Ship Specifications

The Spirit of South Carolina is a two-masted pilot schooner modeled after the Frances Elizabeth, a vessel that was originally built by the Samuel J. Pregnall & Bros. Shipyard in Charleston in 1879. Plans for the Frances Elizabeth were found at the Smithsonian Institution within their extensive collection.

The Spirit of South Carolina was built in downtown Charleston’s Ansonborough Field. Upon completion the vessel was towed across the street into the port terminal compound using a custom-engineered cradle and was lowered into the water in approximately the same spot where Samuel Pregnall’s shipyard once stood.

The Spirit of South Carolina operates as a United Sates Coast Guard certified Sailing School Vessel and Passenger Vessel throughout the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Canadian Maritimes.

Specifications:

Length Overall: 140 feet

Length on Deck: 90.7 feet

Waterline Length: 88 feet

Draft: 10.3 feet

Gross Tons: 150 tons

Main Mast: 125 feet

Fore Mast: 104 feet

Beam: 23.7 feet

Sail Area: 5,198 square feet

Sails: Mainsail, Foresail, Staysail, Jib and Gaff Topsail

Hull: Long Leaf Yellow Pine and Live Oak