Historic Shipwreck Profile: Additional Background on Vessel

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA), 15 September 1875, p.2, col.4
Courtesy of Newspapers.com.

Transcription:

AFLOAT.

LAUNCH OF THE STEAMSHIP ''ST. PAUL" FOR THE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY OF SAN FRANCISCO — DESCRIPTION OF THE VESSEL.

The new iron screw steamship St. Paul, built for the Alaska Commercial Company, was successfully launched from the shipyard of Cramp & Sons, at noon yesterday. As, the vessel's bow touched the water Miss Mary Rogers, of this city, christened her the "St. Paul."  Among the prominent gentlemen who were present and witnessed the launch were the following: — Mr. Henry Elliott, of the firm Elliott, Sons & Co.; J.C. Owen, son of the English Centennial Commissioner; Mr. Yskizawa and Mr. Ishi, Centennial Commissioners of Japan; Captain George Sumner, Martin Bulger, marine engineer; Mr. J.J. Hutchings, of Washington, D.C.; J.R. Bates, of New York, and many others.

We herewith append a description of the steamship: —

The principal dimensions are as follows: — Length over all, 200 feet; beam, moulded, 31 feet; depth of hold, 16 feet; registered tonnage, 1,000. There is a flush spar-deck, with an iron waist of 4 feet in height, in addition, there is a first poop deck extending over the cabin from the mainmast aft.

The cabin is on the aft part of the main deck, and is a capacious apartment fitted up with a view to comfort as well as elegance. She is remarkably well lighted and ventilated and is supplied with all the modern appliances for the convenience of passengers. The cabin will be finished in hard wood and oiled. The after part of the main deck-house, contains the captain’s room, and the rooms for the mates and engineers, and also a companion way to the cabin. The forward part of the main deck-house contains the kitchen and quarters for the crew and firemen. The wheel-house is on the after part or the poop deck. The steering apparatus is on the screw principle, similar to that used in the American steamers. There are two return tubular boilers fired from fore and aft, and a donkey-boiler for operating the windlass and capstan, and for fire and heating purposes. All the boilers have been constructed of heavy plate designed to stand a hydrostatic pressure of 105 pounds to the square inch. There it an extra number of pumps of the most approved patterns.

The machinery consists of a vertical inverted cylinder direct-acting surface-condensing propeller engine, of the compound type. The high pressure cylinder is 24 inches in diameter and the low pressure 42 inches, each having a stroke of piston of 36 inches. The working pressure of steam will be 70 pounds to the square inch. The surface condenser has brass tubes pinned inside and out. The propeller wheel is 11 feet in diameter, with a pitch of 16 feet. The blades are bolted with a hub. An independent cylinder has been supplied for reversing the engine. The St. Paul will be full bark rigged, with royals and double topsail yard, and will spread a large amount of canvas No amount of labor or material has been spared in the construction of this vessel. She is not only beautiful, but substantially built in every particular, and in her peculiar service on the Pacific Coast she will undoubtedly reflect credit on Philadelphia ship and engine builders. She has been built in accordance will the rules of the American Shipmasters' Association; also, the Bureau Veritas and British Lloyds, and under the inspection of the United States Steamboat Inspectors.  The contract has been executed under the superintendence of Mr. Martin Bulger, Supervising Engineer of the Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco, California.