The Palmipède (from French, meaning 'web-footed') was an early

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. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

created in 1774 by French nobleman, engineer, and inventor Marquis Claude de Jouffroy. It was tested in June and July 1776 on the

Doubs River The Doubs ( ; ; ; ) 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-le-Doubs, a village a ...

between

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

and

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

, making it the first steam-powered vessel. The long boat was powered by a

Newcomen engine The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is sometimes referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam being drawn into the cylinder, thereby creating ...

that drove oars with hinged flaps, designed to mimic the webbed feet of waterfowl. It was deemed unsuccessful due to its slower-than-expected speed. Jouffroy followed this in 1783 with his ''

Pyroscaphe ''Pyroscaphe'' was an early experimental steamship built by Marquis de Jouffroy d'Abbans in 1783. The first demonstration took place on 15 July 1783 on the river Saône in France. After the first demonstration, it was said that the hull had ope ...

'', the first

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmipede Steamboats in Europe Paddle steamers