A steamboat is a ship that uses a steam engine or steam turbine to propel itself.
The first steamboats were paddle steamboats. Some had a paddle wheel on the back. Others had two wheels on the sides.
The first steam-powered ship was a paddle steamer named Pyroscaphe built in France in 1783 by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy. It was powered by a Newcomen steam engine. At its first demonstration on July 15, 1783, Pyroscaphe traveled upstream on the River Saône for some fifteen minutes before the engine failed.
The first reliably-working steamboat was a paddle steamer built by John Fitch. A successful trial run of his steamboat. Perseverance, was made on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787.
The following year, Fitch began operating a regular commercial service along the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey, carrying as many as 30 passengers. The Perseverance was not a commercial success, as this travel route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads.
Britain's first practical steamboat was a tug, the Charlotte Dundas, designed by William Symington (1763–1831). It was first used in 1802 on the Forth-Clyde canal in Scotland.
Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River on August 17, 1807, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world. Fulton's steamboat could travel from New York City to Albany in 32 hours and was the first steam-powered passenger marine vehicle that could make money.
The first passenger-carrying steamboat in Europe was the Comet, designed by the Scottish engineer Henry Bell (1767-1830), which was launched in 1812 on the River Clyde. The steamboat, named after a celebrated comet of that time, was of 30 tons burthen, with an engine of three horsepower. Bell initially advertised a three times a week passenger service travelling between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh. Soon afterwards the journey was extended to Oban and Fort-William, the entire voyage taking four days.
New Orleans was the first steamship on the western waters of the United States. After a trial trip around Pittsburgh, New Orleans steamed for New Orleans on October 20, 1811 on first the Ohio River, then the Mississippi River. It arrived in its namesake city on January 10, 1812, to complete its maiden voyage.
When the U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrived at Liverpool, England, on June 20, 1819, she became the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean, although most of the journey was made under sail.
From about 1836, marine propellers, invented by Josef Ressel were used on steamboats rather than paddles.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's steamship Great Western, a wooden paddle vessel, was the first to make regular Atlantic crossings. It sailed from Bristol on her maiden voyage in 1838 and the boat confounded critics who asserted that such a vessel would never be able to carry sufficient coal to make the crossing.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada-born Sir Samuel Cunard entered this world on November 21, 1787. Cunard succeeded early as a merchant and shipowner, before emigrating to Britain in 1838. Two years later, he joined with George Burns in Glasgow and David McIver in Liverpool to found the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, later known as the Cunard Line. Within 30 years, Cunard was employing 11,500 people and owned 46 vessels. The first ships had no refrigeration, so carried live cows for milk and chickens for eggs.
If one wanted to make the trip from the U.S. East Coast to the West Coast by steamboat, one needed to be prepared for a long journey. The SS California's first voyage left New York Harbor on October 6, 1848, making the trip to San Francisco, California via Cape Horn in four months, 21 days.
The worst maritime disaster in US history was on April 27, 1865 when 1192 people perished after the steamboat Sultana's boilers exploded on the River Mississippi just outside Memphis. Not very many people heard about it since news coverage focused on the killing of John Wilkes Booth the previous day.
Mark Twain wrote a book called Life on the Mississippi, which had some stories about how he used to work on a steamboat travelling on the Mississippi.
The first Disney cartoon with sound was Steamboat Willie, released on November 18, 1928. The short animated film shows Mickey Mouse piloting a river steamboat, suggesting that he himself is the captain.
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, went out of business in 1962.
The oldest operating steam driven vessel in North America is the RMS Segwun. It was built in Scotland in 1887 to cruise the Muskoka Lakes, District of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Originally named the S.S. Nipissing, it was converted from a side-paddle-wheel steamer with a walking-beam engine into a two-counter-rotating-propeller steamer. She is one of only three ships in the world still carrying the status of Royal Mail Ship.
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| The Belle of Louisville. By Bo |
The first steamboats were paddle steamboats. Some had a paddle wheel on the back. Others had two wheels on the sides.
The first steam-powered ship was a paddle steamer named Pyroscaphe built in France in 1783 by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy. It was powered by a Newcomen steam engine. At its first demonstration on July 15, 1783, Pyroscaphe traveled upstream on the River Saône for some fifteen minutes before the engine failed.
The first reliably-working steamboat was a paddle steamer built by John Fitch. A successful trial run of his steamboat. Perseverance, was made on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787.
The following year, Fitch began operating a regular commercial service along the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey, carrying as many as 30 passengers. The Perseverance was not a commercial success, as this travel route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads.
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| Model of the "Perseverance" By Dr. Karl-Heinz Hochhaus |
Britain's first practical steamboat was a tug, the Charlotte Dundas, designed by William Symington (1763–1831). It was first used in 1802 on the Forth-Clyde canal in Scotland.
Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat left New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River on August 17, 1807, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world. Fulton's steamboat could travel from New York City to Albany in 32 hours and was the first steam-powered passenger marine vehicle that could make money.
 |
| The 1909 replica of the North River Steamboat |
The first passenger-carrying steamboat in Europe was the Comet, designed by the Scottish engineer Henry Bell (1767-1830), which was launched in 1812 on the River Clyde. The steamboat, named after a celebrated comet of that time, was of 30 tons burthen, with an engine of three horsepower. Bell initially advertised a three times a week passenger service travelling between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh. Soon afterwards the journey was extended to Oban and Fort-William, the entire voyage taking four days.
New Orleans was the first steamship on the western waters of the United States. After a trial trip around Pittsburgh, New Orleans steamed for New Orleans on October 20, 1811 on first the Ohio River, then the Mississippi River. It arrived in its namesake city on January 10, 1812, to complete its maiden voyage.
When the U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrived at Liverpool, England, on June 20, 1819, she became the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean, although most of the journey was made under sail.
 |
| SS Savannah, the first steam powered ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean—1819 |
From about 1836, marine propellers, invented by Josef Ressel were used on steamboats rather than paddles.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's steamship Great Western, a wooden paddle vessel, was the first to make regular Atlantic crossings. It sailed from Bristol on her maiden voyage in 1838 and the boat confounded critics who asserted that such a vessel would never be able to carry sufficient coal to make the crossing.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada-born Sir Samuel Cunard entered this world on November 21, 1787. Cunard succeeded early as a merchant and shipowner, before emigrating to Britain in 1838. Two years later, he joined with George Burns in Glasgow and David McIver in Liverpool to found the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, later known as the Cunard Line. Within 30 years, Cunard was employing 11,500 people and owned 46 vessels. The first ships had no refrigeration, so carried live cows for milk and chickens for eggs.
If one wanted to make the trip from the U.S. East Coast to the West Coast by steamboat, one needed to be prepared for a long journey. The SS California's first voyage left New York Harbor on October 6, 1848, making the trip to San Francisco, California via Cape Horn in four months, 21 days.
The worst maritime disaster in US history was on April 27, 1865 when 1192 people perished after the steamboat Sultana's boilers exploded on the River Mississippi just outside Memphis. Not very many people heard about it since news coverage focused on the killing of John Wilkes Booth the previous day.
 |
| Sultana at Helena, Arkansas on April 26, 1865, a day before her destruction |
Mark Twain wrote a book called Life on the Mississippi, which had some stories about how he used to work on a steamboat travelling on the Mississippi.
The first Disney cartoon with sound was Steamboat Willie, released on November 18, 1928. The short animated film shows Mickey Mouse piloting a river steamboat, suggesting that he himself is the captain.
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, went out of business in 1962.
The oldest operating steam driven vessel in North America is the RMS Segwun. It was built in Scotland in 1887 to cruise the Muskoka Lakes, District of Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Originally named the S.S. Nipissing, it was converted from a side-paddle-wheel steamer with a walking-beam engine into a two-counter-rotating-propeller steamer. She is one of only three ships in the world still carrying the status of Royal Mail Ship.
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| Segwun approaches dock. By paulhami - Black Smoke from the Segwun |
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