54 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, 



The height between the upper and spar decks is 7 feet, and between 

 each of the others, 8 feet. Abaft the foremast is a house 24 feet long 

 by 16 feet wide, the forward part of which is designed for a workroom 

 in wet weather, or as a shelter for the watch on deck in stormy 

 weather. Abaft the fore hatchway is another house 25 feet long, 16 

 wide, and 6^ high, which contains the galley ; and abaft the galley is 

 the blacksmiths shop and an engine room, where there is a steam 

 engine of 12 horse power. This engine is designed to do all the 

 heavy work of the ship such as taking in and discharging cargo, 

 setting up rigging, working the fire engine, hoisting top sails, pumping 

 ship, &c., and connected with it is an apparatus for distilling fresh 

 water from salt water. Abaft the mainmast is another house, 40 feet 

 long by 12 wide, which contains a messroom for the officers, and has 

 a stair case in its forward part, which leads to the quarters of the 

 petty officers and boys, on the deck below. Farther aft there is still 

 another house, 17 feet long by 11^- wide, and the same height as the 

 others. It protects a stair case which leads to the vestibule of both 

 cabins below, and contains lockers, &c., and aft near the topsail, is 

 the wheel house. Like a ship of war she has a double wheel, an iron 

 tiller, and a gun tackle purchase as her steering apparatus. She has 

 four large boats on the spar deck, two of them of 20 tons each, and 

 30 feet long, 104- feet wide, and 5 feet deep, fitted with sails and all 

 the other appliances necessary to preserve life, in the event of disas- 

 ter to the ship. She also carries four quarter boats of 26 feet length, 

 and a captain's gig of 22 feet. Notwithstanding the space occupied 

 on the spar deck by the houses and boats, such is her vast size, that 

 the deck looks comparatively clear fore and aft, and is more roomy 

 for a working ship than that of a ship of the line. There are 4 work- 

 ing hatchways, the main one 11 by 14 feet in the clear, which is large 

 enough to take down an omnibus, if required. Her heavy spare 

 spars are stowed on the deck below, and in the spar deck each side is 

 an oblong square opening to admit of the spars being taken up or sent 

 down. The materials of which the Great Republic is constructed, 

 are of the very best quality. Her keel is of rock maple in two tiers, 

 which combined are, side 16 inches, and mould 32. Her frame is of 

 selected seasoned white oak, and she is as strong as wood, iron and 

 copper can make her. 



She has four masts, the after one named the spanker mast, which is 

 of a single spar ; the others are built of hard pine, the parts dowaled 

 together, bolted and hooped over all with iron. The bowsprit is also 

 built and hooped in the same style, and the topmasts and jibbooms are 

 of hard pine. She has Forbes's rig, and is square-rigged on the fore, 

 main, and mizzen masts, and fore and aft rigged on the spanker mast. 

 The main yard is 120 feet square, and the lower main 1 top aft yard, 

 92 feet. Excepting these, all other yards above are alike, on the fore 

 and main masts, and the lower foretopsail yard is of the same dimen- 

 sions as the crossjack yards, and all the yards above are alike on both 

 masts. She will spread 16,000 yards of canvass in a single suit of sails. 

 Her sails were made by E. F. Southward, and Richard Friend, Jr., 



