The ship's sheer is 3 feet 6 inches, graduated with just rise enough towards the ends to make her appear lively when viewed broadside-on; and the swell of her sides is easy and regular from the water-line to the planksheer. Her stern is light and rounded, and tastefully ornamented, and the run is long and clean. Broadside-on she looks as dashy as a clipper, and as beautiful as a yacht.
All her accommodations are on the upper deck, and consist of a house for the crew, and other purposes, abaft the foremast. She has two cabins and an anteroom, with an entrance forward and a staircase aft, which leads to the poop. The after-cabin is wainscotted with mahogany, rosewood, &c., ornamented with gilding, mirrors, and flowers, and contains six spacious staterooms, the whole well lighted and ventilated, and furnished in Messrs. Jas. H. Beal & Brother's best style. The forward cabin contains the pantry, and two staterooms, and is also neatly finished and furnished, and the ante-room has two staterooms for the officers.
She has an open topgallant forecastle, which extends aft to the windlass, with a capstan on it, and on the quarter-deck has one of Allyn's patent capstans, furnished by Mr. George P. Tewksbury. She has Reed's patent steering apparatus, Hubbard's rotary force-pump, and carries four boats, each 26 feet long. Inside she is painted light, and outside black.
We could easily fill a couple of columns in describing minutely the details of her materials and the style of her construction, but a few particulars will convey as well an idea of her strength. She has two depths of keel, each 14 by 15 inches, made of rock maple and gumwood, with 12 feet keyed scarphs, the whole fastened with 115 bolts, and is sided 15 and moulded 28 inches, and is 170½ feet long. The floor timbers are moulded 16½ and sided 12½ inches, and the toptimbers at the gunwales are 10 by 7 inches. She has three tiers of midship keelsons, each 15 inches square, sister keelsons of the same size, the whole fastened with iron and copper, the latter through every floor timber and the keel and riveted, and the iron in the usual style. Her floor ceiling is 4½ inches thick, bilge ceiling 14 inches square, diminishing upwards without projection to 8 inches thickness. She has a fore and aft stringer, 15 inches square waterways, double strakes over them, of 9 by 14 inches, and 1 strake inside of them of the same size; and ceiling above the standing strakes 6 inches thick. From the bilge upwards all her ceiling is scarphed, keyed, square fastened and bolted edgeways; and her stem, apron, stemson, sternpost, false post, knee, hooks, and pointers, are all of seasoned white oak, strongly fastened and well finished. Her deck frames, stanchions, &c., are very stout. Her garboards are 7 inches thick, the next strake 6, and the third 5, all tapered without projection to correspond with the bottom planking in surface. Her wales are 5½ by 7 inches, and she is planked flush to the covering-board, which, as well as the main rail, is 6 inches thick. She is square fastened with locust treenails, butt and bilge-bolted with copper, and finished in superior style. Her bulwarks stanchions are of oak, and are fastened with composition in the wake of the planksheer. She has splendid deck room for working ship, and looks very neat in every perspective.
Her lower masts and bowsprit are built of hard pine, and the former are bright and varnished. Beginning with the fore, her lower masts are 80, 84, and 75 feet long; her lower yards, 68, 76, and 56 feet square, and the other masts and yards in like proportion. She is finely sparred, well rigged, and looks splendidly aloft. She is considered by competent judges to be the most perfect ship of her size, belonging to Boston. She was built by Mr. Donald McKay, under the superintendence of Capt. Alden Gifford, to whose skill as a sailor may be attributed the completeness of her equipments. Capt. Gifford has superintended the construction and equipment of 54 ships, and he assures us that the Santa Claus compares favorably with the best of them. No expense or labor has been withheld to make her what she is -- a perfect freighting ship. She is owned by Wm. A. Harris, Esq., and is commanded by Capt. Bayley Foster, long and favorably known as one of the most energetic and successful captains belonging to Boston. We wish him and his splendid ship the best of good luck.
Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius
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