The Berean carried skysails for many years, and the following are her spar measurements:—
| Spars. | Foremast. | Mainmast. | Mizen mast. |
|---|---|---|---|
| ft. | ft. | ft. | |
| Mast (deck to truck) | 112 | 116 | 93 |
| Lower mast (deck to cap) | 50 | 54 | 50 |
| Doublings | 12 | 12 | 9 |
| Topmast | 38 | 38 | 29 |
| Doublings | 6.6 | 6.6 | — |
| Topgallant, royal and skysail masts | 42.6 | 42.6 | 23 |
| Lower yard | 62 | 62 | — |
| Lower topsail yard | 55 | 55 | — |
| Upper topsail yard | 50 | 50 | — |
| Topgallant yard | 40 | 40 | — |
| Royal yard | 30 | 30 | — |
| Skysail yard | 23 | 23 | — |
| Spanker boom | — | — | 44.6 |
| Spanker gaff | — | — | 44 |
| Bowsprit and jibboom | 48 |
Berean’s best point of sailing was with a whole sail breeze and smooth water, the wind quarterly or 2 points abaft the beam. Her best run in the 24 hours was 315 miles. She was, of course, too small and hardly powerful enough to equal the larger iron clippers when running down the easting, but in moderate weather there were not many ships which could show her their sterns. The following sailing records will give some idea of her powers:—
| Equator to the Channel | 17 days. |
| First 4 passages out averaged | 77 „ |
| First 4 passages home averaged | 84 „ |
In sailing round the world from 30° S., 20° W., to 30° S., 20° W., her yearly average was from 80 to 85 days, her quickest circle of the globe being 76 days.
Her best outward passage to Launceston was:—
71 days pilot to pilot.
68 days land to land.
In 1881-2 she ran from Launceston to the Lizard in 79 days. During her first 14 voyages, all her passages were under 90 days. She generally left the West India Docks in May and was back in the Thames about the following March.