This is a beautiful vessel of 770 tons register, with long, sharp ends a buoyant floor, and is designed not only to sail fast, but to stow a large cargo. She is 165 feet long on the keel, 171 feet between perpendiculars on deck, has 34½ feet extreme breadth of beam, and 23 feet depth of hold, including 8 feet height of between decks. She has 13 inches dead rise at half floor, 2 feet sheer, and tapers in aft 4½ feet on each side from her extreme breadth of beam. Her stem is nearly upright, though her head is carried well out and rises up to the bowsprit. It is a neatly carved and gilded billet, and its lower outline is the continuation of the moulding of the planksheer; and the trailboards and navel hoods are blended in one, and are ornamented with carved work. She has a waist of six narrow strakes, defined between the mouldings of the upper wale and the planksheer, and her stern is nearly oval in outline, and ornamented with gilded carved work, in the centre of which are representations of peral shells, and her name and port of hail are also in gilded letters, upon a scroll from each side of the arch. The ground of the stern is black, and her hull above the yellow metal, with which she is sheathed, is of the same color. She has a topgallant forecastle, a large gouse abaft the foremast for her crew, galley, &c., and another house aft for her cabin, built into a half poop deck. The cabin is white, relieved with gilded lines and flowers, and has spacious stae rooms on each side, for the accommodation of passengers. The cabin and state rooms are neatly finished and well furnished. The bulwarks, houses, &c., are painted buff color, relieved with white, and the waterways are blue.
Her frame, all the hooks, all the stanchions, and all the knees in the hold are of white oak, the knees in the between-decks of hackmatack, and her ceiling, planking and deck frame are of hard pine. The keel is of rock maple, sided 15, and moulded 20 inches, on floor timbers on the keel are 11 by 16, and she has two depths of midshi keelsons, each 15 inches square, with a rider over them, and sister keelsons alongside the lower tier, the whole strongly bolted with copper and iron, the copper driven through and rivited. The floor ceiling is 4 inches thick, on the bilge are two strakes of 13 inches, then follow 2 of 9 inches, then 3 of 8 inches, graduated to 7, and then a lap stringer of 10 inches, upon which the lower ends of the hanging knees rest; and the clamps above are 7½ inches thick, all square fastened. She is square bolted throughout. Her between-decks waterways are 15 inches square, with thick work inside and over them, and the ceiling above is 5 inches thick. The upper deck waterways are 12 inches square, and the planksheer and main rail are each 6 inches thick. She has 7 inches garboards, wales of 5 by 7, and waist of 4 inches, all square fastened, and butt and bilge bolted in the usual style. Her lower deck beams are 15 inches square, and those under the upper deck are 9 by 15, and her deck planking is 3½ inches thick. Her ends are strongly secured with hooks and pointers, and her hold stancions are kneed in the wake of the hatchways. In a word, she is very strongly built and well finished. She is seasoned with salt, and has Emerson's patent ventilators and all the other improvements of the day.
Her lower masts are of single spars, and are 74, 78 and 69 feet long, the for and main topmasts 42, and the mizzen topmast 31, and the other masts in proportion. The yards upon the fore and main masts are alike, the lower yards 67, the topsail yards 56, and the crossjack yard 54, and the mizzen topsail yard 44 feet square, and the others in like proportions. She is handsomely sparred, and well rigged. Messrs. Blanchard & Caldwell made her spars, and Mr. Joseph J. McClennen rigged her.
She was built at Charlestwom, by Mr. Joseph Magoun, and was modelled by Mr. Elisha Stetson. Capt. Winthrop Sears, who now commands her, superintended her construction and equipment, and he has done his work well. Capt. Sears is well known as an excellent sailor, and every way qualified to make her do her best.
She is owned by Messrs. Alpheus Hardy, Joshua Sears, and others, and is now loading with despatch in Tomothy Davis & Co.'s line of California clippers. She is lying at the south side of Long wharf, and will sail for San Francisco in about a week. Call and see her.
Messrs.Davis & Co. have also engaged the magnificent new clipper ship King Fisher, Capt. Tully Crosby, to follow the Ocean Pearl. This spendid vessel is nearly 1200 tons register, and is designed expressly for speed. We will endeavor to give a sketch of her soon.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius.
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Copyright © 1997 Lars Bruzelius.