![Postcard of the Toronto waterfront featuring Canada Steamship Lines steamboats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Postcard_of_the_Toronto_waterfront_featuring_Canada_Steamship_Lines_steamboats.jpg)
The texas is a structure or section of a
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 ...
that includes the crew's quarters. It is located on the
hurricane deck, which is also called the texas deck. This long, narrow cabin is near and may be surmounted by the
pilothouse
The interior of the bridge of the Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska">RV_Sikuliaq.html" ;"title="Research Vessel ''RV Sikuliaq">Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska
file:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a tugboat, topp ...
.
History
A steamboat's texas is named in honor of the
state of Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. This innovation in steamboat construction was introduced about the same time that the state of Texas became part of the United States in 1845.
In this period, steamboat cabins were conventionally named after states and the officers' quarters were the largest. This structure housing the largest cabins was identified with Texas, which was then the largest state.
Usage
The term became widely known after the publication of
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 ''
Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...
''. In the section in which Huck and Jim encounter a wrecked steamboat:
Variations
![Edward L Ryerson Welland Canal 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Edward_L_Ryerson_Welland_Canal_2008.JPG)
On the Great Lakes,
lake freighters have deck houses at the bow and stern with cargo holds in the center. For those, the texas refers to the layer of the deck house that is just below the wheel house / bridge.
[ 2002, 2004 ]
References
{{reflist
Steamboats