Editing Steamboat (section)

==History==
===Early designs===
An apocryphal story from 1851 attributes the earliest steamboat to [[Denis Papin]] for a boat he built in 1705. Papin was an early innovator in steam power and the inventor of the [[steam digester]], the first [[pressure cooker]], which played an important role in [[James Watt]]'s steam experiments. However, Papin's boat was not steam-powered but powered by hand-cranked paddles.<ref name=wootton>{{cite book |author=Wootton, David|title=The Invention of Science |year=2015|publisher=Harper Collins |location=New York |pages=498–504, 647 }}</ref>

A steamboat was described and patented by English physician [[John Allen (physician)|John Allen]] in 1729.<ref>{{cite book |last=Allen |first=John |author-link=John Allen (physician) |title=Specimina ichnographica: or, a brief narrative of several new inventions, and experiments |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/tq9afthh/items?canvas=1 |date=1730 |location=London |publisher=W. Innys |access-date=19 February 2022}}</ref> In 1736, [[Jonathan Hulls]] was granted a patent in England for a [[Thomas Newcomen|Newcomen]] engine-powered steamboat (using a pulley instead of a beam, and a pawl and ratchet to obtain rotary motion), but it was the improvement in steam engines by [[James Watt]] that made the concept feasible. [[William Henry (delegate)|William Henry]] of Lancaster, [[Pennsylvania]], having learned of Watt's engine on a visit to England, made his own engine, and put it in a boat. The boat sank, and while Henry made an improved model, he did not appear to have much success, though he may have inspired others.<ref name=jordan49>[[#jordan|Jordan, 1910]], pp. 49–50</ref>

[[File:D'AbbansSteamshipModel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Model of the steamship built in 1784 by [[Claude de Jouffroy]].]]
The first steam-powered ship, ''[[Pyroscaphe]]'', was a paddle steamer powered by a double-acting [[steam engine]];<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.wired.com/2011/07/0715france-marquis-steamboat-trial/|title=Wired.com:Marquis Invents Steamboat|magazine=Wired |last1=Alfred |first1=Randy }}</ref> it was built in France in 1783 by Marquis [[Claude de Jouffroy]] and his colleagues as an improvement of an earlier attempt, the 1776 ''Palmipède''. At its first demonstration on 15 July 1783, ''Pyroscaphe'' travelled upstream on the river [[Saône]] for some fifteen minutes before the engine failed. Presumably this was easily repaired as the boat is said to have made several such journeys.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Basil |date=1 March 2007 |title=Steamboat Evolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruLraHeDq7MC |location=UK |publisher=Lulu.com |page=54 |isbn=9781847532015}}{{self-published source|date=February 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}}<ref name="University Press of Kentucky">{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOMeBgAAQBAJ&q=Steamboat+De+Jouffroy&pg=PA28 |title = French Inventions of the Eighteenth Century|isbn = 978-0-8131-6397-0|last1 = McCloy|first1 = Shelby T.|date = 13 January 2015| publisher=University Press of Kentucky }}</ref> Following this, De Jouffroy attempted to get the government interested in his work, but for political reasons was instructed that he would have to build another version on the Seine in Paris. De Jouffroy did not have the funds for this, and, following the events of the French revolution, work on the project was discontinued after he left the country.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Basil |date=1 March 2007 |title=Steamboat Evolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruLraHeDq7MC |location=UK |publisher=Lulu.com |page=56 |isbn=978-1-84753-201-5}}{{self-published source|date=February 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}}<ref name="University Press of Kentucky"/>

Similar boats were made in 1785 by [[John Fitch (inventor)|John Fitch]] in [[Philadelphia]] and [[William Symington]] in [[Dumfries]], Scotland. Fitch successfully trialled his boat in 1787, and in 1788, he began operating a regular commercial service along the [[Delaware River]] between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey, carrying as many as 30 passengers. This boat could typically make {{convert|7|to|8|mph}} and travelled more than {{convert|2000|mi|km}} during its short length of service. The Fitch steamboat was not a commercial success, as this travel route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads. The following year, a second boat made {{convert|30|mi|km|adj=on}} excursions, and in 1790, a third boat ran a series of trials on the [[Delaware River]] before patent disputes dissuaded Fitch from continuing.<ref name=jordan49/>

Meanwhile, [[Patrick Miller of Dalswinton]], near [[Dumfries]], [[Scotland]], had developed double-hulled<!--catamaran?--> boats propelled by manually cranked paddle wheels placed between the hulls, even attempting to interest various European governments in a giant warship version, {{convert|246|ft}} long. Miller sent King [[Gustav III]] of Sweden an actual small-scale version, {{convert|100|ft}} long, called ''Experiment''.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Charles |last=Dawson |title=Patrick Miller's English (sic) Sea Spook |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |volume=88 |number=1 |date=February 2002 |page=95}}</ref> Miller then engaged engineer [[William Symington]] to build his patent steam engine that drove a stern-mounted paddle wheel in a boat in 1785. The boat was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch in 1788 and was followed by a larger steamboat the next year. Miller then abandoned the project.

===19th century===
[[File:Symington's steam boat model c. 1800.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Charlotte Dundas]]'', built by [[William Symington]].]]
The failed project of Patrick Miller caught the attention of [[Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas|Lord Dundas]], Governor of the [[Forth and Clyde Canal]] Company, and at a meeting with the canal company's directors on 5 June 1800, they approved his proposals for the use of ''"a model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a steam engine by Mr Symington"'' on the canal.

The boat was built by Alexander Hart at [[Grangemouth]] to Symington's design with a vertical cylinder engine and crosshead transmitting power to a crank driving the paddlewheels. Trials on the [[River Carron (Forth)|River Carron]] in June 1801 were successful and included towing [[sloop]]s from the [[river Forth]] up the Carron and thence along the [[Forth and Clyde Canal]].

In 1801, Symington patented a horizontal steam engine directly linked to a crank. He got support from Lord Dundas to build a second steamboat, which became famous as the ''[[Charlotte Dundas]]'', named in honour of Lord Dundas's daughter. Symington designed a new hull around his powerful horizontal engine, with the crank driving a large paddle wheel in a central upstand in the hull, aimed at avoiding damage to the canal banks.
The new boat was 56&nbsp;ft (17.1 m) long, 18&nbsp;ft (5.5 m) wide and 8&nbsp;ft (2.4 m) depth, with a wooden hull. The boat was built by John Allan and the engine by the [[Carron Company]].

The first sailing was on the canal in [[Glasgow]] on 4 January 1803, with Lord Dundas and a few of his relatives and friends on board. The crowd were pleased with what they saw, but Symington wanted to make improvements and another more ambitious trial was made on 28 March. On this occasion, the ''Charlotte Dundas'' towed two 70 ton barges 30&nbsp;km (almost 20 miles) along the [[Forth and Clyde Canal]] to [[Glasgow]], and despite "a strong breeze right ahead" that stopped all other canal boats it took only nine and a quarter hours, giving an average speed of about 3&nbsp;km/h (2&nbsp;mph). The ''Charlotte Dundas'' was the first practical steamboat, in that it demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships, and was the first to be followed by continuous development of steamboats.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nbcZAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=Symington and the Steamboat |first=B. E. G. |last=Clark |date=2010 |page=7|publisher=Lulu.com |isbn=978-1-4457-4936-5 }}</ref>

[[File:Clermont replica.jpg|thumb|right|The 1909 replica of the ''North River Steamboat'', the first steamboat to achieve commercial success transporting passengers along the [[Hudson River]].]]

The American [[Robert Fulton]] was present at the trials of the ''Charlotte Dundas'' and was intrigued by the potential of the steamboat. While working in France, he corresponded with and was helped by the Scottish engineer [[Henry Bell (engineer)|Henry Bell]], who may have given him the first model of his working steamboat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/bell_henry.htm |title=Henry Bell |website=Electric Scotland}}</ref> Fulton designed his own steamboat, which sailed along the [[River Seine]] in 1803.

Fulton later obtained a [[Boulton and Watt]] steam engine, shipped to America, where his first proper steamship was built in 1807,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saburchill.com/history/chapters/IR/033.html |title=Steamships |website=The Open Door Web Site}}</ref> ''[[North River Steamboat]]'' (later known as ''Clermont''), which carried passengers between New York City and [[Albany, New York]]. ''Clermont'' was able to make the {{convert|150|mi|adj=on}} trip in 32 hours. The steamboat was powered by a [[Boulton and Watt]] engine and was capable of long-distance travel. It was the first commercially successful steamboat, transporting passengers along the [[Hudson River]].

In 1807 Robert L. Stevens began operation of the ''[[Phoenix (boat)|Phoenix]]'', which used a high-pressure engine in combination with a low-pressure condensing engine. The first steamboats powered only by high pressure were the ''Aetna'' and ''Pennsylvania'', designed and built by [[Oliver Evans]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of Industrial Power in the United States, 1seven30–1930, Vol. 2: Steam Power |last1=Hunter |first1= Louis C.|year=1985 | publisher =University Press of Virginia|location= Charlottesville|pages=32–33}}</ref>

In October 1811 a ship designed by [[John Stevens (inventor, born 1749)|John Stevens]], ''Little Juliana'', would operate as the first steam-powered ferry between [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]] and New York City. Stevens' ship was engineered as a twin-screw-driven steamboat in juxtaposition to ''Clermont''{{-'}}s Boulton and Watt engine.<ref name="S.C. Williams Library">{{cite web |url=http://librarycollections.stevens.edu/items/show/378 |title=The Little Juliana |website=Samuel C. Williams Library |publisher=Stevens Institute of Technology |year=2012 |access-date=18 April 2014 |id=378}}</ref> The design was a modification of Stevens' prior paddle steamer ''Phoenix'', the first steamship to successfully navigate the open ocean in its route from Hoboken to Philadelphia.<ref name="Turnbull 1928, p. 237">{{cite book |first=Archibald D. |last=Turnbull |title=John Stevens, an American record |url=https://archive.org/details/johnstevensameri00turn |location=New York |publisher=The Century Co |date=1928 |page=[https://archive.org/details/johnstevensameri00turn/page/237 237]|isbn=978-0-8369-6994-8 }}</ref>

In 1812, [[Henry Bell (engineer)|Henry Bell's]] [[PS Comet|PS ''Comet'']] was inaugurated.<ref name="Bell">{{cite book | last=Ransom | first=P.J.G | title=Bell's Comet. How a Paddle Steamer Changed the Course of History | publisher=Amberley Publishing| year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4456-2010-7}}</ref> The steamboat was the first commercial passenger service in Europe and sailed along the [[River Clyde]] in Scotland.<ref name="Bell"/>

The ''Margery'', launched in Dumbarton in 1814, in January 1815 became the first steamboat on the River Thames, much to the amazement of Londoners. She operated a London-to-Gravesend river service until 1816, when she was sold to the French and became the first steamboat to cross the English Channel. When she reached Paris, the new owners renamed her ''Elise'' and inaugurated a Seine steamboat service.<ref name="dover-kent.co.uk">{{cite web |title=Early Cross-Channel Steamers |url=http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/transport/early_cross_channel_steamers.htm |date=2000–2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731163816/http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/transport/early_cross_channel_steamers.htm |archive-date=31 July 2013 |website=Dover-kent.co.uk |access-date=19 February 2022}}</ref>

In 1818, ''Ferdinando I'', the first Italian steamboat, left the port of [[Naples]], where it had been built.<ref>D'Ambrosio A. (1993) Storia di Napoli, Napoli, Edizioni Nuova V.E., p. 189.</ref>

===Sea- and Ocean-going===
[[File:SS-Savannah.jpg|thumb|right|{{SS|Savannah}}, the first steam-powered ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean—1819]]
The first sea-going steamboat was Richard Wright's first steamboat "Experiment", an ex-French [[lugger]]; she steamed from [[Leeds]] to [[Great Yarmouth|Yarmouth]], arriving Yarmouth 19 July 1813.<ref>{{cite book |first=R |last=Malster |title=Wherries & Waterways |place=Lavenham |year=1971 |page=61}}.</ref> "Tug", the first tugboat, was launched by the Woods Brothers, Port Glasgow, on 5 November 1817; in the summer of 1818 she was the first steamboat to travel round the North of Scotland to the East Coast.<ref>{{cite book |first=AI |last=Bowman |title=Swifts & Queens |place=Strathkelvin |year=1983}}</ref>{{Rp | needed = yes | date =November 2012}}

By 1826, steamboats were employed on a large number of inland and coastal shipping lines in the United Kingdom. Some of the latter crossed the [[Irish Sea]], others crossed the [[English Channel]] to Calais or [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], or crossed the North Sea to Rotterdam. At the time, the [[General Steam Navigation Company]] was one of the biggest companies that operated steamboats in [[short-sea shipping]]. The ''Talbot'' operated by GSNC on the London – Calais line had a tonnage of 156 and 60&nbsp;hp.<ref>{{citation |last=A Committee of the House of Commons |year=1822 |volume=LX |work=The Philosophical Magazine and Journal |title=Report of the House of Commons on Steam-Boats |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqc-AAAAYAAJ |pages=113–132, 257–262 }}</ref>

Steamships required carrying fuel (coal) at the expense of the regular payload. For this reason for some time sailships remained more economically viable for long voyages. However, as the steam engine technology improved, more power could be generated by the same quantity of fuel and longer distances could be traveled. A steamship built in 1855 required about 40% of its available cargo space to store enough coal to cross the Atlantic, but by the 1860s, transatlantic steamship services became cost-effective and steamships began to dominate these routes. By the 1870s, particularly in conjunction with the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869, South Asia became economically accessible for steamships from Europe. By the 1890s, the steamship technology so improved that steamships became economically viable even on long-distance voyages such as linking Great Britain with its Pacific Asian colonies, such as [[Singapore]] and [[Hong Kong]]. This resulted in the downfall of sailing.<ref>[https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/emergence-of-mechanized-transportation-systems/steam-sail-breakeven/ Break-Even Distance between Sail and Steam, 1850-1890]</ref>