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New England clipper ships and British composite hulls represented the apex of wind
powered ships. Steam power was the next revolutionary step in the development of
modern shipping and the history of ships. John Fitch, an American inventor was the first known person to mount a steam engine on a boat in 1786 on the Delaware River. Design problems discouraged him, and he gave up. About twenty years later in 1807, Robert Fulton designed and built the first successful steam paddle wheeler in history. This was the forerunner of the boats of Mark Twain, and they dominated not just American, but the world's inland lakes and rivers for a century. These great boats formed the gist of legend, and were very instrumental to the development of the nation. They dominated freight and passenger service, until railroads were fully built later in the century. Following the steam paddle wheeler was the invention of the screw propeller. Although invented by American John Stevens in 1804, it wasn't successfully used until 1844 in the British ship Great Britain. Another revolutionary material used by the builders of this ship was the iron hull. Iron had been largely shunned as a shipbuilding material until this time. The Great Britain survived a wreck, and several severe storms while beached. When the boat was later salvaged and refloated, the iron hull proved its seaworthiness. Steam engine power until the 1890's took the form of steam reciprocating, or piston engines. After that time steam turbines began to appear as the steamer ship's main power plant. This is now standard installation for modern steamers. Some steam ships use nuclear power plants to provide steam for their turbines. This is what is used in nuclear powered ships and submarines. By the early 20th century, internal combustion engines had been developed to provide a more efficient alternative to steam. Most modern ships are motor ships powered by diesel power plants. As boatbuilding advanced from simple dugouts, rafts, and canoes, more complex building techniques were needed. The earliest boats in history were built using the 'design as you go' method, utilizing whatever materials were on hand. Boatbuilders started using scale models to design their ships before beginning construction as early as 500 B. C. Designers could work out the shape and position of hull and other components, and transfer the designs to the shipbuilding materials after scaling up. The developement of simple boats to ocean going ships was instrumental in the great exploration and trade expansion, so crucial in our history to the developement of the modern society we enjoy today. |