The Largest Schooner Afloat.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXV, Issue XIX, 10 November 1900, Page 881

The Largest Schooner Afloat.

Recent developments in shipbuilding have mainly been connected with steamers; yet that the shipwrights’ skill in constructing sailing craft has by no means lapsed during these latter days is amply proven by the case of the fine six-masted schooner which we illustrate. The George W. Wells, as she. is called, has just been successfully launched from the Bean shipyard in Camden, U.S.A. She is the largest vessel of her kind in the world, and is •regarded among sai.ing craft with much the same interest as the Oceanic and the Deutschland are among steamers. She has 2,750 tons net register, with a carrying capacity of over 5.000 tons, while she is 302 ft. long in the keel, 345 ft. long on top, 23ft. deep, and has a beam measurement of 481 ft. She has a. couple of full decks, her frame throughout being made of white oak. while all her planking and ceiling is of hard pine. Her keelson is remarkable, being 13ft. high aft and 17ft. forward, anti built of hard pine timber. It is fastened with no fewer than 50 tons of Ijlin. iron bolts. The vessel’s fittings include a Hyde windlass, operated by a thirty horse power engine; two pumps, with a combined capacity of 1.200 gallons a minute; a stockless anchor, weighing 5.2001 b„ and a Camden a- chor. weighing 7,5001 b., besides kedge and s ream anchors, weighing respectively 9001 b. and 6001 b., and 200 fathoms of 2|in. bar chain. Her water tanks hold 7,000 gallone.

Her six lower masts are splendid sticks of Oregon pine, each 119 feet long, and 30in. in diameter in the partners; topmasts each 58ft. long, the foretopmast 20in. in diameter at the cap. The jibboom is 75ft. long. 20in. nt cap; driverboom 75ft. long. 18in. in the slings, other booms 42ft. long. 14in. in the slings.

All the standing rigging is of wire, set up with turnbuckles. •The masts are named as follows, beginning forward: Foremast, mainmast, mizzenmast, spankermast, jiggermast and drivermast. The vessel will carry 12,000 square yards of the heaviest duck, in the following pieces; Driver, jigger, spanker, m’zzen, main, and fore sails, six gafftopsails of the same respective designations, driver, jigger, spanker, mizzen and maintopmast staysails, and five jibs. In the after-house are the cabin and half-a-dozen state-rooms, besides a chart room. Some idea of the immensity of the vessel may be had from the fact that over a million feet of hard pine were used in its construction, ana about 100,000 ft. of white pine deck plank. Indeed, her material would make a load for several average-sized schooners. Not only is the vessel of remarkable size, but she is uncommonly handsome withal, for her great length takes away all appearance of bulkiness; so that she looks more like an immense yacht.

Twelve schooners like her. ranged in line, would occupy 11 mile of pier frontage, for from the tip of her driver-boom to the tip of her jibboom is about 425 ft. A schooner that would have been considered large a score of years ago could not carry enough coal to ballast the George W. Wells. All this, is very satisfactory as far as it goes; but the most satisfactory thing of all from the owner’s point of view, is the fact that his magnificent Craft should be a splendid moneymaker. Carrying at least five thousand tons of coal on a draft of only four ami twenty feet, and with only fourteen men. all told for crew—(master, two mates, steward, engineer, and nine seamen)—she should easily beat her competitors at carrying men when freights are low. A full-rigged ship of equal size would require to carry at least thirtv-one men all-told.