Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world's second successful steamboat, the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships.[1]
Charlotte Dundas cut-away drawing by Robert Bowie
History
Scotland
Name
Charlotte Dundas
Namesake
Lady Charlotte Dundas (daughter of Lord Dundas)
Owner
Lord Dundas
Builder
John Allan
Maiden voyage
4 January 1803
Fate
Broken up, 1861
Notes
Designed by William Symington (1764–1831) Model of Charlotte Dundas kept in Victoria Museum, Melbourne, Australia
Development of experimental steam engined paddle boats by William Symington had halted when the sponsor, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, abandoned the project. Symington had continued building steam pumping engines and mill engines. In 1793 he had developed a drive using a pivoted crosshead beam above the vertical cylinder to transmit power to a crank.
Miller's project and Captain John Schank's unsuccessful attempt at a canal steam tug had come to the attention of Thomas, Lord Dundas, Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, and at a meeting of the canal company's directors on 5 June 1800 approved his proposals on the basis of "a model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a steam engine by Mr Symington".
The boat was built by Alexander Hart at Grangemouth to Symington's design with a vertical cylinder engine and crosshead transmitting power to a crank driving the paddlewheels. Trials on the River Carron in June 1801 were successful. This first boat may have been named Charlotte Dundas and the trials apparently included towing sloops from the river Forth up the Carron and thence along the Forth and Clyde Canal. There was concern about wave damage to the canal banks, and possibly the boat was found to be underpowered on the canal, so the canal company refused further trials.
In 1801 Symington patented a horizontal steam engine directly linked to a crank, and got the support of Lord Dundas for a second steamboat which would become famous as Charlotte Dundas, named in honour of his Lordship's daughter.
Construction
Symington designed a new hull around his powerful horizontal engine, with the crank driving a large paddle wheel in a central upstand in the hull, aimed at avoiding damage to the canal banks. The new boat was 56 ft (17.1 m) long, 18 ft (5.5 m) wide and 8 ft (2.4 m) depth, with a wooden hull. After a model of the boat was made and shown to Lord Dundas, the boat was built by John Allan, and the engine by the Carron Company.
First sailing
The first sailing was on the canal in Glasgow on 4 January 1803, with Lord Dundas and a few of his relatives and friends on board. After some improvements, in March 1803 Charlotte Dundas towed two 70-ton barges 30 km (19 mi) along the Forth and Clyde Canal to Glasgow, and despite "a strong breeze right ahead" which stopped all other canal boats it took only nine and a quarter hours, giving an average speed of about 3 kilometres per hour (1.9 mph). This demonstrated the practicality of steam power for towing boats.
End of the project
Plans to introduce boats on the Forth and Clyde canal were thwarted, largely by fears of erosion of the banks, and a project to build tug boats for the Bridgewater Canal had ended with the Duke of Bridgewater's death a few days before the March trial. Charlotte Dundas was left in a backwater of the canal at Bainsford until it was broken up in 1861. Symington was not paid all he had invested in construction of Charlotte Dundas and was left disappointed, but the development of steamboats was continued by others including Robert Fulton in the United States and Henry Bell in Scotland.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlotte Dundas (ship, 1801).
Ships of the World: An Historical Encyclopedia-Charlotte Dundas
January 06, 2023
charlotte, dundas, regarded, world, second, successful, steamboat, first, towing, steamboat, boat, that, demonstrated, practicality, steam, power, ships, away, drawing, robert, bowiehistoryscotlandnamenamesakelady, daughter, lord, dundas, ownerlord, dundasbuil. Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world s second successful steamboat the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships 1 Charlotte Dundas cut away drawing by Robert BowieHistoryScotlandNameCharlotte DundasNamesakeLady Charlotte Dundas daughter of Lord Dundas OwnerLord DundasBuilderJohn AllanMaiden voyage4 January 1803FateBroken up 1861NotesDesigned by William Symington 1764 1831 Model of Charlotte Dundas kept in Victoria Museum Melbourne AustraliaGeneral characteristicsTypePaddle steamerLength56 ft 17 m Beam18 ft 5 5 m Depth of hold8 ft 2 4 m PropulsionCarron Company steam engine Single central paddle wheelSpeed2 mph 3 2 km h Contents 1 Early experiments 2 Charlotte Dundas 2 1 Construction 2 2 First sailing 2 3 End of the project 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEarly experiments EditDevelopment of experimental steam engined paddle boats by William Symington had halted when the sponsor Patrick Miller of Dalswinton abandoned the project Symington had continued building steam pumping engines and mill engines In 1793 he had developed a drive using a pivoted crosshead beam above the vertical cylinder to transmit power to a crank Miller s project and Captain John Schank s unsuccessful attempt at a canal steam tug had come to the attention of Thomas Lord Dundas Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company and at a meeting of the canal company s directors on 5 June 1800 approved his proposals on the basis of a model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a steam engine by Mr Symington The boat was built by Alexander Hart at Grangemouth to Symington s design with a vertical cylinder engine and crosshead transmitting power to a crank driving the paddlewheels Trials on the River Carron in June 1801 were successful This first boat may have been named Charlotte Dundas and the trials apparently included towing sloops from the river Forth up the Carron and thence along the Forth and Clyde Canal There was concern about wave damage to the canal banks and possibly the boat was found to be underpowered on the canal so the canal company refused further trials Charlotte Dundas Edit Charlotte Dundas drawing by William Symington In 1801 Symington patented a horizontal steam engine directly linked to a crank and got the support of Lord Dundas for a second steamboat which would become famous as Charlotte Dundas named in honour of his Lordship s daughter Construction Edit Symington designed a new hull around his powerful horizontal engine with the crank driving a large paddle wheel in a central upstand in the hull aimed at avoiding damage to the canal banks The new boat was 56 ft 17 1 m long 18 ft 5 5 m wide and 8 ft 2 4 m depth with a wooden hull After a model of the boat was made and shown to Lord Dundas the boat was built by John Allan and the engine by the Carron Company First sailing Edit The first sailing was on the canal in Glasgow on 4 January 1803 with Lord Dundas and a few of his relatives and friends on board After some improvements in March 1803 Charlotte Dundas towed two 70 ton barges 30 km 19 mi along the Forth and Clyde Canal to Glasgow and despite a strong breeze right ahead which stopped all other canal boats it took only nine and a quarter hours giving an average speed of about 3 kilometres per hour 1 9 mph This demonstrated the practicality of steam power for towing boats End of the project Edit Plans to introduce boats on the Forth and Clyde canal were thwarted largely by fears of erosion of the banks and a project to build tug boats for the Bridgewater Canal had ended with the Duke of Bridgewater s death a few days before the March trial Charlotte Dundas was left in a backwater of the canal at Bainsford until it was broken up in 1861 Symington was not paid all he had invested in construction of Charlotte Dundas and was left disappointed but the development of steamboats was continued by others including Robert Fulton in the United States and Henry Bell in Scotland See also EditSteamboat Paddle steamerReferences Edit Fry p 27 B E G Clark Symington and the Steamboat ISBN 978 1 4457 4936 5 Amazon B E G Clark Steamboat Evolution A Short History ISBN 978 1 84753 201 5 Amazon External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlotte Dundas ship 1801 William Symington William Symington inventor of steam navigation Ships of the World An Historical Encyclopedia Charlotte Dundas Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charlotte Dundas amp oldid 1002911411, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
