The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-13

BANGOR, Me-, Aug. 13.-The largest
schooner in the world, the first six-master
ever built, will be launched at the yard Of
Harvey n Bean, at Camden. Me, on Tues
day. August Il. This is the schooner
George W. Wells. owned by Capt John G.
Crowley Of Taunton. Mass, and parties in
New York, Fall River. and Southbridge,
Mass, and to be commanded by Capt
Arthur Crowley. now OF the fye-masted
schooner John B. Prescott. The keel of
this monster schooner was laid on April l.
She Is now practically completed as to hull
but such is her weight that the masts will
not be put in until after she has been
launched for fear that the blocks upon
which she rests. now crushed almost fiat,
would collapse altogether. Instead of spill
ing wine at her naming the pretty daugh-
ter of the man for whom the vessel has
been named will scatter white roses over
her bows and as she moves down the ways
a flock of white doves will be liberated
after the fashion favored by the Japanese.
Many giant schooners have been built in
American yards in recent years. but none
of those now afloaI approaches the George
W. Wells in size. She is 302 feet II inches
long on the keel 345 feet long on the top.
4S feet inches beam aud % feet deep.
She has tive full decks, with a poop
feet deep, extending from the taft
rail TO the forward hatch. Her frame
is white oak throughout and all her plank
ing ana ceiling hard pine. The garboards
are eight inches thick, other planking six
inches; her ceiling to the lower deck
beams is u and II inches thick. A nota-
bic feature of the construction of this
iS bgaT>E viii is
high aft, running up to a height of II feet
forward. In ordinary vessels a man can
easily climb over the keeIson, but in this
schooner it extends up to the lower deck
beams, which are bolued to it, and so it
acts as a great backbone to strengthen the
vessel. This keelson is built up of hard
pine tilnbers, II inches square. and is
fastened with fifty tens of l 3-S inch iron
So great is the sweep of her deck that
the vessels houses, although of generous
size. look very s-,a1. Her after house is
Sc feet square; amidships is the galley. and
forward the engine house and forecasue,
while she also has a wheeIhouse for use IN
heavy weather, something that is seldom
found on coasting vessels.
The six lower masts are splendid sticks
Of Oregon pine, each 119 feet long and 80
inches IN diameter in the partners; the
topmasts are each IS feet long, the fore
topmast being 20 inches in diameter IN the
cap The jibboom is 70 feet long, and 20
inches in diameter in the cap. The driver
boom is 70 feet long and IS inches in the
sings. The other booms are - feet long
and II inches in the sings. Her foretop-
mast. driver boom and jibbOom are OF Ore
gOn pine and all others spars are OF ma
tive spruce. All the standing rigging is
of wire. set up with turnbuckles. The
masts are named as follows, beginning for
ward: Foremost. mainmast, mizzenmast.
spankermast, jiggermast. and driyermast.
The vessel will carry 600 square yards
CT the heaviest duck in the following
pieces: Driver. jigger, spanker mizZen.
main and foresails: six gaff topsails Of the
same respective designations: driver, Jig
ger, spankeT, miZZen, and maintopmast
staysails; five iibs.
l. the construction OF this vessel there
have been used immense quantities OF ma
terials, including SEQ tons Of white oak
timber, goo, COO feet of hard pine about
100000 fest Of white pine deck plank, and
several hundred tons of iron and copper
belts Her materials would make a load
for seveTar good-sized schooners-
The George ". Wells is not only of inn
nense size but also a very handsome yes
sci, being much the best looking of all the
large schOoners. Her great length lakes
away any appearance of bulkiness, and as
she lies on the ways in Beans yard she
looks like an immense yacht, with her
sharp bows. clean run aft, ard graceful
lines all over. The 2,100-ton fve-maSter
on the stocks alongside looks short and
chunky compared with the six-mastar. A
mere statement of her dimensions conveys
to the landsman but q faint idea o. her
size. Some comparisons Will assist Few
full-rigged ships, either CT wood or metal,
are as large as this schooner, and The next
largest schooners now afloat the John 3.
Prescott and Nathaniel T. Palmer are
each about SEQ tons smaller than she.
The largest steamer running to Bangor
GET / How, +1,o
six-master; twelve vessels like her, ranged
in line, would occupy a mile of pier
frontage, for. from tip of her driver boom
TO the tip of her jibboom. this vessel is
about 425 feet long. She can carry as
much coal at one load as three of the Phil
adelphia and Reading Railroad steam col
liers and about twice as much as the first
f1ve-masted schooner ever built, the Gov
ernor Ames. A schooner that would have
been called large twenty years ago could
not carry enough coal to ballast this big
fellow of the Camden yard.
There is no reason why this big schoon-
er should not be a great money maker, as
she can carry mere than 600 tons of coal
on a draft of twenty-four feet, with only
fourteen men, all told, for crew. She can
garry 500 tons more than the fiye-master
John B. Prescott, the biggest schooner now
afloat, with only one more man for crew.
Her managing owner, Capt. John G. Crow
ley, thinks that she can easily beat the
barges at coal carrying even when freights
are low. A fuli-rigged ship of equal size
would carry at least thirty-one men as
crew.
Capt John G. Crowley, for whom the
vessel has been built, is the most promi-
nent master in the American coasting
trade He was born in Plymouth. Mass,
and now resides in Taunton, Mass. He is
forty-four years old, but looks much
younger, for the sea has not aged him. At
ten years of age he went as cook in the
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