CHAPTER LVII
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHIP BUILDING—NEW MODELS FOR SHIPS—STEAM SHIP NAVIGATION—MONITORS—IRON-PLATED FRIGATES—TIN CLADS—RAMS—TORPEDO BOATS—THEIR USE IN THE CONFEDERACY—LIFE RAFTS—YACHT BUILDING—OCEAN YACHT RACE—THE COST OF A YACHT.
From the oars, which were the only means of propulsion used in the galleys of antiquity, to the sails of a subsequent period, by which only favoring winds could be made use of, the advance was great, but not as great as the discovery of steam, by which in modern times the sea is traversed with but little regard for the condition of the wind. To suit the different means used for the propulsion of these vessels, modifications have been made in the manner of their construction, in their form, and with sailing ships in the arrangement of sails. When, with the successful termination of the war of the Revolution, the United States first took its place in the world as an independent nation, the commercial activity which was the natural result of the greater political freedom resulting from the issue of that contest, found its expression first in our commerce; and the self-reliance, which is the inevitable result of liberty; the spirit of inquiry fostered by a departure from old methods, and the abandonment of old traditions, were displayed in the construction, the rig and the general air of the vessels then built, as much as in the construction of the political organization of the new republic.
So much was this the case that American vessels became known the world over for their trim and neat appearance. The blunt, rounded prows and heavy sterns of the English or Dutch vessels were replaced by American models, sharp, nothing superfluous, and riding the waters as easy as a bird. The American clipper ships became renowned for their quick passages, and in transporting teas from China made fortunes for their happy owners, by bringing to the markets the first cargoes of the new crops.
The same thing occurred when steam-vessels first began to cross the ocean. The English in their first steamers followed the models of their largest sailing ships. They still preserved the heavy bowsprit, projecting twenty to thirty feet in advance of the prow, though it was not necessary, as in their sailing ships, for balancing the pressure of the other sails. Their steamers were therefore always heavy at the head, and when, in a rough sea, they were driven by the power of the engine, buried their bows in every large wave. Any one who has crossed the Atlantic in an English steamer of twenty years ago, must have noticed how heavily it labored in rough weather, and how the waves broke over her bow. To take in tons of salt water when the waves ran high, was usual; and in a passage across the Atlantic it was no rare thing to have the salt encrusted on the smoke-stack, from the waves which dashed over the bow and swept aft, reach a thickness of from one to two inches.
