The County of Peebles was the pioneering four-masted, iron-hulled full-rigged ship, constructed in 1875 by Barclay Curle Shipbuilders in Glasgow, Scotland. As the first vessel of its kind, it measured approximately 81.2 meters (266 feet 5 inches) in length, with a beam of 11.8 meters (38 feet 9 inches) and a draught of 7.1 meters (23 feet 4 inches). Its cargo capacity was 1,614 net register tons (NRT). Designed as a state-of-the-art windjammer, the ship featured a 'Scottish style' rig, with royal sails above double top-sails and single topgallants, exemplifying advanced sail plan design of its era. The County of Peebles was primarily employed in the lucrative jute trade, operating between British ports such as Dundee and Cardiff, and Indian ports including Bombay and Calcutta (Hooghly River). Its success in long-haul routes demonstrated the viability of large, iron-hulled, four-masted sailing ships competing with steam-powered vessels during the late 19th century. This achievement prompted R & J Craig to order eleven similar ships, forming the Scottish East India Line, all named after Scottish counties, including County of Caithness, County of Inverness, and County of Cromarty, among others, with the last launched in 1887. In 1898, the vessel was sold to the Chilean Navy, where it was renamed Muñoz Gamero. Its role shifted from a cargo carrier to a coal hulk at Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan. By the mid-1960s, the ship was beached as a breakwater in Punta Arenas, where it remains today, with its masts cut down, serving as a maritime relic. The County of Peebles stands as a significant milestone in maritime engineering, representing the culmination of windship design and the end of an era in large sailing vessel construction.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.