

Lines of the Coffee-Clipper Bark Albemarle, built at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1876. Taken off the builder's 

 half-model USNM 76095. 



construction of the very large California clipper ships, 

 some trades still existed in which small clipper sailing 

 vessels were profitable — one was the fruit trade to the 

 West Indies, another, the Rio de Janeiro-American 

 coffee trade. The latter trade employed the larger 

 vessels, mostly barks, brigs, and brigantines. While 

 few of these vessels were very extreme in design, some 

 were quite sharp and many were very fast sailers. 

 The Albemarle was long accepted as one of the fastest 

 vessels in the Rio coffee trade and her design was 

 much admired. 



The half-model shows a medium-, or half-clipper 

 bark having a moderate and graceful sheer, straight 

 keel with slight drag, a raking, curved and flaring stem 

 rabbet, nearly upright post, light and short counter 

 with elliptical transom, long and sharp entrance, and 

 a moderately long and fine run with no length of 

 deadflat amidships; the bow sections show heavy 

 flare. The midsection is formed with a slightly rising 

 straight floor, firm round bilge, and curved tumble- 

 home in the topside. 



Mounted with long head, trails, cutwater, keel, 

 rudder, and post. 



The model scales 138 feet 10 inches moulded length 

 at rail, 130 feet 6 inches between perpendiculars, 30 

 feet 9 inches moulded beam, and 15 feet 5 inches depth 

 rabbet to underside of deck at side. The vessel would 

 draw 16 feet 9 inches when loaded. The model is 

 marked with what are, apparently, her register dimen- 

 sions: "135 feet between perpendiculars, 30 feet ex- 

 treme beam, 1 4 feet 1 1 inches depth of hold, 560 tons." 

 Scale is % inch to the foot. 



Given by William Skinner and Sons, shipbuilders, 

 Baltimore, Maryland. 



MERCHANT BRIG, 1817 

 Builder's Half-Model, usnm 76061 



Dove 



The merchant brig Dove was built on this model in 

 1817 at Newbury, Massachusetts, for John N. Gush- 

 ing, Sr., of Newburyport. She was built for the West 

 Indian trade in the period immediately following the 

 Napoleonic Wars, when the West Indies were infested 

 with pirates and frcebooting privateers of the Spanish 

 colonies then in the throes of revolution. Because of 

 this condition it was necessary to construct West 

 Indian traders with some speed. The Dove, an at- 

 tempt to combine capacity with sailing ability, had 

 sharper ends and a greater rise of floor than most 

 New England traders of her time. However, this 

 brig was by no means a clipper model, though she 

 was the sharpest vessel ever owned by Gushing, whose 

 fleet of brigs, as well as ships and barks, were all 

 extremely full ended and liurdensome. 



The half-model represents a brig-rigged vessel hav- 

 ing strong sheer, a straight keel with slight drag, 

 curved and somewhat raking stem rabbet, slightly 

 raking post, round tuck, upper-and-lovver-transom 

 square stern, short convex entrance becoming almost 

 round at rail, and a short, but rather easy run. The 

 midsection has a moderately rising and short straight 

 floor, rather easy round bilge, and a slight tumble- 

 home in the topside. 



Mounted and fitted with a short, heavy head, cut- 

 water, keel, post, and rudder, and with a quarterdeck 

 rail. Painted as in the original vessel. 



The model scales 76 feet moulded length at rail, 18 



63 



