suppose, a bolt or pin in the hub. Some writers, like Collins, refer to a "jointed" or "hinged" axle, but Marestier makes no mention of such an arrangement; indeed, his sketch makes a "broken" axle impractical. The wheels could have been removed from the axle and lifted aboard by use of tackles from the main yard ends, or from a fore spencer gaff if it were made long enough. However, as stated in the Russian description, the pivoted blades were removed and stowed aboard, leaving only the two fixed arms in a horizontal position outboard. This is a far more convenient treatment than unshipping the whole wheel, as might be supposed from logbook mention of "shipping" or "unshipping" the wheels.

There remain some other matters to be explored. The ship was fitted with 32 passenger berths in staterooms. The passenger accommodations for first class passengers in the early (1820–1830) packets were aft, on the lower deck. The berths would have been about 6 feet 2 inches long, and 21/2 feet wide. With berths placed athwartships and allowing for cabin bulkheads, there would have remained a space at least 10 to 12 feet wide down the centerline of the ship. This space would have provided space for a mess table and a lounge area. Each stateroom would then have been about 7 feet long fore and aft and could have contained four athwartship berths. The space available abaft the middle of the after cargo hatch would have allowed four staterooms on each side and room at the extreme stern for a small master's cabin, with toilets on each side. The cabin of the mates and stewards, containing two berths each, would then have been about abreast of the fore end of the after cargo hatch.

The galley would have been on the lower deck, just abaft the foremast and forward of the fore cargo hatch. Food would have been carried aft along the lower deck to the cabin, by way of passages on either side of the engine frame. Cabin stores would have been in the hold below the passenger accommodation, and here food, water, and other stores would have been kept. A small cargo space, say of about 1,500 to 2,500 cubic feet, depending on bunkers, would have been possible in the after hold. A fore cargo hold of about 1,000 to 1,500 cubic feet of contents could be expected; forward of this would have been sail locker, spare rigging gear, and a cable tier. On the lower deck, above these spaces, a forecastle might have had berths for 12 to 14 men. The cables and chain would be passed through the forecastle to the cable tier below by chutes leading from cable scuttles in the upper deck abaft the windlass on each side of the centerline of the ship.

The upper deck, abaft the mainmast, was reserved for use of the passengers and officers of a packet. The low, 28-inch bulwarks were insufficient to give proper protection there, so they were increased by employing a 16-inch rail made of a cap supported by iron stanchions above the main rail. This rail was closed in by a tarred netting extending from the main rail upward to the quarter-deck rail cap and running from the mainmast aft to the stern. This is plainly shown in Marestier's sketch of the Savannah as well as in some portraits of early packet ships.

Though the passenger accommodations described were far from palatial by modern standards, they were considered adequate in the 1820's and for almost 15 years afterwards. The staterooms had no individual toilets. Usually there were two small toilets, one on each side of the stern cabin, at the extreme stern on the lower deck, in the quarters. Usually the master's stateroom and toilet were to starboard, with a public space and toilet to port. Sometimes toilets for the crew were placed forward, on either bow abaft the catheads on the upper deck. These were small cabinets accommodating one person each, and with the door closed for privacy there was not room to stand. To enter the user backed in, crouching. Such cabinets are not shown by Marestier, so probably the crew used the headrails, as then was usual in merchant vessels.

The hull-form to be chosen had to enclose all spaces that have been described or listed. Since the Savannah is known to have sailed quite fast for her length, her lines had to equal those of the Ohio; however, her smaller size and other factors indicated a somewhat different hull-form, with harder turn of the bilge and a little less deadrise. Due to the position of the machinery, the effect of its weight and that of the necessary fuel had to be considered. The midsection, or cross section of greatest area, would have to have been only a little abaft the paddle wheel axle to allow proper trim with a minimum of ballast. It was found by this criterion that the midsection of the reconstructed hull was located in proportion to length in a comparable manner to that of the Ohio. The run could have been made about as long and easy, in proportion, as that of the Ohio; likewise, the entrance could have been equally well designed for sailing. Probably a little ballast—stone, gravel, sand or pig iron—was required under the temporary flooring of the cargo holds, most of it abaft the mainmast. Some ballast would normally have been placed under the cabin stores, in the run. The boilers, engine, and fuel weights were relatively important. To trim the ship, with minimum ballast, the location of the machinery weights would have to have been about as shown in the reconstruction drawings. It may be observed that the engine and fuel weights are relatively great for the recorded hull dimensions and resultant displacement limitation, indicating only a small quantity of ballast would have been employed under any circumstance.

Using the Ohio as a guide, the midsection was formed to comply with the dimensions of the boilers and with due regard to the small dimensions of the Savannah. The result was a section having very moderate rise of straight floor, carried farther out in proportion to beam than in the Ohio, but with rather easy turn of the bilge and moderate tumble-home in the upper topsides. This section has a form found in plans of some American freighting ships of 1815–1830, but with slightly slacker bilge.

The stern used in the reconstruction was the "square stern and round tuck" seen in the Ohio and referred to in the Savannah's register. Collins' "round stern," shown in Hudson's drawing, did not come into use in America until about 1824, and then in naval ships only, so far as existing plans of American vessels show.