

I igure i . 



Laurie was senl to Sweden by Miller. She was 105 

 feel long, II feci beam, and cost £3000. This vessel 

 arrived in the summer of 1790 and King Gust.i\ in 

 a tetter dated July 26 ordered Col. Michael Ancker- 

 sward to welcome the vessel al Stockholm. The 

 King presented Miller with a gold snuffbox and a 

 painting was m ide ol the vessel. The Experiment had 

 five paddle wheels in tandem between her hulls, 

 operated by geared capstans on deck. These gave 



her a speed of 5 knots but caused the crew tO Suffer 



from exhaustion in a short time. The vessel was 

 badly strained in a storm and was finally abandoned 

 at St. Petersburg, Russia. 19 



Miller later turned to the idea of employing steam 

 instead of manual power and built a 25-foot double- 

 hulled pleasure bo il ol iron fitted with a steam engine 

 built by William Symington. Also named Experiment, 

 she was an apparent success, so Miller had a 60-foot 

 boat built of the double-hull design and fitted with 



'• Henry William Edward, The Double Bottom or Twin 

 Hulled Ship of Sir William Petty (Oxford: The Roxburghe Club, 

 1 93 1 . 



an engine built b; She reached a speed 



ol 7 mph on the Forth and ( lyde < anal. However, 

 Millet lost interesl when he found that the Symington 

 engine was unreliable and thai Great Britain showed 

 very little public support foi such projects. 



I niton was acquainted with Symington's work and 

 probably had heard ol Miller's vessels. At an) rate, 

 he employed the double-hull principle in his 

 ferryboats, the lust ol which was the Jersey, a 188-ton 

 vessel built l>\ < harles Browne, winch began service 

 July 2, 1812. The next year he had a sister ship 

 built, the York. These vessels were based on his 

 patent drawing of 1 809. In 1814 he had anothei 

 \ess,l of this type built, the Nassau. Ii was. therefore, 



I that he should apply this design to the 

 Battery. The double-hull design had worked well in 

 these ferries, and the design would give prot< 

 from shot to the paddle wheel. The Battery would 

 have the ability to run forward oi astern so as not 



to be exposed to a raking fire I i the enemy while 



maneuvering in action. The application ol this 

 "ferryboat" principle to the Battery reduced the need 

 for extreme maneuverability, the catamaran's weakest 

 point, <\ en at low speed. 



The resistance factors in the design are of relatively 

 small importance, loi the speed possible undei steam 

 in this period was very low. However, the plans 

 show an apparendy efficient hull form for the powei 

 available, aside from the drag of the beams across 

 the race in the \ icinity of the keel. The displacement 

 was adequate. I he height of the gun deck above the 

 water at the race made the Battery unsuitable for 

 rough-water operation, but there is no evidence that 

 Fulton or the sponsors of the vessel considered the 

 Battery as a coastwise or seagoing steamer. However, 



the clearance of the gun deck above tin- wat' 



1 1 it- dip of the paddle wheel would have- made the 

 additional weight ol an upper- or sp.u-deck battery 

 prohibitive even had experiei tion proven ii 



desirable. 



Sail and Inboard Plans 



The sail and rigging plan is likewise a Danish copy 

 and shows the two-masted lateen ri<j, employed. The 

 hull is show n with bulwarks and gunportS on the sp.u- 

 deck but no other evidence that the Battery was 

 finished in this mannei has been found. The rig 

 resembles that of some of Josiah box's designs for 

 Jell'et soman gunboats double-enders designed to sail 

 in either direction but without the jibs. The topmasts 



paper 39: ii i con's "sham battery 



157 



