The _Sarah Sands_ afforded an excellent example of the strength of iron ships if well and substantially built. She grounded on the Woodside Bank in the Mersey when carrying 1000 tons dead weight, and remained high and dry until the tide flowed again, during which time she did not sustain the slightest damage. She experienced several mishaps at one time and another, which demonstrated not only the superior manner in which she was put together, but also the superiority of iron ships over wooden ones, for it is difficult to suppose that a wooden vessel would have withstood all these casualties without sustaining serious damage. The _Sarah Sands_ was built in 1846 at Liverpool; she was 182 feet between perpendiculars, 33 feet beam, 32 feet deep, and of 1400 gross tonnage. Her engines were of 300 indicated horse-power and were built by Messrs. Bury, Curtice, and Kennedy of Liverpool. She had two oscillating cylinders of 50 inches diameter and a stroke of 3 feet, working upwards to the crank shaft, and a still greater novelty was the application of a direct coupling between the crank shaft and the screw shaft. Her boilers were of the wet-bottomed type, and had six furnaces besides return tubes, the steam pressure being 9 lb. She was four-masted and heavily canvassed, carrying courses, topsails, and topgallant sails on the main and mizzen masts, while she was fore and aft rigged, including topsails, on the fore and jigger masts; her head sails included a large fore staysail and two immense jibs.