SS Orontes (1851)

Sister ship to SS Nile (1850)

1851 'TRIAL TRIP OF THE NEW IRON STEAMSHIP ORONTES.
On Friday last, a party of about fifty gentlemen interested in the progress of commerce, embarked on board the screw-steamer Orontes, for the purpose of testing her sailing and steaming qualities. As the noble craft (the largest ever built for the trade) passed from the dock to the river, her appearance was a theme of admiration amongst gazing crowds witnessing her departure. There is a rakish nobility in her appearance almost indescribable. She sits on the water with the graceful elegance of a clipper yacht ; indeed she presented a sight that the highest imanation[?] alone can picture. The Orontes, by extreme measurement, is 210 feet, and has a beam of 28 feet. Her bows are drawn out as fine as a wedge, and, to admit the water unbroken to the screw, her run is carried well forward, making her as clean as a knife aft. She has a good rise of floor with ample bearings, and her side, free from the eye-sore of a paddle-box, is handsomely rounded. Surmounting the stem is a splendidly carved figure of an eastern sylph, in the rich attire of the Turkish clime ; and on the trail board, in relieved gold, is emblazoned the word " Orontes." Her quarters, too, are bedecked with elaborate scroll-work and foliage. Her beauty is not alone external : her cabins, which are beneath the quarter-deck, are 68 feet long, and are not only magnificently but substantially fitted. The panelling forming the state-rooms, which are arranged for two or more berths, are of oak, boldly relieved with mouldings, and interspersed with carvings of fruit, flowers, &c. The ceiling is white and gold, forming a strong contrast with the rich upholstery of crimson velvet. Each state-room is separately lighted and ventilated, and the whole cabin is lighted by sternports and three large octagon cupolas, which also form ventilators. Here, on the stained-glass, the most interesting subjects of Egypt and the Holy Land are portrayed with artistic taste ; the warm tone of colouring, heightened by the transparency, renders the paintings brilliantly effective. The Orontes is 760 tons register, and has, exclusive of engine and boiler space, a capacity of 538 tons. In point of strength, this ship need not be excelled : her plating is of more than the usual thickness, and she is double-rivetted throughout. The bends, to give additional strength, are plated edge to edge, with a strong liner inside, secured with four tier of rivets.. The frame of the Orontes is of reversed angle iron. She is also strengthened by numerous watertight compartments. The Orontes is propelled by a screw of 13 feet 3 inches in diameter, which is driven by a pair of 75-horse power direct-acting engines, with inverted cylinders placed immediately over the screw shaft. The peculiarity, and we may say one of the many beauties, in these engines is, that instead of one piston rod, they have two, which allows the lower portion of the cylinder to be hollowed in a conical form, so that the head of connecting rod and the connection itself works into the cylinder, thus gaining at least 2 feet 6 inches, which may either be given to the connecting rod, the stroke, or the dead weight may be brought that distance lower down in the vessel. To reduce the amount of friction, the working parts are all case-hardened, and finished to the nicety of watch-work. Should the engines not be required, the screw is so arranged that it can be disconnected in a moment, and thus enable the ship to steer under canvas alone. The cylinders are 48 inches in diameter, and the length of stroke is 2 feet 10 inches. The boilers are on the most approved construction, and contain 335 brass tubes, 7 feet long end 31 inches in diameter. The engines and boilers are made by Mr. B. Hick, of Bolton, who, though he has already turned out some of the best marine work extant, has in this instance excelled himself. At about ten minutes past three the Orontes left the Rock Light, and at eight the same evening anchored in the Beaumaris Bay, having worked easily, to avoid the bearings heating. After a splendid dinner several toasts were proposed ; amongst them " the Owners," " the Builders," and "the Captain," all of which were appropriately responded to. The following morning the party visited Beaumaris, Bangor, and the tubular bridge. At a quarter-past eleven the Orontes was again got under way, and was off Point Lynas Light in one hour and five minutes ; thus making, against a flood tide, a speed of over eleven miles per hour. After leaving Holyhead the screw was disconnected, and she made, with a moderate breeze, under canvas, about eight knots per hour, reaching Kingstown Harbour at a few minutes to eight o'clock on Saturday. At a quarter-past six on Sunday evening she left Kingstown, and arrived off the Rock yesterday morning, at half-past five, making the passage (123 miles) in 11 3/4 hours—a speed with the screw that we believe has not hitherto been attained. The company, after an absence of three days, did not land without expressing their high opinion of the ship and their thanks to the captain and her owners. A finer vessel never floated. The Orontes was built at Dumbarton, by Messrs. A. Denny and Brother, for the Mediterranean trade. She is consigned to, and, we believe, owned by, Messrs. Jas. Moss and Co., of this town, and is the second vessel of a fleet they are building. She is placed under the command of Capt. Bulkeley, late of the Nile, a gentleman whose courteous and urbane manner is only exceeded by his ability as a seaman. We have no fear of this enterprise proving successful.’

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