Charlotte Dundas

Charlotte Dundas

Drawing of Charlotte Dundas by Robert Bowie

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Owner Lord Dundas Shipyard John Allan building-costs 7,000 pounds Launch 1801 Whereabouts Wrecked in 1861

Ship dimensions and crew length 17 m ( Lüa ) width 5.5 m Draft Max. 2.4 m displacement 70  t

Machine system machine Steam engine Machine performance 10 HP (7 kW) Top speed 1.8 kn (3 km / h) propeller 1 paddle wheel

The Charlotte Dundas is considered the first usable steamboat in Europe. It was built in 1801 by the Scottish steam engine builder William Symington , who was employed by the landowner Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas , a director of the Forth and Clyde Canal . For 7,000 pounds, Symington built the Charlotte Dundas , which was to serve as a horse replacement for towing the canal boats. A Watt steam engine provided the drive . Pistons transmitted the movement directly to the wheel shaft via the handlebar and crank. The machine could generate 10 hp.

The maiden voyage took place on January 4, 1803. In March of the same year, the boat was able to prove its suitability as a tug. The 17 meter long and 5.5 meter wide ship was able to tow two barges with 70 tons each against a strong wind in six hours over a distance of 31.4 km through the canal. However, the canal owners feared that the waves generated by the tug's paddle wheel could damage the bank, so the ship was decommissioned after some time.

A model of the Charlotte Dundas, which was built by the builder's eldest son, Andrew Symington, in 1852, has been preserved: the 76.2 cm long model ship is now in the Victoria Australia Museum in Melbourne. There is also a longitudinal section drawing of the vehicle drawn by another son, William Symington.

Web links

Commons : Charlotte Dundas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Duncan Haws: Ships and the Sea. Chronik der Seefahrt , Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld 2000, ISBN 3-7688-1225-1 , pp. 100-102
• Heinz Neukirchen: Seafaring through the millennia , Gondrom-Verlag, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-8112-0451-3 , p. 340 f.
• Ships: sailing ships, warships, passenger and merchant ships , Fränkisch-Crumbach 2016, ISBN 978-3846800225 , p. 165

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Model and sectional drawing of the Charlotte Dundas in the Museum Victoria Australia ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.