Charles W. Morgan by the Numbers
The Charles W. Morgan slid out of Jethro and Zachariah Hillman's shipyard in New Bedford, MA, on July 21, 1841.
She took 7 months to construct with 31 men working on her.
She cost $26,877 to build and another $25,977 to outfit for her first voyage.
She was 113 feet long on deck and was classified as being "351 tons burthen".
Her beam is 27-feet, 6-inches with a 17-foot, 6-inch depth.
On March 8, 1848 Charles W. Morgan sold his ½ ownership of the ship to Edward Mott Robinson for $17,000.
Her main truck was 110 feet above the deck.
The sail capacity was over 13,000 square feet.
She carried 4 whale boats (later a fifth was added).
The Morgan typically carried a crew of 30 to 36 men.
Her cruising speeds could reach over 9 knots.
Charles Morgan originally owned 8/16 shares of the vessel.
The Morgan was first sold for $17,000 to Edward Mott Robinson on March 8, 1848.
She had 5 owners during her whaling career.
Between September 6, 1841 and May 28,1921 she made 37 whaling voyages.
During her first voyage, which lasted 3 years 3 months and 27 days, she killed and tried out 59 whales.
During her first 30 years, she returned with only one cargo worth under $50,000.
Her first voyage cut into 51 whales.
On December 13, 1841, her first whale produced 17 barrels of oil.
Over the course of her career, she brought in 54,483 barrels of whale oil and 152,934 pounds of whale bone.
The most profitable voyage brought in a cargo of $165,407.35.
The least profitable voyage brought in a mere $8,977.50.
The longest voyage was 1,801 days long -- nearly 5 years.
More than 1,500 sailors worked aboard the Morgan during her career -- representing more than 50 countries.
The Morgan survived 1 attack by Pacific Islanders .
She rescued 1 crewman from a burning ship and 5 escaped Russian convicts.
Her last voyage began September 9, 1920, and ended May 28, 1921.
Morgan was used in 3 movies (Miss Petticoats, 1916; Down to the Sea in Ships and Java Head in 1922).
John E.D. Smith logged the most time and miles aboard the Morgan as he shipped for 23 years between 1868 and 1891.
She hosted the wives of 5 captains.
The Morgan had 20 different captains. James A.M. Earle served the longest of them as he sailed on her for 10 years over 9 voyages, most of them during the 20 years she sailed out of San Francisco.
Her hold has the capacity for 3,000 barrels (each barrel holding 31.5 gallons of oil); therefore, she could potentially bring home over 90,000 gallons of oil.