The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-06-27

the Maritime Provinces employed brig
antines of about $50 tons in the West
India and South American trade, with
occasional voyages to Spain. Now we
have schooners up to 5000 tons and
steamships of so. 900 tons.
1t will surprise many to learn "that in
the latter part Of the eighteenth century
and the early part of the nineteenth, as
we'll, the fastest vessels owned or built
in the United States or Great Britain
were from French models.'' Capt Clark
says:
During the revolutionary war, when a
treaty was entered into between France
and the United States in ITS, a number
of French frigates and luggers appeared
in American waters. The luggers, rating
from one hundred and fifty to two hun
dred tons, and some even larger, be-
longed to the type used by the privateer-
men OF Brittany, scourge upon every
sea where the merchant flag of an
enemy was to be found. They were the
fastest craft afloat in those days. When
the French frigates and luggers were
locked IN American ports for cleaning
or repairs, their lines were carefully
taken off by enterprising young ship
wrights and were diligently studied. 1t
was from these vessels that the first
American frlgates and privateers origi-
mated, and among the latter were the
famous Baltimore vessels which probably
during the War of 1912 first became
known as Baltimore Clippers.
1.-THE characteristics of the French
model were beautifully rounded bow,
by no means sharp along the water-line,
easy sectional lines developing into
full, powerful forebody and midship sec
ton, and great dead rise at half floor.
The greatest breadth was we'll forward of
amidships and a, the water-line, with
slight, gracefully rounded tumble home
to the plank sheer. The after body was
finely moulded, clean, sharp, and long,
with a powerful transom and quarters.
Passing over the early history of
American and British shipping - too
full of interest to be SUMMARIZED will
only give the crew of one of the ships of
the East India Company's fleet. The
Earl of Balacarras, of i417 tons, built
at Bombay in 1915, had a crew of 1873
men, made up as follows: Commander,
6 mates, 2 surgeons, 6 midshipmen.
purser, gunner, carpenter, master-at-
arms, armorer, butcher, baker, poul-
terer, caulker, cooper, 2 stewards, 2
cooks, 8 boatswains, gunner's, carpen-
ter's, caulker's and cooper's mates, 6
quartermasters, sailmaker, servants
for tie commander and officers, and 70
seamen before the mast. Compare this
with the crew of one of our schooners of
today of equal or greater tonnage.
Before introducing the clippers chap
ter is given to the packet ships of 1915
to 1850, really clippers as they were
built for speed. They were gradually
increased in size from about 300 to 14O0
tons. Sail was carried day and night
and the rivalry between the competing
lines led to much racing. One race from
New York to Liverpool was for $40, 900
a side. This was in 1887 and was the
first ocean match across the Atlantic of
which any record has been preserved.
The independence, 1874 tons, built in 1884,
made the run from New York to Liver
pool in IA days and the Yorkshire sailed
from Liverpool to New York in 16 days,
which is the fastest westward voyage
made by packet. Among the builders
of these packets were Webb and George
Steers of New York and Donald Mckay
of Boston, who later built many of the
most noted clipper ships. Steers was
the designer and builder Of the yacht
America.
Concerning models Capt. Clark says
"Some men, of course, know more thar
others, yet no one has ever lived who
could predict with accuracy the results
of elements in design, construction, ane
rig. History abounds in instances Of
ships built for speed that have turned
out dismal failures, and it has occasion
ally happened that ships built with nj
esnecial expectation of speed hay.