AMERICAN BUILDER'S HALF HULL CLIPPER SHIP "SWEEPSTAKES"
BUILT 1863
HALF HULL
MODEL CLIPPER SHIP SWEEPSTAKES
PRICE $
695.00 PLUS $20.00 SHIPPING AND HANDLING TO 48 contiguous STATES.
Presented is a builder's model of the famous
Clipper ship SWEEPSTAKES that was launched in New York in 1853. The hull is comprised of six alternating lifts of mahogany
and white oak below the waterline and a single lift of mahogany above. This shows in great detail the shape of this magnificent
vessel. The half hull is mounted on an American oak backboard. The hull is carefully trimmed with shear strakes, rubbing
strakes, and the bowsprit and trailing boards adding an additional touch of realism. The two strakes run from
bow to stern. The model was made by a New England craftsman, Rob Napier, in North Chatham,
MA who practiced his trade in the last half of the 20th Century.
This perspective of the hull
shows her sharp lines at the bow and stern which is mark of an Extreme Clipper and was the reason for her record setting
speed.
Shipbuilder's models were often
used to advertise the business of the shipbuilder and or owner at exhibitions and trade fairs.
DIMENSIONS:
The ship model is 25" L x
2" W x 3 3/4" H The backboard is 31" L x 8 1/4" W x 1" D Weight 6 pounds.
CONDITION:
The half hull is in near original condition and the varnish is in excellent condition. There are some very small
chips in the fine detailing of the small trim in a few places, but nothing of consequence which would distract from the overall
excellence of the workmanship.
OUR UNCONDITIONAL GUARANTEE: If not completely satisfied
with your purchase it may be returned, if without damage, within three days of receipt in its original condition and packaging.
Returns must be insured for their full value. All that is required is a prior email authorization by us for the return. Unfortunately,
no refund can be made for the cost of shipping, packaging and handling.
Make your bid for this unique
half hull model now! What a great addition to your office, den or family room.
Sharp stern
section
Bow Section
Rounded transom
Sharp bow and trailboard detail
BRIEF HISTORY: 1853 was
a peak year for the construction of United States clipper ships, which were designed for speed in response to the demands
for rapid passage to California after the discovery of gold in 1848.
The SWEEPSTAKES was one of forty-eight built that
year and the last to be built by the renowned Westervelt shipyard. The economic depression of 1857 reduced the demand for
ships and hastened the demise of New York's wooden ship-building industry.
The Sweepstakes, depicted here in New York Harbor by world renown artist Fitz Hugh Lane,
was owned by Chambers and Heiser, and for her first four voyages she sailed under the command of Captain George E. Lane, a
distant cousin of the artist.2
Though black-hulled like other clippers, she bore a stripe of gold found on only a few others
and was distinguished for "her graceful model and trim rigging & elegant cabins and the comfortable and airy quarters
provided for the crew, replacing the old forecastle, whose middle-passage horrors have tasked the pens of our nautical writers."3
Sweepstakes gained celebrity for her record-breaking seventy-four-day run from New York to Bombay in 1857.
She was built in 1853 by Daniel and Aaron Westervelt, New York. Her dimensions: 216'4"×41'6"×6'22"
and tonnage 1735 ton old measurement.
In 1862 she arrived in Batavia in ballast from Adelaide after
having been aground on a reef for ten hours in the Sunda Straits. Was condemned after having been inspected in dry-dock. She
was sold in Batavia for 15,000 florins to be broken up.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS WELCOME, but contact
us first. There are additional costs. We have customers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hong
Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Nova Scotia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland,
Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, USVI and the Eastern Caribbean.
Copyright 2006, Land
And Sea Collection, All rights reserved
