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Plan of a Privateer Built by Adam and Noah Brown, New York, During the War of i8i2. The Prince 

 de Neufchatd, after a successful career as a privateer, was captured by the British and plans were made of her. 

 She was noted for her speed, and was probably similar to the General Armstrong. Redrawn from the original 

 British Admii-alty draught. 



With their hard-earned reputation for fast sailing so 

 well established, they tried to produce a model that 

 would sail well and carry more with less draft, than 

 the old model. Within a few years of the war an 

 improved trading model had been developed. Com- 

 pared with the earlier model, the great rake of the 

 ends, particularly at the stem, was somewhat reduced, 

 as was the rise of the floor amidships; the difference 

 in draft fore-and-aft was less marked and the hull 

 was less deep and rather wider than before. The 

 schooner rig of the resUess periods before 1815 was 

 no longer needed in ocean trade; the brig and brigan- 

 tine were now considered more suitable for general 

 trade. A few sharp-model ships were built but, after 

 the war, there was little local demand for these large 

 craft. Most of them were built under contract for 

 Mexico, and the numerous nations being formed of 

 the Spanish colonies in South and Central America, 

 and were intended as men-of-war or privateers. 



The use of the heavy spars of the brigantine and brig 

 rigs on the foremast made a basic change necessary 

 in the old schooner model; this consisted not only of 

 reducing the drag and making the draft much deeper 



at the bow than before, but also of making the entrance 

 somewhat less fine, since the extreme draft was made 

 less than before, to carry the weight forward. As a 

 result the midsection was rather large in area; it 

 had only a slight rise of floor, a low and rather easy 

 bilge, and nearly upright topsides. The entrance was 

 short and fairly sharp; the run was usually quite long 

 and very fine; and the bow sections had marked flare. 

 It is probable that this form had some influence in the 

 design of the large packet ships that were built after 

 1830, yet it was not greatly different from that of 

 some of the Bay-built ships of 1812. 



An example of one of the trading brigantines built 

 in Maryland is one designed and constructed at 

 Baltimore by Flannigan, a builder who had modeled 

 some notable schooners during the War of 1812 and 

 who had been a partner in the firm of Flannigan and 

 Parsons, builders of the U. S. frigate Java at Baltimore 

 during that war. This brigantine, built sometime 

 between 1818 and 1828, was a small vessel for her 

 time, of 88 feet 10 inches length on deck, 22 feet 1^ 

 inches moulded beam, and drawing about 9 feet 10 

 inches, loaded. Vessels of this type were employed 



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