Steamboat
A steam boat ( English Steam Launch ) is a boat that is up to twelve meters long and equipped with a steam drive . The ship name is often preceded by a DB (for steam boat) or S / L (for steam launch).
history
In 1801 a usable steamboat was built with the Charlotte Dundas . Steam boats were popular from around 1860 to 1910 as pleasure and work boats; after that, smaller boats were practically only equipped with internal combustion engines. The typical steam boat has a high torque steam engine of about 1 to 20 horsepower that requires a relatively large propeller . The steam boiler was often installed upright. However, there were also models with horizontal steam boilers.
Steam boats were not as common on the European mainland as in England and the USA , which is why real historical steam boats are rarely found. An important manufacturer was Escher-Wyss in Zurich , who exported almost the entire production. The Swedish steamboat nr 45 from 1901, a launch of the HMS Wasa , has been restored by the Maritime History Museum .
One of the best-known steam boats is the African Queen from the film of the same name with Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart from 1951.
Steam boats are characterized by the quiet running of the drive and independence from fossil fuels because they can be fired with wood. In addition to nostalgia , this is one of the reasons why steam boats have been experiencing a renaissance since the mid-1960s. In addition to the repair of many disused steam boats, new steam boats were built in the USA. These include modern paddle-wheel- drive vehicles , while historic steamboats were propeller-driven throughout.
There are steamboat associations in most of Europe , the USA, Australia and New Zealand .
Special
The Liberty Belle , built in 1987, is the smallest fully functional paddle steamer in Switzerland. He sometimes rides on the Lake Lucerne and whistles in accordance with regulations signal the oncoming traffic with its great role models .
See also
- German Steamboat Association V. (1983)
- Steamship (on the history of technology)
