![Tampere Finlandia Queen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Tampere_Finlandia_Queen.jpg)
A paddle steamer is a
steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
or
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
powered by a
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
that drives
paddle wheel
A paddle wheel is a form of waterwheel or impeller in which a number of paddles are set around the periphery of the wheel. It has several uses, of which some are:
* Very low-lift water pumping, such as flooding paddy fields at no more than about ...
s to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.
![Blockade-runner2 ADvance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Blockade-runner2_ADvance.jpg)
In the early 19th century, paddle wheels were the predominant way of propulsion for steam-powered boats. In the late 19th century, paddle propulsion was largely superseded by the
screw propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
and other
marine propulsion
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electr ...
systems that have a higher efficiency, especially in rough or open water. Paddle wheels continue to be used by small, pedal-powered paddle boats and by some ships that operate tourist voyages. The latter are often powered by diesel engines.
Paddle wheels
![paddle wheel small](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Paddle_wheel_small.jpg)
The paddle wheel is a large steel framework wheel. The outer edge of the wheel is fitted with numerous, regularly spaced paddle blades (called floats or buckets). The bottom quarter or so of the wheel travels under water. An engine rotates the paddle wheel in the water to produce
thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...
, forward or backward as required. More advanced paddle-wheel designs feature "feathering" methods that keep each paddle blade closer to vertical while in the water to increase efficiency. The upper part of a paddle wheel is normally enclosed in a paddlebox to minimise splashing.
Types of paddle steamers
![Nettie Quill steamboat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Nettie_Quill_steamboat.jpg)
The three types of paddle wheel steamer are stern-wheeler, with a single wheel on the rear, a side-wheeler with one on each side, and an inboard with the paddlewheel mounted in a recess amidship. All were used as riverboats in the United States. Some still operate for tourists, for example on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
Stern-wheeler
Although the first stern-wheelers were invented in Europe, they saw the most service in North America, especially on the Mississippi River. was built at
Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the Sullivan Expedition, defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war ...
, in 1814 as an improvement over the less efficient side-wheelers. The second stern-wheeler built, ''Washington'' of 1816, had two decks and served as the prototype for all subsequent
steamboats of the Mississippi
Steamboats played a major role in the 19th-century development of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, allowing practical large-scale transport of passengers and freight both up- and down-river. Using steam power, riverboats were developed ...
, including those made famous in
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's book ''
Life on the Mississippi''.
Side-wheeler
Side-wheelers are used as riverboats and as coastal craft. Though the side wheels and enclosing
sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spon ...
s make them wider than stern-wheelers, they may be more maneuverable, since they can sometimes move the paddles at different speeds, and even in opposite directions. This extra maneuverability makes side-wheelers popular on the narrower, winding rivers of the
Murray–Darling system in Australia, where a number still operate.
European side-wheelers, such as , connect the wheels with solid drive shafts that limit maneuverability and give the craft a wide turning radius. Some were built with paddle clutches that disengage one or both paddles so they can turn independently. However, wisdom gained from early experience with side-wheelers deemed that they be operated with clutches out, or as solid-shaft vessels. Crews noticed that as ships approached the dock, passengers moved to the side of the ship ready to disembark. The shift in weight, added to independent movements of the paddles, could lead to imbalance and potential
capsizing
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
. Paddle tugs were frequently operated with clutches in, as the lack of passengers aboard meant that independent paddle movement could be used safely and the added maneuverability exploited to the full.
Inboard paddlewheeler
Recessed or inboard paddlewheel boats were designed to ply narrow and snag infested backwaters. By recessing the wheel within the hull it was protected somewhat from damage. It was enclosed and could be spun at a high speed to provide acute maneuverability. Most were built with inclined steam cylinders mounted on both sides of the paddleshaft and timed 90Deg apart like a locomotive, making them instantly reversing.
Feathering paddle wheel
![Morgan's feathering paddlewheel (Steam and the Steam Engine, Evers)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Morgan%27s_feathering_paddlewheel_%28Steam_and_the_Steam_Engine%2C_Evers%29.jpg)
In a simple paddle wheel, where the paddles are fixed around the periphery, power is lost due to churning of the water as the paddles enter and leave the water surface. Ideally, the paddles should remain vertical while under water. This ideal can be approximated by use of levers and linkages connected to a fixed eccentric. The eccentric is fixed slightly forward of the main wheel centre. It is coupled to each paddle by a rod and lever. The geometry is designed such that the paddles are kept almost vertical for the short duration that they are in the water.
History
Western world
![De Rebus Bellicis, XVth Century Miniature](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/De_Rebus_Bellicis%2C_XVth_Century_Miniature.JPG)
The use of a paddle wheel in navigation appears for the first time in the mechanical treatise of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
engineer
Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...
(''De architectura'', X 9.5–7), where he describes multigeared paddle wheels working as a ship
odometer
An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...
. The first mention of paddle wheels as a means of propulsion comes from the fourth– or fifth-century military treatise ''
De Rebus Bellicis
''De rebus bellicis'' ("On the Things of Wars") is an anonymous work of the 4th or 5th century which suggests remedies for the military and financial problems in the Roman Empire, including a number of fanciful war machines. It was written af ...
'' (chapter XVII), where the anonymous Roman author describes an ox-driven paddle-wheel warship:
Italian physician
Guido da Vigevano
Guido da Vigevano or Guido da Vigevano da Pavia (born c. 1280; died c. 1349) was an Italian physician and inventor. He is notable for his sketchbook ''Texaurus regis Francie'', a catalog of military equipment, and his ''Anothomia Philippi Septimi' ...
(''circa'' 1280–1349), planning for a new crusade, made illustrations for a paddle boat that was propelled by manually turned
compound cranks.
![Taccola ship](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Taccola_ship.jpg)
One of the drawings of the Anonymous Author of the
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...
shows a boat with a pair of paddlewheels at each end turned by men operating compound cranks.
The concept was improved by the Italian
Roberto Valturio
Roberto Valturio (1405–1475) was an Italian engineer and writer born in Rimini. He was the author of the military treatise ''De Re militari'' (1472).
The work consists of a preface, with a dedication to Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta; a list of ...
in 1463, who devised a boat with five sets, where the parallel cranks are all joined to a single power source by one connecting rod, an idea adopted by his compatriot
Francesco di Giorgio
Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...
.
In 1539, Spanish engineer
Blasco de Garay received the support of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
to build ships equipped with manually-powered side paddle wheels. From 1539 to 1543, Garay built and launched five ships, the most famous being the modified Portuguese
carrack
A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade fr ...
''La Trinidad'', which surpassed a nearby
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
in speed and maneuverability on June 17, 1543 in the harbor of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. The project, however, was discontinued.
19th century writer Tomás González claimed to have found proof that at least some of these vessels were steam-powered, but this theory was discredited by the Spanish authorities. It has been proposed that González mistook a steam-powered
desalinator
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...
created by Garay for a steam boiler.
[
In 1704, French ]physicist
A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe.
Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...
Denis Papin
Denis Papin FRS (; 22 August 1647 – 26 August 1713) was a French physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of the pressure cooker and of the steam engine.
Early lif ...
constructed the first ship powered by his steam engine, mechanically linked to paddles. This made him the first to construct a steam-powered boat (or vehicle of any kind). Then, he poured the first steam cylinder of the world in the iron foundry at Veckerhagen.
In 1787, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton invented a double-hulled boat that was propelled on the Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
Name
''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...
by men working a capstan that drove paddles on each side.
One of the first functioning steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
s, ''Palmipède'', which was also the first paddle steamer, was built in France in 1774 by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy Claude may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Claude (surname), a list of people
* Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etch ...
and his colleagues. The steamer with rotating paddles sailed on the Doubs River
The Doubs (; frp, Dubs; german: Dub) is a river in far eastern France which strays into western Switzerland. It is a left-bank tributary of the Saône. It rises near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains, at and its mouth is at Verdun-sur-l ...
in June and July 1776. In 1783, a new paddle steamer by de Jouffroy, , successfully steamed up the river Saône
The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île.
The name deri ...
for 15 minutes before the engine failed. Bureaucracy and the French Revolution thwarted further progress by de Jouffroy.
The next successful attempt at a paddle-driven steam ship was by Scottish engineer William Symington
William Symington (1764–1831) was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas.
Early life
Symington was born in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, to a family he described as ...
, who suggested steam power to Patrick Miller of Dalswinton. Experimental boats built in 1788 and 1789 worked successfully on Lochmaben
Lochmaben ( Gaelic: ''Loch Mhabain'') is a small town and civil parish in Scotland, and site of a castle. It lies west of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway. By the 12th century the Bruce family had become the local landowners and, in the 14th ...
Loch. In 1802, Symington built a barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
-hauler, , for the Forth and Clyde Canal Company
The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...
. It successfully hauled two 70-ton barges almost in 6 hours against a strong headwind on test in 1802. Enthusiasm was high, but some directors of the company were concerned about the banks of the canal being damaged by the wash from a powered vessel, and no more were ordered.
While ''Charlotte Dundas'' was the first commercial paddle steamer and steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
, the first commercial success was possibly Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
's '' Clermont'' in New York, which went into commercial service in 1807 between New York City and Albany. Many other paddle-equipped river boats followed all around the world; the first in Europe being designed by Henry Bell which started a scheduled passenger service on the River Clyde
The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...
in 1812.
In 1812, the first U.S. Mississippi River paddle steamer began operating out of New Orleans. By 1814, Captain Henry Shreve had developed a "steamboat" suitable for local conditions. Landings in New Orleans went from 21 in 1814 to 191 in 1819, and over 1,200 in 1833.
The first stern-wheeler was designed by Gerhard Moritz Roentgen
Gerhard Moritz Roentgen (* 7 May 1795 in Esens in Ostfriesland; † 28 October 1852 in Santpoort near Velsen in North Holland) was a Dutch Navy officer, machine building engineer and ship builder. As of 1823 he was involved in founding the Ned ...
from Rotterdam, and used between Antwerp and Ghent in 1827.
Team boats, paddle boats driven by horses, were used for ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
the United States from the 1820s–1850s, as they were economical and did not incur licensing costs imposed by the steam navigation monopoly. In the 1850s, they were replaced by steamboats.
After the American Civil War, as the expanding railroads took many passengers, the traffic became primarily bulk cargoes. The largest, and one of the last, paddle steamers on the Mississippi was the sternwheeler ''Sprague''. Built in 1901, she pushed coal and petroleum until 1948.
In Europe from the 1820s, paddle steamers were used to take tourists from the rapidly expanding industrial cities on river cruises, or to the newly established seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...
s, where pleasure piers were built to allow passengers to disembark regardless of the state of the tide. Later, these paddle steamers were fitted with luxurious saloons in an effort to compete with the facilities available on the railways. Notable examples are the Thames steamers
Steamboat services started on the Thames in around 1815 and for nearly 25 years were the main use of steam to carry passengers before the emergence of railways in the south of England. During this time at least 80 steamers are recorded in the Tha ...
which took passengers from London to Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
and Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
, Clyde steamer
The Clyde steamer is the collective term for several passenger services that existed on the River Clyde in Scotland, running from Glasgow downstream to Rothesay and other towns, a journey known as going ''doon the watter''.
The era of the Cly ...
s that connected Glasgow with the resort of Rothsay and the Köln-Düsseldorfer
Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) is a river cruise operator based in Cologne, Germany. The company operates a total of 14 cruise ships on the Rhine, Main and Moselle rivers. The famous KD steamer line operated on the Rhine with steamers and tourist boa ...
cruise steamers on the River Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, sourc ...
. Paddle steamer services continued into the mid-20th century, when ownership of motor cars finally made them obsolete except for a few heritage examples.
China
The first mention of a paddle-wheel ship from China is in the ''History of the Southern Dynasties
The ''History of the Southern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. It contain 80 volumes and covers the period from 420 to 589, the histories of Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang dy ...
'', compiled in the 7th century but describing the naval ships of the Liu Song Dynasty
Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...
(420–479) used by admiral Wang Zhen'e in his campaign against the Qiang in 418 AD. The ancient Chinese mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi
Zu Chongzhi (; 429–500 AD), courtesy name Wenyuan (), was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, politician, inventor, and writer during the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He was most notable for calculating pi as between 3.1415926 and 3 ...
(429–500) had a paddle-wheel ship built on the Xinting River (south of Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
) known as the " thousand league boat".[ Needham, Joseph (1965). ''Science and Civilization in China, Vol. IV: Physics and Physical Technology'', p.416. .] When campaigning against Hou Jing
Hou Jing (; died June 552), courtesy name Wanjing (萬景), was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician. He was a general of Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, and Liang, and briefly, after controlling the Liang imperial regime for several ...
in 552, the Liang Dynasty
The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...
(502–557) admiral Xu Shipu employed paddle-wheel boats called "water-wheel boats". At the siege of Liyang in 573, the admiral Huang Faqiu employed foot-treadle powered paddle-wheel boats. A successful paddle-wheel warship design was made in China by Prince Li Gao in 784 AD, during an imperial examination of the provinces by the Tang Dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
(618–907) emperor. The Chinese Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(960–1279) issued the construction of many paddle-wheel ships for its standing navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, and according to the British biochemist, historian, and sinologist Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, in ...
:
"...between 1132 and 1183 (AD) a great number of treadmill-operated paddle-wheel craft, large and small, were built, including sternwheelers and ships with as many as 11 paddle-wheels a side,".[Needham, 476]
The standard Chinese term "wheel ship" was used by the Song period, whereas a litany of colorful terms were used to describe it beforehand. In the 12th century, the Song government used paddle-wheel ships ''en masse'' to defeat opposing armies of pirates armed with their own paddle-wheel ships. At the Battle of Caishi
The Battle of Caishi (, approximately ) was a major naval engagement of the Jin–Song Wars of China that took place on November 26–27, 1161. It ended with a decisive Song victory, aided by their use of gunpowder weapons.
Soldiers under the ...
in 1161, paddle-wheelers were also used with great success against the Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) navy. The Chinese used the paddle-wheel ship even during the First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
(1839–1842) and for transport around the Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
during the early 20th century.
Seagoing paddle steamers
The first seagoing trip of a paddle steamer was by the ''Albany'' in 1808. It steamed from the Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
along the coast to the Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
. This was purely for the purpose of moving a river-boat to a new market, but paddle-steamers began regular short coastal trips soon after. In 1816 Pierre Andriel, a French businessman, bought in London the paddle steamer ''Margery'' (later renamed ''Elise'') and made an eventful London-Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
-Paris crossing, encountering heavy weather on the way. He later operated his ship as a river packet on the Seine, between Paris and Le Havre.
The first paddle-steamer to make a long ocean voyage crossing the Atlantic Ocean was , built in 1819 expressly for this service. ''Savannah'' set out for Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
on May 22, 1819, sighting Ireland after 23 days at sea. This was the first powered crossing of the Atlantic, although ''Savannah'' was built as a sailing ship with a steam auxiliary; she also carried a full rig of sail for when winds were favorable, being unable to complete the voyage under power alone. In 1822, Charles Napier's , the world's first iron ship, made the first direct steam crossing from London to Paris and the first seagoing voyage by an iron ship.
In 1838, , a fairly small steam packet built for the Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
route, became the first vessel to cross the Atlantic under sustained steam power, beating Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
's much larger by a day. ''Great Western'', however, was actually built for the transatlantic trade, and so had sufficient coal for the passage; ''Sirius'' had to burn furniture and other items after running out of coal. ''Great Western''s more successful crossing began the regular sailing of powered vessels across the Atlantic. was the first coastal steamship to operate in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
of North America. Paddle steamers helped open Japan to the Western World in the mid-19th century.
The largest paddle-steamer ever built was Brunel's , but it also had screw propulsion and sail rigging. It was long and weighed 32,000 tons, its paddlewheels being in diameter.
In oceangoing service, paddle steamers became much less useful after the invention of the screw propeller, but they remained in use in coastal service and as river tugboats
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
, thanks to their shallow draught and good maneuverability.
The last crossing of the Atlantic by paddle steamer began on September 18, 1969, the first leg of a journey to conclude six months and nine days later. The steam paddle tug was never intended for oceangoing service, but nevertheless was steamed from Newcastle to San Francisco. As the voyage was intended to be completed under power, the tug was rigged as steam propelled with a sail auxiliary. The transatlantic stage of the voyage was completed exactly 150 years after the voyage of ''Savannah''.
As of 2022, the PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger-carrying paddle steamer in the world.
Paddle-driven steam warships
Paddle frigates
Beginning in the 1820s, the British Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
began building paddle-driven steam frigate
Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...
s and steam sloop
Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exam ...
s. By 1850 these had become obsolete due to the development of the propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
– which was more efficient and less vulnerable to cannon fire. One of the first screw-driven warships, , demonstrated her superiority over paddle steamers during numerous trials, including one in 1845 where she pulled a paddle-driven sister ship backwards in a tug of war
Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...
. However, paddle warships were used extensively by the Russian Navy during the Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
of 1853–1856, and by the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during the Mexican War of 1846–1848 and the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
of 1861–1865. With the arrival of ironclad battleship
An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...
s from the late 1850s, the last remaining paddle frigates were decommissioned and sold into merchant-navy service by the 1870s. These included , which became one of the first Boston steamers in 1867.
Paddle minesweepers
At the start of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Royal Navy requisitioned more than fifty pleasure paddle steamers for use as auxiliary minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
s.[Plummer 1995, p. 3] The large spaces on their decks intended for promenading passengers proved to be ideal for handling the minesweeping booms and cables, and the paddles allowed them to operate in coastal shallows and estuaries. These were so successful that a new class of paddle ships, the Racecourse-class minesweeper
The Racecourse-class minesweepers were 32 ships delivered to the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were built to two related designs as paddlewheel
A paddle wheel is a form of waterwheel or impeller in which a number of paddles ar ...
s, were ordered and 32 of them were built before the end of the war.
In the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, some thirty pleasure paddle steamers were again requisitioned; an added advantage was that their wooden hulls did not activate the new magnetic mines. The paddle ships formed six minesweeping flotilla
A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.
Composition
A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...
s, based at ports around the British coast. Other paddle steamers were converted to anti-aircraft ships. More than twenty paddle steamers were used as emergency troop transports during the Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
in 1940, where they were able to get close inshore to embark directly from the beach. One example was , which saved an estimated 7,000 men over the nine days of the evacuation, and claimed to have shot down three German aircraft. Another paddle minesweeper, , was deliberately beached twice to allow soldiers to cross to other vessels using her as a jetty. The paddle steamers between them were estimated to have rescued 26,000 Allied troops during the operation, for the loss of six of them.
Modern paddle steamers
China
In order to thank the Qing government for its support of Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan specially built a yacht called "Yonghe Steamer" for Cixi, which, from the outside, should be a steam-propelled structure, with waterwheel-like waterwheels on both sides to push the ship forward. It can be viewed in the Summer Palace.
US and Canada
A few paddle steamers serve niche tourism needs as cruise boats on lakes and others, such as , still operate on the Mississippi River. In Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, several replica paddle steamers, which are non-steam-powered sternwheelers built in the 1980s and later, are operated for tourism purposes on the Columbia and Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...
s.
, built in 1912 as PS ''Seeandbee'', was the biggest passenger-carrying paddle steamer ever built, with a capacity for 6,000 passengers; it was converted to a training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. , also built in 1912 with a capacity for 6,000 passengers, operated on the Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
from 1913 until it was sunk in an accident in 1926. One of the last paddle steamers built in the U.S. was the dredge , built in 1934 and now a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
is the oldest operating Mississippi River-style steamboat and was named a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1989. Previously named ''Idlewild'' and ''Avalon'', ''Belle of Louisville'' is based in downtown Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
.
The Shelburne Museum
Shelburne Museum is a museum of art, design, and Americana located in Shelburne, Vermont, United States. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. It is located ...
of Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
features the paddle steamer , a preserved Lake Champlain
, native_name_lang =
, image = Champlainmap.svg
, caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada
, coords =
, type =
, ...
ferry, which was transported overland to the museum after being retired from service in 1969, and is now open for tours.
The ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...
system in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada operates , a paddle steamer originally built in 1910 and restored for operation since 1976. It is the last sidewheel-propelled vessel on the Great Lakes. Sister ships ''Bluebell'' and ''Mayflower'' became garbage scows and the former's hull is now a break wall in Toronto Harbour.
Germany
The Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
river Saxon Paddle Steamer Fleet in Dresden (known as "White Fleet"), Germany, is the oldest and biggest in the world, with around 700,000 passengers per year. The 1913-built ''Goethe'' was the last paddle steamer on the River Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, sourc ...
. Previously the world's largest sidewheeler with a two-cylinder steam engine of , a length of and a height above water of , ''Goethe'' was converted to diesel-hydraulic power during the winter of 2008/09.
Paddle wheelers are still in operation on some lakes in Southern Bavaria, such as ''Diessen'' () on Ammersee, built in 1908 and converted to a diesel system in 1975. It has been completely rebuilt in 2006. As paddle wheelers have proven to be such a great tourist attraction, a new one was even built in 2002 on Ammersee, ''Herrsching'', but it has never been powered by steam. On lake Chiemsee
Chiemsee () is a freshwater lake in Bavaria, Germany, near Rosenheim. It is often called "the Bavarian Sea". The rivers Tiroler Achen and Prien flow into the lake from the south, and the river Alz flows out towards the north. The Alz flows in ...
, RMS ''Ludwig Fessler'' () is still in regular service. It was built in 1926, but is now also powered by diesel engines (since 1973). The original diesel engine was the last ship engine being built by Maffei (no. 576). This engine has ended up in Switzerland to drive the newly renovated ''Neuchâtel'', launched in 2013.
Bangladesh
The era of paddle steamers in Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
began in 1929 during the British colonial rule
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts est ...
. At that time, there were many paddle steamers built by British Government for travel facilities as Bangladesh (Eastern Bengal Eastern Bengal may refer to:
* East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British ...
at that time) is a riverine country. These paddle steamers are also known as Rocket Steamers because at that time these paddle steamers were the fastest water vessel. Now there are 4 paddle steamers on service. They are ''PS Mahsud'' (Built: 1929), ''PS Ostrich'' (Built: 1929), ''PS Tern'' (Built: 1937) and ''PS Lepcha'' (Built: 1948–49). ''PS Mahsud'' and ''PS Ostrich'' are the biggest paddle steamers. These paddle steamers run in the route of Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
- Chandpur-Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...
- Morrelganj. These paddle steamers are controlled & superintend by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation or BIWTC, is a government-owned company that owns and operates river vessels and ships; and river ports in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
History
The company was founded in 1972 afte ...
(BIWTC). These paddle steamers are 100 years of heritage of Bangladesh.
Austria
In Austria only a small paddle steamer fleet operates. There is ''Gisela'' from 1872 in Gmunden
Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, Austria in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). It is much frequented as a health and summer resort, and has a variety of lake, brine, vegetable and pine-c ...
at the Traunsee
Traunsee () is a lake in the Salzkammergut, Upper Austria, Austria. Its surface is approximately 24.5 km2 and its maximum depth of 191 metres makes it the deepest and by volume largest lake located entirely within Austrian territory; only Lake ...
, ''Kaiser Franz Josef I.'' from 1873 in St. Gilgen at the Lake Wolfgang
Lake Wolfgang (german: Wolfgangsee) is a lake in Austria that lies mostly within the state of Salzburg and is one of the best known lakes in the Salzkammergut resort region. The municipalities on its shore are Strobl, St. Gilgen with the villages ...
, ''Hohentwiel'' from 1913 in Hard
Hard may refer to:
* Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture
* Hard water, water with high mineral content
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series
* Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...
(near Bregenz
Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...
) at the Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
and ''Schönbrunn'' from 1912 in Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
at the Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
.
Italy
In Italy, a small paddle steamer fleet operates on Lake Como
Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...
and Lake Garda
Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy.
It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
, primarily for tourists.
Denmark
has been operation with the same company since she was built in 1861. Sailing passengers to and from Silkeborg
Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).[Himmelbjerget
Himmelbjerget ("The Sky Mountain" or "The Mountain of Heaven") is a hill located between Ry and Silkeborg, Denmark in the area known as Søhøjlandet.
With a height of 147 m (482 ft), Himmelbjerget is one of the highest natural points ...]
ever since, using her original steam engine she was built with.
Norway
is the oldest steamship in regular operation. Built in 1856, she still operates on lake Mjøsa
Mjøsa is Norway's largest lake, as well as one of the deepest lakes in Norway and in Europe. It is the fourth-deepest lake in Norway. It is located in the southern part of Norway, about north of the city of Oslo. Its main tributary is the rive ...
in Norway.
Switzerland
Switzerland has a large paddle steamer fleet, most of the "Salon Steamer-type" built by Sulzer in Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
or Escher-Wyss
Escher Wyss & Cie., also known as Escher Wyss AG, was a Swiss industrial company with a focus on engineering and turbine construction. Its headquarters were in the Zürich quarter of Escher Wyss, which takes its name from the company.
Histo ...
in Zurich. There are five active and one inactive on Lake Lucerne
__NOTOC__
Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central ...
, two on Lake Zurich, and one each on Lake Brienz
Lake Brienz (german: Brienzersee) is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is ; the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by ...
, Lake Thun
Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton.
The lake was created af ...
and Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
. Swiss company CGN operates a number of paddle steamers on Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
. Their fleet includes three converted to diesel electric
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
power in the 1960s and five retaining steam. One, ''Montreux'', was reconverted in 2000 from diesel to an all-new steam engine. It is the world's first electronically remote-controlled steam engine and has operating costs similar to state-of-the-art diesels, while producing up to 90 percent less air pollution.
Active vessels
Lakes of Biel
, french: Biennois(e)
, neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin
, twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany)
B ...
, Morat
Morat may refer to:
* Morat, Switzerland, or Murten, a town in Switzerland
* Battle of Morat (1476), between the Swiss Federation and Charles I, Duke of Burgundy
* Morat (band), a Colombian folk band
* Morat, a type of mead that uses mulberries. S ...
and Neuchâtel
, neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier
, twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...
(connected by channels):
* ''Neuchâtel'' (built in 1912)
Lake Brienz
Lake Brienz (german: Brienzersee) is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is ; the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by ...
:
* ''Lötschberg'' (1914)
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
:
* ''Montreux'' (1904), ''Italie'' (1908),''La Suisse II'' (1910), ''Savoie'' (1914), ''Simplon'' (1919), ''Rhône III'' (1927)
Lake Lucerne
__NOTOC__
Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central ...
:
* ''Stadt Luzern'' (1928, last steam ship built for Switzerland),
''Uri'' (1901, oldest Swiss paddle wheel steamer),
''Schiller'' (1906),
''Gallia'' (1913),
''Unterwalden'' (1902)
Lake Thun
Lake Thun (german: Thunersee) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun, on its northern shore. At in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton.
The lake was created af ...
:
* (1906)
Lake Zurich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...
:
* Stadt Zürich (1909), ''Stadt Rapperswil'' (1914)
Note: The oldest active Swiss steamship is ''Greif'' (1895, on the Greifensee) with screw propulsion.
France
No paddle ship is currently in operation in France as of 2015 (though some Paris sightseeing tourist crafts sport a dummy sternwheel powered by a hydraulic motor).
In Lac D'Annecy
Lake Annecy (french: Lac d'Annecy, ) is a perialpine lake in Haute-Savoie in France. It is named after the city of Annecy, which marks the start of the Thiou, Lake Annecy's outflow river.Jean-Daniel Stanley and Thomas F. Jorstad, ''Direct Sedimen ...
an almost intact paddle steamer called la France, resting on an even keel, can be visited by advanced divers (resting at deep). She was built, like most of its Swiss counterparts by Escher-Wyss in 1909 (as a CKD dismantled kit to be transported by railway and assembled at the local annecy Puya Shipyard) and ran a regular line around Lac d'Annecy. During World War II the ship was laid up in Annecy and used as a prison by the German occupying forces and the Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
. ''La France'' made her last commercial voyage in 1965 and then fell into neglect and disrepair. Her owner had moored her some distance from the shore to save quay fees and she sprung an ice related leak and sunk in March 1971. It is a popular site among advanced divers (Level 2-assisted or 3-autonomous CMAS is requested to dive the wreck), an almost intact time capsule due to the fresh and low temperature water. Some divers even (mimic to) play underwater French billiard on the intact billiard table in the main lounge. Any hope of raising the ship is vain though: the hull was badly distorted when hitting the rocky lake bottom.
The former British paddle steamer, , a veteran of the Dunkirk Evacuations, is preserved as a restaurant in Dunkirk harbour.
United Kingdom
, a Clyde steamer
The Clyde steamer is the collective term for several passenger services that existed on the River Clyde in Scotland, running from Glasgow downstream to Rothesay and other towns, a journey known as going ''doon the watter''.
The era of the Cly ...
built in 1947, is the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world. This ship sails a full season of cruises from ports around Britain, and sailed across the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
to commemorate the sinking of her predecessor of 1899 at the 1940 Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on ...
.
Based at Wareham, (one of the smallest passenger-carrying vessels of her type, with a passenger capacity of only 12) takes trips on the River Frome. ''Monarch'' is a side wheeler privately built at Chatham Historic Dockyard
The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England.
Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) and was one of the Royal Navy's main faciliti ...
.
In the River Dart (Devon) (a coal-fired river paddle steamer) operates short cruises from Dartmouth and trips between Dartmouth and Totnes at high tide.
was the last paddle steamer built in the United Kingdom and was completed in 1953 for service on Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
. She went out of service in 1981 but is now open as a static museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
and restoration is ongoing subject to funding. Also under restoration is the 1924 , a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation, which is berthed at Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the ...
.
USSR
In the USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, river paddle steamers of the type ''Iosif Stalin'' (project 373), later renamed s, were built until 1951. Between 1952 and 1959, ships of this type were built for the Soviet Union by Óbudai Hajógyár Budapest factory in Hungary. In total, 75 type ''Iosif Stalin''/''Ryazan'' sidewheelers were built. They are long and can carry up to 360 passengers. Few of them still remain in active service.
Australia
Australia has a large collection of authentic and replica paddle steamers and paddle boats operating along the Murray and Darling Rivers, and in other areas around the country. Echuca/Moama has the largest fleet of paddle steamers in Australia, with seven operating commercially, and a large number of smaller privately owned vessels.
is the oldest wooden-hulled paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1866, she operates from the Port of Echuca.
, built in Moama
Moama ( or ) is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state ...
in 1911 and based in Echuca, is still working as a tourist attraction on the Murray River. ''Pevensey'' also starred as the fictional paddlesteamer ''Philadelphia'' in the TV series ''All the Rivers Run
''All the Rivers Run'' is an Australian historical novel by Nancy Cato, first published in 1958.
It was adapted as a 1983 Australian television mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters. The mini-series is marketed with the tagline ...
''.
PS ''Etona'' is now privately owned, but was built as a church mission boat for the SA Murray: sponsored by the Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide, and funded by old boys of Eton (UK). It had a small chapel. Larger gathering were held on riverbanks and in woolsheds. After retirement, it became a fishing boat, then moved to Echuca to be a private houseboat. It also appeared in 'All the rivers' run, reprising its role as a mission boat.
PS ''Alexander Arbuthnot'', built 1923 at Koondrook
Koondrook ( ) is a town situated on the Murray River, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Gannawarra Local government in Australia, local government area, north west of the state capital, Melbourne. At ...
, and named after the former owner of the Arbuthnot Sawmills, works today as a tourist boat at the Port of Echuca.
, built 1913 at Goolwa, is currently operating public cruises in Echuca. ''Canberra'' was built for the Conner family of Boundary Bend
Boundary Bend is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is near the junction of the Murray River and Murrumbidgee River. It is located about 50 kilometres east along the Murray Valley Highway from the twin towns of Robinvale in V ...
, as their flagship fishing vessel, but has been in the tourism industry since 1944.
, a replica steamer, was built in 1982 at Barham, and operates a large range of cruises in Echuca – from one-hour sightseeing trips to three-night and four-day fully accommodated voyages. She is powered by an authentic steam engine, dating back to 1906.
PS ''Melbourne'', built 1912, operates sightseeing cruises from Mildura
Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...
.
, the largest of the paddle wheelers operating in Australia iesel, not steam is a recent build (1987). ''Murray Princess'' measures in around in length and in width (the maximum which can fit the standard size of locks 1 to 10), and has a remarkably shallow draft of . It has accommodation for 120 passengers and up to 30 crew, and operates three, four and seven-night cruises along the Murray, from Mannum
Mannum is a historic town on the west bank of the Murray River in South Australia, east of Adelaide. At the 2016 census, the urban area of Mannum had a population of 2,398. Mannum is the seat of the Mid Murray Council, and is situated in the ...
in South Australia. ''Murray Princess'' was owned and operated for many years by Captain Cook Cruises in Sydney, but was sold to the SeaLink Travel Group, now the Kelsian Group
Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group, is an Australian public company that operates transport services in Australia, United Kingdom and Singapore.
History
In 1989, the business was founded with the purchase of the Kangaroo Island SeaLink ...
, based in Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
It was once in a fleet of three vessels. PV Murray River Queen is now a static b&b at Renmark.
The replica paddle steamer was constructed in Gippsland
Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...
, Australia, and launched in November 2008. As at 2020, it was on the hard at Paynesville, with an uncertain future.
PV ''Kookaburra Queen'' iesel, not steamoperates on the Brisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...
as a floating restaurant or venue for hire, along with SWPV ''Kookaburra Queen II''
, which was built in Echuca in 1876–78, was used on the Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...
, the Darling River
The Darling River ( Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka'') is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its conflu
ence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longes ...
and the Murrumbidgee River
The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...
in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. She was acquired by the National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
in 1984, restored to full working order, and is now berthed as an exhibit outside the Museum at a wharf on the Acton Peninsula, Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River, which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle, was dammed. It is named after Walte ...
, Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
.
PV Pyap
The PV ''Pyap'' is a tourist paddle vessel operating within Swan Hill, Swan Hill's Pioneer Settlement. Originally launched as a barge in July 1896 at Mannum, the Pyap was completed as a paddle steamer in late 1897 and operated on the Murray River ...
runs tourist cruises from the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement
The Pioneer Settlement, in Swan Hill, Victoria, is Australia's first open-air museum, portraying life on the Murray in the era 1830-1930. It opened in 1966 as the Swan Hill Folk Museum, before being renamed, following a visit by the Queen in 197 ...
in Swan Hill, Victoria
Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508.
Indigenous Peopl ...
.
PS ''Industry'' is based at Renmark.
PS ''Marion'' is based at Mannum. It is run by volunteers, and runs short local cruises, and extended overnight ones. PV ''Mayflower'' is run by the same people.
PS ''Ruby'' is based at Wentworth (NSW).
PS ''Oscar W'' is based at Goolwa.
PS ''Canally'' is under restoration at Morgan.
PS ''Cumberoona'' was built as a bicentennial project by Albury City Council. It suffered from uncertain water levels, and has been transferred to Lake Mulwala (Yarrawonga Weir, on Murray River).
The paddle wheeler ''Nepean Belle'' operates cruises on the Nepean River
Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...
at Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...
.
PV ''Thomson Belle'' operates cruises on Thomson River (Longreach, Qld). It was originally PS Ginger Belle on Maroochy River, and retains its steam equipment as a display item.
PS ''Decoy'' operates on Swan River (Perth, WA).
Replica PV ''Golden City'' is on Lake Wendouree (Ballarat, Vic.). The original was on that lake, then went to Caribbean Gardens (a Melbourne recreational park), then back to Ballarat for restoration. That was nearly complete when the shed and the vessel were destroyed by arson. The group then built a replica.
PV ''Begonia Princess'' on Lake Wendouree (Ballarat, Vic.).
Replica PS ''William IV'' on Hunter River (Newcastle, NSW). This was built as a bicentennial project (1988), languished on the hard for many years while fundraising took place, but is active again.
PV ''Julie Fay'' ran local morning/afternoon-cruises on Murray River for many years, then was sold for private use. It is now a static b&b, moored somewhere near Cobram or Tocumwal.
New Zealand
The restored paddle steamer is based in Wanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
. ''Waimarie'' was built in kitset form in Poplar, London
Poplar is a district in East London, England, the administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. Five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross, it is part of the East End of London, East End.
It is identi ...
in 1899, and originally operated on the Whanganui River
The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...
under the name ''Aotea''. Later renamed, she remained in service until 1949. She sank at her moorings in 1952, and remained in the mud until raised by volunteers and restored to begin operations again in 2000.
The 1907 ''Otunui Paddleboat'' operated on the Whanganui River until the 1940s in her original form as a tunnel screw riverboat. Lost from her mooring in a flood she was refloated in the late 1960s and rebuilt as a sternwheeled jetboat. Around 1982 she went overland to Lake Okataina and was converted to the sidepaddle vessel as she is today. Currently operating on the Wairoa River at Tauranga, this , diesel powered vessel with hydraulic drive for the paddlewheels offers scenic cruises and charters.
The Netherlands
''Kapitein Kok'' is a paddle steamer built in 1911 for ferry service on the river Lek
Lek or LEK may refer to:
* Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather
* Albanian lek, the currency of Albania
* Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine
* Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...
. It was fully restored in 1976 and is still in use today as a party ship. Queen Beatrix
Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband ...
chartered the ship in 1998 as part of her 60th birthday celebrations. The paddle steamer ''De Majesteit'' was built in 1926. In 1958, a part of the movie ''G.I. Blues'' featuring Elvis Presley was shot on board of this ship.
Japan
''Michigan'' is a paddle wheeler built in 1982, for cruising on the Lake Biwa
is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...
at Shiga
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Pr ...
. The name is from Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, a sister region of Shiga.
Paddle tugs
is a preserved steam-powered sternwheel tug based in Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
The British Admiralty
The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...
's Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service
The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was a British Government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The service from 2009 has been ...
constructed a new "Director" class of diesel-electric paddle tugs as recently as 1957 and 1958. Each paddle wheel was driven by an individual electric motor, giving outstanding maneuverability. Paddle tugs were able to more easily make use of the inherent advantage of side wheel paddle propulsion, having the option to disconnect the clutches that connected the paddle drive shafts as one. This enabled them to turn one paddle ahead and one astern to turn and maneuver quickly.
See also
*
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Notes
References
Bibliography
* Clark, John and Wardle, David (2003). ''PS Enterprise''. Canberra: National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
.
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse Historic Steamboat Photographs
* Dumpleton, Bernard, "The Story of the Paddle Steamer", Melksham, 2002.
*
External links
links to videos on paddle wheelers
links to photos of a modern design on paddle wheelers
Australian paddle steamers
A brief history
Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS)
{{Authority control
Marine steam propulsion
Ship types