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Petersburg 14 Oct. 1780 O.S.
You ask me what the Docks are in this country, if by Docks, you mean
according to the true import of the words, places for the reception of Ships to be
repaired or built so that they may float in and out of them, such are
only at Cranstadt. As to places for building Ships, wherever there is
depth enough of water for navigation & hard shore solid enough to
support such weights, Ships may be built. But most probably you
want to know in what part of this Country Ships & those Ships of
war are actually building at present or have lately been built
In Cranstadt there is one just now built of 66 guns, but there are
no more building there. At Petersbourg there are always 3 or 4 Ships
building, and there they stand usually unfinished, & uncovered
except with Tarpaulins alias Sailcloth tarr'd till they almost rot. Here
they are built of oak. At Archangel there are always 2 or 3
Ships building but there is no oak there. They are built therefore
of the best sort of Fir. At Togourog which is near Asoff there
are 10 or 12 Frigates and sloops built a 1000d versts up the River Don
or rather on the River Chaper which empties into the Don. These
are almost in condition unfit for service and all marine
operations seem to be stopt in that part of the Black Sea and
transferr'd to the new town of Chyerson where the fame of
its importance drew me in my late excursion. I found however
every thing in its Infancy, or the greatest part rather in Embrio.
One ship only of 64 guns & that only in its Skeleton State was
all that as yet got any thing of the figure of a Ship, besides the
work of this was so badly done and had stood in that state so
long that it was a doubt whether it could be made to serve
or no. Two other Keels were preparing. Timber was coming in
brought some from Poland by way of the Duieper other past a
great distance by Land, Men, as many as they cod get were
just set to work and every body was full of the great Ships
about to be done there. Three Ships of the Line a year and Sheds
for the Covering of 32 frigates included were ordered to be built.
There were also 5 or 6 frigates lying below the Bar quite
dismantled and in a state scarcely reparable.
At Waronitz in the Czar Peter's time there were Docks something
like those at Cranstadt, but now totally abandon'd.
At Astrachan they have built and prepared 3 frigates 8 sloops
and one Bomb Vessel. These are waiting only for the Commanders
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Identifier: | JB/539/098/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 539.
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1780-10-14 |
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539 |
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098 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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