Stevens retained his interest in the screw propeller 

 but his inability, with the tools and skills available, 

 to obtain a fast-turning engine, caused him to give up 

 the experiment. In 1844, after some repairs and 

 replacements of parts had been made, his original 

 engine and boiler, with screws, was placed in a new 

 hull, and a speed of 8 miles per hour was obtained, 

 showing that the principles of Stevens' designs were 

 sound. Stevens plans called for use of a multitube 

 boiler, high-speed engine, and 4-ljladed propellers, 

 in a twin-screw installation, gear-driven in opposite 

 directions. His experimental machinery has been 

 preserved in the U. S. National Museum. 



A Practical Steamboat 



Robert Fulton's success in producing the first 

 practical steamboat in America has given him popular 

 credit for "inventing" the steamboat but in fact. 



as has been shown, many experimental steamboats 

 able to run satisfactorily for a short period had been 

 built previous to his. Fulton's boat, however, was 

 able to operate for a prolonged period, though the 

 hull was rebuilt during the first winter (1807-08) 

 after her launching. 



Fulton had studied the problem of constructing a 

 steamboat for some years and had gone to England 

 and France in an effort to obtain financial backing 

 for experiments. While in France he had built a 

 small boat, but this was not successful because the 

 engine was too heavy for the hull. However, he 

 succeeded in purchasing a Boulton and W'att steam 

 engine, the third the British government allowed to 

 be exported, and with this he was able to construct 

 his steamboat at New York, aided by his backer 

 there. Chancellor Robert Livingston. He and his 

 associate were also able to obtain a state monopoly 



Patent Drawing Submitted in i 790 by John Fitch and Henry Voigt to the New Jersey State patent office. 

 It represents the Experiment, Fitch's third boat, 60 feet long, 12 feet beam, built in 1788. By 1790 this vessel 

 had traveled over 2,000 miles in river packet service between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey. The 

 patent drawing shows clearly the mechanical arrangement of paddles in Fitch's French patent. The flag 

 shown flying on the vessel was presented to Fitch on September 4, 1 790, by the President of Pennsylvania, the 

 secretary of the State, and several members of the Pennsylvania Council. It is one of the earliest known con- 

 temporary representations of the flag of the 1 3 States. (Smit/isonian photo 45539.) 











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