Ship history (part 1)

From the end of the 18th century and earlier, sailboats were transported by sea breeze while the wind blew erratically. People have thought of using a constant source of energy and are strong enough to replace the wind.

History of forming steam ships

The Industrial Revolution in the early 18th century gave the Maritime industry a manufactured product by inventors and technicians, which is a steam engine, a device that generates motivation. Steam engine has been applied to Maritime Art and ship birth.

Denis Papin's steam engine (Photo: library)

1. The first inventor

Around 1700, Newcomen built an "air" machine, but it was too weak and heavy, not applicable to ships. At the same time, Denis Papin tried to apply his steam invention to ships, but Papin's model ship was jealously broken by sailors in 1707 and Denis Papin gave up on processing. create.

The steam engine was actually invented by James Watt around 1770 and in France, many people sought to apply a steam engine to water transport. The Earl of Auxiron and Follenay made ships but the ships were sunk on the Seine, possibly due to the destruction of sailors of the time, for they were afraid of being unemployed. By 1783, the Earl of Jouffroy d'Abbans succeeded in building the ship Pyroscaphe and for the ship to run on the Saone River for 15 minutes in front of thousands of observers. The Earl of d'Abbans asked for government assistance, but the project was rejected by the French Academy because the Institute was sponsoring Montgolfier's balloon experiments. Therefore, Count d'Abbans' ship research work must be aborted.

James Watt (Photos: greatscotland)

The study of how to build forgotten ships in France, in the United States , most of the pioneers of ships began to operate because the country consisted of many large rivers and no roads and roads. Iron. Steam engines in the late 18th century were still bulky and imperfect. No one has any knowledge about applying motivation to water transport. The inventors only know how to use sailing and driving.

The first two Americans assigned to honor built the first ships were James Rumsey and John Fitch. J. Rumsey tried to install a steam engine into a boat in 1786 but unfortunately, Rumsey chose an improper engine. This engine absorbs water in front of the ship and releases it behind the ship. After many failed attempts, Rumsey went to England and in this place, he built another ship. Rumsey died unexpectedly, causing the experiment to end, even though later, during a test run on the Thames, Mr. Rumsey's ship ran at 4 knots.

After Rumsey, John Fitch was the first ship builder . It was because of the need to go to the Far West regions that Fitch went to Pennsylvania to learn about steam engines. In 1785, Fitch began to build a ship with a reel (paddle wheel) on the side of the ship. Two years later, the inventor installed the engine in a 14-meter-long boat. Somehow, Fitch changed his mind and installed vertical paddles. The engine transmits power into two sets of rowing machines, each with 6 units, at each side of the boat. These paddles lift up and then turn down, pushing the water back. Although this method is very clumsy, the try on the river still brings success. On an afternoon in August 1787, the ship passed a distance of 40 miles at 4 miles per hour.

John Fitch (Photo: pbs)

Such Fitch captured the unique status of shipbuilding in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia states. Because of trust in success, Fitch planned to build a larger ship, 18 meters long and also powered by steam. In 1788, this ship was launched and also succeeded in carrying 30 passengers on the route from Philadelphia to Burlington. During this time, Fitch's capital was running out while the people were not interested in the invention. Fitch tried to build the third ship in 1790. The ship had a better de soup pot and a simpler machine, which had moved on the Delaware River and praised by Philadelphia newspapers. Despite the awkward way of pushing water, this Fitch ship has been mechanically successful and has moved more than 2,000 miles, carrying both passengers and cargo.

The ship uses Fitch's vertical paddle. (Photo: uh.edu)

When the patent law was approved in 1791, Fitch was granted a patent for a ship, but it was also granted to Rumsey and Stevens while Fitch was the leader in talent. Despite his dissatisfaction and deprivation, Fitch continued to nurture the dream of a ship. Thinking that he could be more successful in France, Fitch got off to France in 1793. In France and to be sure, Fitch applied for a patent on a ship but still met with luck. The French Revolution hindered Fitch's experiments. Anyway, Fitch also affected the development of ships in this country. Fitch left behind the drawing of the ship for the American Consul in Paris and he showed it to a young engineer and painter. This engineer is called Robert Fulton . Meanwhile, Fitch returned to the United States with fragile health. The inventor tried to make the people concerned about the ship's movement by exhibiting a small steam engine ship, but the people were still indifferent. Fitch retreated to Kentucky, became insane, and in 1798 died of overdose of opium.

Fitch's first steam-powered ship. (Photo: history)

2. Two inventors Stevens and Fulton

While the Fitch ships sailed up and down the Delaware River, one saw the ship run and saw the ship's boundless ability, Colonel John Stevens. First, there is a need for a round trip from home in New York City to the land owned in Hoboken that Stevens decided to build a ship. Stevens also noticed some confusion in Fitch's invention, moreover due to wealth, Stevens made easy reforms necessary.

Stevens persuaded his brother-in-law, Robert Livingston, to pay for a steam engine at the New Jersey foundry and install the engine into a 60-foot boat. The attempt in 1798 failed because the ship used a push method similar to Rumsey's. The second attempt was unsuccessful, even though the inventor used vertical paddles at the stern, just like Fitch's. Then the heavy machine broke the fragile boat. Shortly thereafter, Livingston took on the role of US Ambassador to France and Stevens continued to experiment and become the best steam engine engineer in the United States in the early 19th century.

John Stevens. (Photo: wikipedia)

In 1802, Stevens fitted into an 8-meter long boat, a small steam engine associated with a four-bladed propeller . The inventor used this ship to go many times from New York to Hoboken. Several years later, Stevens completed a second ship with two movable propellers thanks to a high-pressure engine drawn by himself. And the top honor came to Stevens when he finished the Phoenix ship for 2 years. This ship is 31 meters long, has a massive engine. Stevens returned to the old-fashioned way of pushing ships, which used paddle wheels and made sure, he added two columns to when needed, could sail.

Because of Fitch's reputation, Stevens did not dare to ship in New York state, so he had to leave the ship.The Phoenix ran from New York to Philadelphia peacefully. So Stevens won the honor of being the first person to complete a cruise by the ocean. But this achievement was not of much interest to others because at the time, the American people were paying close attention to the tests of Robert Fulton's ships on the Hudson River. Over the next few years, Stevens specializes in making steam-powered ferries and is also interested in the railroad industry.

Robert Fulton was a painter, living in the early days of steam engines, so Fulton gave up the art to become a canal digging engineer. Thanks to taking care of the canal digging, Fulton had the idea of ​​ships and how to transport steam. Fulton saw the ship powered by a roller wheel made by Symington in 1801 to pull raft boats on the river. Meanwhile, Fulton is also interested in the map of the nuclear submarine Nautilus. But after failing to get the government's attention and help, Fulton returned to making ships. It was during this decision that Fulton met Livingston, the new US Consul in France, who also learned from ship experiences with Stevens. Fulton was also shown a map of Fitch's ship while in the hands of the US Consul. Therefore, the collaboration of two people is easier to achieve.

Initially Fulton tested the method of pushing and considering the types of hulls . Fulton considers ships and machines a unit, not two separate things. In 1803, Fulton completed the ship 23 meters long, 2.4 meters wide . The ship was anchored on the Seine, but it was broken before trying. The ship's engine was rescued to be placed in a new, tougher hull. In the same year, the ship was launched. The first attempt was successful, the ship moved oddly on the water thanks to two wheels of water pedal. However, people witnessed the test as a new product, rather than a great prospect.

This success made Fulton the most famous ship in four years in a row. At the same time Fulton went to England to meet Boulton and Watt with the intention of asking to buy a steam engine to bring back to the United States. At this time in England there was a law banning the export of that kind of engine, so Fulton had a hard time but learned a lot about steam engines.

Fulton ship diagram (Photo: submarine)

In 1806, Fulton returned to the United States with extensive knowledge of canals, submarines and ships. Fulton embarked on drawing the hull. The following year the ship was fitted with a Watt-built engine. This ship looked so ugly, named Clermont after Livingston's land domain at Hudson. The Clermont is actually a flat-bottom barge, lacking in length ratio, the ship's engine is placed in front and moves two wheels of uncoated reels, including 15-foot wheels. When the train ran, water splashed all over the middle of the ship.

On August 17, 1807, 40 passengers attended a round trip from New York to Albany without an accident. The train runs 150 miles in 32 hours , so the speed of the train is 5 miles per hour. This test has been a key point in maritime history and also demonstrates the successful way of shipping using steam engines. But far more than many other inventors, Fulton reformed ships into a kind of beautiful vessel and demand of the people. In later attempts, Fulton covered the drums and set up passenger rooms with beds and cookware. So the Hudson River Steamboat Company took shape. In September 1807, scheduled trains began and tickets from New York to Albany were $ 7. In the following years, two more ships were built to provide daily trips between the two locations.

During the 1812 war, Fulton was given the job of building the first warship. In fact, this is a ship with two hulls placed side by side and the reel wheel is placed in the middle, next to the ship is fitted with steel plates. Later this warship remained unfinished despite the end of the war and Fulton died in 1815.