Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a boat or vessel that is propelled by steam power driving a propeller or paddlewheel. The term steamboat is usually used to refer to smaller steam-powered boats working on lakes and rivers, particularly riverboats in the USA; steamship generally refers to steam powered ships capable of carrying a (ship's) boat. Nuclear powered ships and submarines use steam to drive turbines, but are not referred to as steamships or steamboats.

Early development

As happens often with inventions, development of the steam engine powered vessel involved many people, sometimes working at the same time. One of the first to propose the idea (around 1690) was the physicist Denis Papin who was developing steam engines. In 1707 he constructed a paddle-powered boat, but whether it was full-size and steam-powered or not is unclear. River boatmen took exception to the threat to their trade, and smashed it up.

Related Topics:
Steam engine - 1690 - Denis Papin - 1707

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In 1736 Jonathan Hulls took out a patent in England for a Newcomen engine-powered steamboat, but it was the improvement in steam engines by James Watt that made the concept feasible. William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, having learned of Watt's engine on a visit to England, made his own engine and in 1763 attempted to put it in a boat. The boat sank, and while he made an improved model he does not seem to have had much success, though he may have inspired others.

Related Topics:
1736 - England - Newcomen - James Watt - William Henry - Pennsylvania - 1763

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In France, by 1774 the Marquis Claude de Jouffroy and colleagues had made a working steamboat that was too slow for river use. In 1783 a new paddle steamer, the Pyroscaphe, successfully steamed up the river Saône for fifteen minutes before the engine failed, but bureaucracy thwarted further progress.

Related Topics:
France - 1774 - Claude de Jouffroy - 1783 - Paddle steamer - ''Pyroscaphe'' - River Saône

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From 1784 James Rumsey built a pump-driven boat (water-jet) that successfully steamed upstream on the Potomac river in 1786, and in the following year he obtained a patent from the State of Virginia. In Pennsylvania John Fitch, an acquaintance of William Henry, had made a model paddle steamer in 1785, and subsequently developed propulsion by floats on a chain, obtained a patent in 1786, then built a steamboat which underwent a successful trial in 1787. The following year a second boat made 50 km (30 mile) excursions, and in 1790 a third boat ran a series of excursions on the Delaware River, but then patent disputes dissuaded Fitch from continuing.

Related Topics:
1784 - James Rumsey - Potomac river - 1786 - Virginia - Pennsylvania - John Fitch - 1785 - 1787 - 1790 - Delaware River

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Meanwhile, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, near Dumfries, Scotland, had developed double-hulled boats propelled by cranked paddlewheels placed between the hulls, and he engaged the engineer William Symington to built his patent steam engine into a boat which was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch in 1788, and followed by a larger steamboat the next year. Miller then abandoned the project, but ten years later Symington was engaged by Lord Dundas and in March 1802 the Charlotte Dundas towed two 70 ton barges 30 km (almost 20 miles) along the Forth and Clyde Canal to Glasgow. This vessel, the first tow boat, has been called the "first practical steamboat", and the first to be followed by continuous development of steamboats. Although plans to introduce boats on the Forth and Clyde canal were thwarted by fears of erosion of the banks, development was taken up both in Britain and abroad.

Related Topics:
Patrick Miller of Dalswinton - Dumfries - Scotland - William Symington - 1788 - Lord Dundas - 1802 - Charlotte Dundas - Forth and Clyde Canal - Glasgow - Britain

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Robert Fulton, who may have become interested in steamboats when he visited William Henry in 1777 at the age of 12, visited Britain and France where he built and tested an experimental steamboat on the River Seine in 1803, and was aware of the success of the Charlotte Dundas. Before returning to the United States he ordered a Boulton and Watt steam engine, and on return built the North River Steamboat (often called the Clermont). In 1807 this steamboat began a regular passenger boat service between New York and Clermont, 240 km (150 miles) distant, which was a commercial success. In 1809 the Accommodation, built by the Hon. John Molson at Montreal, and fitted with engines made in that city, was running successfully between Montreal and Quebec, being the first steamer on the St. Lawrence and in Canada. The experience of both vessels showed that the new system of propulsion was commercially profitable, and as a result its application to the more open waters of the Great Lakes was next considered. The concretisation of that idea went on hiatus during the War of 1812 (which concluded in 1815), however.

Related Topics:
Robert Fulton - 1777 - Britain - France - River Seine - 1803 - United States - Boulton and Watt steam engine - ''Clermont'' - 1807 - New York - Clermont - 1809 - John Molson - Montreal - Quebec - St. Lawrence - Canada - Great Lakes - War of 1812 - 1815

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In Scotland the ideas of the Charlotte Dundas were taken up by Henry Bell, and in 1812 the Comet began a passenger steamboat service on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock. This was the first commercially successful service in Europe.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Henry Bell - 1812 - ''Comet'' - River Clyde - Glasgow - Greenock - Europe

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