Its predecessor, the Leopold , had only been in operation for eight years, then the oak hull was used up and the ship had to be demolished in 1840. That is why the hull of the new Leopold was made of iron and it was four meters longer. The paddle steamer was made by the experienced Zurich company Escher, Wyß & Cie. Built at the Konstanz shipyard and was so robust that it withstood 65 years of hard use. The Leopold was very popular on Lake Constance, although it offered little comfort to a maximum of 350 passengers. In bad weather, only about 100 of them could be accommodated in the narrow cabins of the first class aft and the second class in the foredeck . As was customary until the 1870s, the ship was designed more for the transport of goods than people and was used on the Obersee and Überlinger See . There were also several accidents . Because of the low speed, she was only used to tow barges to Lindau and Bregenz towards the end of the 19th century and was used as a reserve ship for the last few years. In 1905 she was retired as a last Baden flush deck and a Uttwiler canceled scrap dealer.
technology
In the early years the side wheel steamer was also equipped with a foremast with a yard and two loading booms for loading and unloading outside of ports. The mainmast aft had a rigging for a gaff sail . In 1860 the old 40 HP steam engine was exchanged for a 120 HP two-cylinder oscillating machine, which in 1870 received a flame boiler with a reversing chamber for coal instead of wood. The speed increased from 13 to a still low 18 km / h.
Werner Deppert: With a steam engine and a paddle wheel. Steam navigation on Lake Constance 1817–1967 . Verlag Friedr. Stadler, Konstanz 1975, ISBN 3-7977-0015-6 , pages 17, 18, 86 and 87
Dietmar Bönke: paddle wheel and impeller. The shipping of the railway on Lake Constance . GeraMond Verlag, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-86245-714-4 , pages 24, 32 and 200
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