The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-11-18
THE ROANOKE.
Last of the Large Wooden Vessels
TO Be Built in America
Some interesting Information Regarding
the Great Roats OF This Coua-
try-ChanGes In Ship
building.

the treat Boats OF This Coun-
try-ChnnGes Ia Ship
building.
Anyone stroIling along the bulkhead
of Erie basin, which is vast hospital
and haven for craft of all sorts, may
have noticed recently Il great ship with
slysail poles, seemingly fragile as
toothpiclss. towering above the loftiest
spars of the biggest vessels moorcd
around her. She is n four-maSter, and
her aerial intricacics of rigging and
halliards and ropes are = Chinese puzzle
To the laTdsman, but a vision Of delight
u the shellback. She is the Roanoke,
giautcss Of wooden sailing vessels, and
the last of her type that ever will bc
cons tructed in America. For that rca-
son she iS worth more than passing no.
tice. She represents the vanishing era
of wooden bottoms, Disseminated
against 10y the marine underwriters
since the advent of steel ships
Long ago, says the New Yorker, the
wooden sailing craft ceased to bc II car
rier of any Significance in the british
trade. All of the big British clippers
are Of stce', and nearly all those of re-
cent construction are four masters. The
British skipper calls his four-master Il
bark because She Is schOOncr-riggcd on
the fourth, which i known both as the
spunllcr and jiGgcr mast. The Yankee
skipper thinks that any sailing vessel
with three masts square rugged il II
ship. The four-masted British ships
may be numbered by the score; the
four-masted American ships may bc
counted on the fingers of one hand.
But the nautical optimists say this is To
b. changed, and that the change is at
hand. The keel of the first American
steel ship soon Will Toe 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 Viii be constructed on
approved American racing models, what
our citizens did with wooden clippers
before the war. They held the record
then from every port, near or remote,
and they made modest fortunes for
their builders and owners. The best Of
the steel British ships cannot approach
the wonderful performances of the great
fleet OF Yankee flyers of forty years ago.
The Northern Light is credited with
making the voyage from san Francisco
u this port in Scvcnty-two days. The
Flying Dutchman, built by William III.
Webb of this city in 1852, covered 1870
knots in sixteen consecutive days, an
average of nearly twelve knots AN hour.
The Drcadnaught made the =, ,S0O-knot
run between New York and Queens
town in less than ten days. The Sow
errign of the Seas made the passage
from the Sandwich islands u New York
in cighty-twu days, covering on one day
SO knots which is better than the best
days run of an eight-day steamship
from Queenstown. The Mary White
redgc ran from Baltimore u Liverpool
in thirteen days and seven hours. The
Red Jacket made over 325 statute miles
a day for one week These are some of
the records the Roanoke will try to
equal Veteran shippers do not believe
she can do il, but her commander is
hopeful
The Roanoke is not the biggest Amer
lean ship ever built. That distinction
belonged 10 the Great Republic, which
was even I;trgcr than the colossal steel
tivc-mastcr France, the Ian gcst sailing
vessel in the world. The Great Rcpub-
liz was built in East Boston 10y Donald
Mckay in 1898. Her master, Capt.
Joseph L. Hamilton, Is the same llaH:il-
ton who now commands and partly
lie was not 50 heavily spared ~ the
Roanoke. She carried 1865 square
yards Of canvas. while tine Roanoke
spreads nearly 10000. From boom end
10 boom end-that is, from the tip of
her bowsPrit u the tip of her spanker
bOom-the Roanoke measures $40 feet.
Her length ON the keel il 81 feet, and
her length over all is 33I feet. Her cX-
trcme beam il 1913 feet. her depth 20 10
feet and her draught - feet. The
golden ball on the top Of her main sky
sail pole is nearly 200 feet from the
deck. Her main and mizZcn lower
masts are o. feet high. and her fore
lower mast is 81 feet high. Her lower
spanlser mast is 9S feet high. Her fore
main and mizzen topmastS are 80 feet
high. and her spanlIcr topmast is -
feet high. Each of her three topgal-
LIANT maStS is - feet high, her three
royal masts 10 feet. her sl<ySail masts ID
feet and her sllysail poles feet. Zach
of her three lower yards is % feet long,
her lower topsail yards sS feet long,
her topgallant yards SO feet long, her
royal yards % feet long and her skysail
poles Il feet. Each of her three lower
yards is % feet long, her lower topsail
yards - feet long, her topgallant yards
Gj feet long, her royal yards % feet long,
and her skysail yards - feet long.
These are gigantic spars, and their size
can Toe appreciated only by the sailor
man " mo 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 bc ready for her first
| cargo Of 5,4OO tons in December. She
| will go into service on the triangular
| track from New York To San Francisco,
! To- Liverpool tor liavre), and back u
! New York. She will carry a crew OF
! about forty men of mixed nationalities.
| She will also have, what are rare in
| these days, six or eight ambitions
! American apprentices, mostly from the
| schoolship st. Mary's.