Thanks to the fact that nowadays more and more books are digitized we are able to read books that are some times for decades no longer available for the public for several reasons. That's quite a pity while these books contains useful information while the archives are destroyed, incomplete or nor accessible.
P. 148: “This town, founded by Potemkin, in 1791, is the principal dockyard of the Black Sea, and occupies a part of the tongue of land between the rivers Bug and Ingul.
p. 149: The principal public buildings are the Admiral’s house, the observatory, dockyards, model-room, and barracks for the seamen - the first, a yellow oblong building, was erected by Potemkin. The dockyard is extensive; but all is not gold that glitters. It was in wretched order when I visited it, and, with one exception, the slips are uncovered. Some of them are in cuttings in the cliff. Of the four line-of-battle ships on the stocks, the largest was the “Twelve Apostles,” a three-decker; the dimensions exceed those of the “Royal William” in our navy. I went on board one of the fir corvettes. The wood used in her construction appeared to be of a very inferior description, and her upper works were so open, from exposure to the sun, that on going below I found her lower deck a couple of inches deep in rain water; she was to be launched in a few days. Most of the ships built here are laid down from the lines of English men-of-war, the drawings of which are obtained from England. Several of the draughtsmen were educated in our dockyards. The corvettes and schooners are, generally speaking, fitted up with great care; large sums are thrown away on ornamental carving, in mahogany, rosewood, and maple, etc. These vessels are generally sent into the Mediterranean, and as they have picked crews, they give a far more favourable impression of the Black Sea fleet than it deserves. Admiral Lazareff commands the fleet at the present moment; he is spoken of as a good officer, and was brought up in our navy. The depth of water in the Ingul is shallow, and the line-of-battle ships when launched are floated down the river to the sea with camels. With the exception of what can be stowed under two sheds,
p. 150: the timber in this yard is exposed to the weather, and the oak, the greater part Polish, though of a good kind, is green. In the boat-houses, where the best seasoned timber is made use of for the gigs and cutters, I remarked that many planks had shrunk full a quarter of an inch that had only been laid down a fortnight. The fact is, they have no stores of seasoned wood, for it is used up very soon after it comes in. As there are no dry docks at Nicolaieff, the ships are coppered on the stocks; from their exposure during the whole period of their building, and the new materials used in their construction, they are generally like the “Warsaw,” which I saw at Sevastopol, scarcely fit for sea after eight years’ service. Half the fleet would not be able to stand the weather in the Black Sea in the winter. About 3.000 men are employed in this yard; they are nearly all slaves, that is, peasants of the crown. Their services must not be estimated too highly, as a great portion of them are not only badly instructed in their different trades, but are also very sluggish workmen. Some of them, as at Sevastopol, were persons who had been found roving about the country without passports, a few runaway serfs, and deserters from the army; many of them very fine-looking men. There were likewise a few convicts in heavy chains.The mills here work only two pair of saws; the supply of planks, therefore, is very deficient, and it frequently happens that the shipwrights are at a stand-still for materials. There is a lathe and boring apparatus and block machinery. They are all of English manufacture ; and this is the case with most of the machinery in Russia.”
Source
William Jesse/captain Jesse. Russia and the war. London, 1854.
P. 148: “This town, founded by Potemkin, in 1791, is the principal dockyard of the Black Sea, and occupies a part of the tongue of land between the rivers Bug and Ingul.
p. 149: The principal public buildings are the Admiral’s house, the observatory, dockyards, model-room, and barracks for the seamen - the first, a yellow oblong building, was erected by Potemkin. The dockyard is extensive; but all is not gold that glitters. It was in wretched order when I visited it, and, with one exception, the slips are uncovered. Some of them are in cuttings in the cliff. Of the four line-of-battle ships on the stocks, the largest was the “Twelve Apostles,” a three-decker; the dimensions exceed those of the “Royal William” in our navy. I went on board one of the fir corvettes. The wood used in her construction appeared to be of a very inferior description, and her upper works were so open, from exposure to the sun, that on going below I found her lower deck a couple of inches deep in rain water; she was to be launched in a few days. Most of the ships built here are laid down from the lines of English men-of-war, the drawings of which are obtained from England. Several of the draughtsmen were educated in our dockyards. The corvettes and schooners are, generally speaking, fitted up with great care; large sums are thrown away on ornamental carving, in mahogany, rosewood, and maple, etc. These vessels are generally sent into the Mediterranean, and as they have picked crews, they give a far more favourable impression of the Black Sea fleet than it deserves. Admiral Lazareff commands the fleet at the present moment; he is spoken of as a good officer, and was brought up in our navy. The depth of water in the Ingul is shallow, and the line-of-battle ships when launched are floated down the river to the sea with camels. With the exception of what can be stowed under two sheds,
p. 150: the timber in this yard is exposed to the weather, and the oak, the greater part Polish, though of a good kind, is green. In the boat-houses, where the best seasoned timber is made use of for the gigs and cutters, I remarked that many planks had shrunk full a quarter of an inch that had only been laid down a fortnight. The fact is, they have no stores of seasoned wood, for it is used up very soon after it comes in. As there are no dry docks at Nicolaieff, the ships are coppered on the stocks; from their exposure during the whole period of their building, and the new materials used in their construction, they are generally like the “Warsaw,” which I saw at Sevastopol, scarcely fit for sea after eight years’ service. Half the fleet would not be able to stand the weather in the Black Sea in the winter. About 3.000 men are employed in this yard; they are nearly all slaves, that is, peasants of the crown. Their services must not be estimated too highly, as a great portion of them are not only badly instructed in their different trades, but are also very sluggish workmen. Some of them, as at Sevastopol, were persons who had been found roving about the country without passports, a few runaway serfs, and deserters from the army; many of them very fine-looking men. There were likewise a few convicts in heavy chains.The mills here work only two pair of saws; the supply of planks, therefore, is very deficient, and it frequently happens that the shipwrights are at a stand-still for materials. There is a lathe and boring apparatus and block machinery. They are all of English manufacture ; and this is the case with most of the machinery in Russia.”
Source
William Jesse/captain Jesse. Russia and the war. London, 1854.
