92 BUULETIN 127, UNITED STATES XATIOKAL MUSEUM. 



experienced designers and builders preferred skeleton models until 

 about the middle of the nineteenth century. 



The two-masted topsail schooner, Ruth Thomas, was built from 

 this model at Frankfort, Me., in 1845 for the coastwise and West 

 Indian trades. The Thomas was a wooden, carvel-built, keel schooner, 

 with full round bow; curved raking stem; long low floor; rather 

 long fine run; heavy square stern; good sheer. 



Dimensions of vessel. — Length over all, 88 feet; between perpen- 

 diculars, 83 feet 7 inches; beam. 24 feet 2 inches; depth, 7 feet 6 

 inches. Scale of model, one-half inch equals 1 foot. 



Schooners of this type usually had short and high quarter decks 

 and were called " low decked vessels," because their main deck was 

 so much lower than the quarter. The topsail schooner rig was much 

 in favor on the lumber coaster of Maine for a long period. Some of 

 these vessels had only one square sail, the topsail, but generallj' they 

 carried a topsail and topgallant sail; and a large square sail, reach- 

 ing from the foreyard nearly to the rail, was not uncommon. After 

 1850 the rig was less used, and finally it was entirely discarded by 

 builders. 

 Gift of F. L. Tyler. Cat. Xo. 76,143 U.S.N.M. 



Block model of topsail schooners. 



The topsail schooners Arroiosic and Eagle were built from this 

 model (the former in 1847) at Arrowsic Island in the Kennebec 

 Eiver, Me. 



The model has a round, full, flaring bow ; round, easy bilge ; mod- 

 erate rise to floor; rather fine after lines: lieav^', square stern; 

 medium rake to stem and sternpost; strong sheer; painted like ves- 

 sels of the Arrowsic type at the date she was built. Scale of model, 

 one-half inch equals 1 foot. 



Vessels of this class were emploj-ecl chiefly in carrjdng lumber 

 from Maine to other sections of the Atlantic coast of the United 

 States. They were made wide and comparatively shallow, with high 

 quarter-deck and deep bulwarks. This form, known as the " low- 

 decked " type, was specially well adapted to the lumber trade, in 

 wliich a large part of the cargo was stowed on deck. The topsail 

 schooners usually carried a square topsail, topgallant sail, and square 

 sail, with fore-and-aft rig on mainmast. Some of the vessels, how- 

 ever, had only a topsail and no other square sails. 



The old style of " toggling •* builder's models to hold sections 

 together has been preserved in this. This method was adopted when 

 block models were first used. It was superseded by screwing the 

 " lifts " together, but more recently many designers glue the sec- 



