end instantly sewers the counec-
tlon between the boat and the ship, avoiding
the old and dangerous way of unhanging by
hand.
SATURDAYS TRIAL.
By the courtesy of the officers q party OF
about 500 people enjoyed the steamers trial
trip Saturday afternoon. The weather, whose
inclemency during the preceding night and
forenoon had bid fair to prevent the trip
changed suddenly at noon and gave the guests
and opportunity of enjoying one OF the finest
phases of the ocean, perfectly calm sea lying
beneath clouds which partially obscared the
sun. There was little wind to render the trip
uncomfortable, and no sea to interfere with
anybody's enjoyment, while that glare of the
sun on the water which is sometimes so diss-
greeable was prevented by the clouds.
Among those on board we noticed the follow
ing Portland gentlemen: H. j. Libby, Mayor
Deering, j. B. Coyle, Jr., Hon. Charles Nc
Laughlin, VIM. e. Gould, Esq, Bishop Neely,
Rev. Messrs. Daniels, Winter and Hallock.
Canon Stills, James H. Hall, X. J. Little, How
ard Gould, F. A. Smith, Capt. B. f. Jones, ].
j. Flanders of the Portland Company, mem-
bers OF the City Government, newspaper men
and many others. From other cities were pre-
sent: Capt. G. @. Goss, l. S. Coombs ESQ.,,
president and treasurer Of the New England
Shipbuilding Company OF Bath, builders of
the steamer, Mr.. 4. b. Haggett, also of Bath
the master builder, II. w. Swanton Of Bath,
of the Eastern Steamship Company; S. w.
Richardson of Boston, agept of the Stonington
Line, (and by the way, the oldest steamboat
agent in the country;) e. FL. Rockwell, Provi-
dence. r. l., agent of the Merchant and Min
ers, s. S. Co.; J. w. Langley, Boston, agent of
the Fall River Line; Capt. Jos. Littlefeld and
VIM. Hill, Jr.. Boston, of the Boston 81 Ban
gor S. S. Co. E. S. Merchant, Boston, agent
Boston & Gloucester S. S. Co.; W. S. Glover,
Broekton, Mass; Geo. BianeY of Blaney
Brown * Co., Boston, VIM. b. Taylor, Wal
than, Mass; VIM. d. Mussenden, Bath; III
S. S. Co.. I. FL Brooks and lady, Boston; F.
Q. Currier, Fitchburg, Mass; A. I. Curtis,
late of the Quincy House, Boston; j. f. Perl
kins, Providence, of the Rhode Island Too
Co.; Mr.. Challoner, Boston, agent Missouri
Pacific r. R., VIM Garty, Boston, agent Chi
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; Samuel
o. Ingalls, of the Massachusetts, General Court
and others. There were many ladies on the
boat.
After inspecting the elegant vessel the guest
gathered on the hurricane deck where Chand
ler's Band was stationed and discoursed de-
lghtful music duriug the afternoon.
At Just half past two the Cumberland swung
out from the wharf and steamed slowly by the
water front of the city. The wheels had hard
ly commenced to Eevolve when the boats in the
harbor and at the wharves began their salutes
of welcome. The deep whistle Of the steamer
was constantly replying to the shrill greetings
of the tugs, the bells from the boats at the
wharves and the tin horns of the fishermen.
The flag of the Gutter was dipped in salute as
the steamer passed.
The route was down through the inner chan
mel, past the back shore of the islands, with its
splendid views Of land and quiet waters, around
the lower end of Chebeague where Harpswell
was seen lying to the east, and then out tow
ards the open sea. Here the fog hung low and