The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1892-10-27
Last of the Type.

Last of the Type.
| THE ROANOKE, WOODEN FOUR-MASTER
BUILT IN MAINE.
Any one strOlling along the bulkhead OF
Erie basin, which is vast hospital anC
, haven for crafts of all sorts, may notice
nowadays a great ship with >kysail poles,
seemingly fragile as toothpicks, towering
above the loftiest spars of the biggest YES
sells moored around her, says the New
\ ork sun. She is four master. and hel
aerial intricacies of rigging and halliards
and ropes are a Chinese puzzle to the
landsman, but a vision of delight to the
shellback. She is the Roanoke giantess
of wooden sailing vessels, and the last OF
her type that ever will be constructed in
America. For that reason she is worth
more than passing notice. She represents
the vanishing era of wooden bottoms, dis
eliminated against by the marine under
writer's since the advent of steel ships.
Long ago the wooden sailing craft ceas-
ed to be carrier OF any significance in
the British trade. All of the big British
clippers are of steel and nearly all of
those of recent construction are four
masters. The British skipper calls his
four master d bark because she is schoon-
er rugged on the fourth which is known
both as the spanker and jigger mast. The
Yankee skipper thinks that any sailing
vessel with three masts square rugged is
ship. The four masted British ships
may be numbered by the score; the
four masted American ships may be
counted on the fingers of one hand But
the nautical optimists say this is to be
changed, and that the change is at hama.
The keel OF the first American steel ship
soon will be laid at Bath, and, after she is
launched, Others will follow her down the
ways in rapid succession The builders
hope to do with the steel clippers, which
will be constructed on approved American
racing models, what our builders did with
" .ss,a:le!n clippers before the war They
held the record then from every port, near
or remote, and they made modest fortunes
TO, their builders and owners. The best
Of the steel British ships cannot approach
the wonderful performances OF the great
fleet of Yankee flyers of 10 years ago. The
Northern Light is credited with making
the voyage from San Francisco to this
port in ~ days. The flying Dutchman.
built by William H. Webb. of this city. in
1872, covered 1920 knots in Ii consecutive
days, an average of nearly II knots an
hour. The DreadnOught made the $500
knot run between New York and Queens
town in less than 10 days. The Sovereign
of the Seas made the passage from the
Sandwich Islands to New York in s. days,
covering on one day 80 knots, which is
better than the best days run of an eight
day steamship from Queenstown. The Mary
Wlthered@e ran from Baltimore to Liver
pool in - days and : hours. The Red
Jacket made over 80 statute miles day
for one week. These are some of the re
cords the Roanoke will try to equal. Vet
eran shippers do not believe she can do it,
but her commander is hopeful.
The Roanoke is not the biggest Ameri-
can ship ever built That distinction be-
longed to the Great Republic, which was
even larger than the colossal steel five
master France. the largest sailing vessel
in the world. The Great Republic was
built in East Boston by Donald Mckay in
1888, HeT master, Capt, Joseph +. Ham
ilton, is the same Hamilton who now com
mands and partly owns the Roanoke The
Great Republic was not SO heavily spar
red as the Roanoke. She carried l., G335
square yards of canvas. while the Roanoke
spreads nearly 20, 600. From boom end to
boom end--that is, from the tip OF her
bowsprit to the tip of her spanker boom
the Roanoke measures 80 feet. Her
length on the keel is 81 feet. and her
length over all is :531 feet Her extreme
beam is 1913 feet, her depth 20 10 feet, and
her draught u feet. The golden ball on
200 feet from the deck. Her main and
mizzen lower masts are 81 feet high, and
her fore lower mast is 81 feet high.
Her lpYnr Sn1nEa, iS
high. Her fore. main and mizzen
topmasts are Sc feet high, and her
spanker topmast is s. feet high. Each of
her three topgallant maSts is Is feet high,
her three royal nasts 10 feet, her sky
sail masts II feet. and her skysail poles Is
feet. Each of her three lower yards is 95
feet long, her lower topsail yards So feet
long, her topgallant yards 66 feet long.
her royal yards % feet long, and her sky
sail yards A feet long. These are gigantic
spars, and their size can be appreciated
only by the sailorman who furls sail on
them.
On her maiden voyage from Bath to
this port recently, with /, 400 tons OF ice
in her hold as ballast. the Roanoke had
| only light winds, and could not test her
sailing qualities. She will fit out at Erie
basin, and he ready for her first cargo of
>. 400 tons in December. She will 60 into
service on the triangular track from New
York to San Francisco, to Liverpool Tor
lIavre) and back to New York. She will
carry Il crew of about 40 men of mixed
nationalities. She will also have. what
are rare i'll these days, six OF eight ambiti-
Gus American apprentices. mostly from
the schoolship st. Marys. Her chief Off
GERS, who are American navigators of
much experience, are First Mate Frank f.
Foss, of Lynn, and Second Mate Ingalls,.
of Portland.
"Reminiscences of the Pacific Coast