Editing Steamboat (section)

====Types of ships====
By 1849 the shipping industry was in transition from sail-powered boats to steam-powered boats and from wood construction to an ever-increasing metal construction. There were basically three different types of ships being used: standard [[sailing ship]]s of several [[Sail-plan#Types of ships|different types]],<ref>{{cite web |first=Jerry |last=Wilkinson |url=http://www.keyshistory.org/ASS-Amer-Sail-Ships.html |title=Early American Sailing Ships |access-date=2 February 2011 |website=Keys Historeum}}</ref> [[clipper]]s, and [[paddle steamer]]s with paddles mounted on the side or rear. River steamboats typically used rear-mounted paddles and had flat bottoms and shallow hulls designed to carry large loads on generally smooth and occasionally shallow rivers. Ocean-going paddle steamers typically used side-wheeled paddles and used narrower, deeper hulls designed to travel in the often stormy weather encountered at sea. The ship [[hull (watercraft)|hull]] design was often based on the clipper ship design with extra bracing to support the loads and strains imposed by the paddle wheels when they encountered rough water.

The first paddle-steamer to make a long ocean voyage was the 320-ton {{convert|98|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} {{SS|Savannah}}, built in 1819 expressly for [[packet ship]] mail and passenger service to and from [[Liverpool]], England. On 22 May 1819, the watch on the ''Savannah'' sighted Ireland after 23&nbsp;days at sea. The [[Allaire Iron Works]] of New York supplied ''Savannah's''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[engine cylinder]],<ref>Swann, p. 5{{clarify|reason=This short form reference missing matching citation;|date=July 2014}}</ref> while the rest of the engine components and running gear were manufactured by the [[Speedwell Ironworks]] of [[New Jersey]]. The {{convert|90|hp|kW|adj=mid}} low-pressure engine was of the inclined direct-acting type, with a single {{convert|40|in|cm|adj=mid|-diameter}} cylinder and a {{convert|5|ft|m|abbr=|adj=on}} stroke. ''Savannah''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> engine and machinery were unusually large for their time. The ship's [[wrought-iron]] [[paddlewheel]]s were 16 feet in diameter with eight buckets per wheel. For fuel, the vessel carried {{convert|75|short ton}} of coal and {{convert|25|cord|m3|lk=on}} of wood.<ref name=museum618>Smithsonian, p. 618{{clarify|reason=This short form reference missing matching citation;|date=July 2014}}</ref>

The SS ''Savannah'' was too small to carry much fuel, and the engine was intended only for use in calm weather and to get in and out of harbors. Under favorable winds the sails alone were able to provide a speed of at least four knots. The ''Savannah'' was judged not a commercial success, and its engine was removed and it was converted back to a regular sailing ship. By 1848 steamboats built by both United States and British shipbuilders were already in use for mail and passenger service across the Atlantic Ocean—a {{convert|3000|mi|km}} journey.

[[File:SS California Poster Sharpened.jpg|thumb|right|[[SS California (1848)]], the first [[paddle steamer]] to steam between [[Panama City]] and San Francisco—a [[Pacific Mail Steamship Company]] ship.]]
Since paddle steamers typically required from {{convert|5|to|16|short ton}} of coal per day to keep their engines running, they were more expensive to run. Initially, nearly all seagoing steamboats were equipped with mast and sails to supplement the [[steam engine]] power and provide power for occasions when the steam engine needed repair or maintenance. These steamships typically concentrated on high value cargo, mail and passengers and only had moderate cargo capabilities because of their required loads of coal. The typical paddle wheel steamship was powered by a coal burning engine that required firemen to shovel the coal to the burners.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~npmelton/psc_indx.htm |title=The Pioneer Steamer ''California'' 1848 – 1849 |first=Victor M. |last=Berthold |access-date=27 January 2011 |website=Rootsweb}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apl.com/history/timeline/1848.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721110818/http://www.apl.com/history/timeline/1848.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 July 2012 |title=Steam Ship SS ''California'' specifications |access-date=27 January 2011}}</ref>

By 1849 the screw [[propeller]] had been invented and was slowly being introduced as iron increasingly was used in ship construction and the stress introduced by propellers could be compensated for. As the 1800s progressed the timber and lumber needed to make wooden ships got ever more expensive, and the iron plate needed for iron ship construction got much cheaper as the massive iron works at [[Merthyr Tydfil]], Wales, for example, got ever more efficient. The propeller put a lot of stress on the rear of the ships and would not see widespread use till the conversion from wood boats to iron boats was complete—well underway by 1860. By the 1840s the ocean-going steam ship industry was well established as the [[Cunard Line]] and others demonstrated.

The last sailing frigate of the US Navy, {{USS|Santee|1855|2}}, had been launched in 1855.<!---I don't think this is precisely correct, but the timeframe is about right--->