120 Report of the House of Commom on Steam-Boats. 



Eclipse, Superb, and Majestic on the Greenock and Liver- 

 pool passage, will be found to be the first strong and powerful 

 boats which were built, and they were the first tnat completely 

 succeeded. The strength and power of the Holyhead packets 

 are clearly the cause of their success ; and the still greater 

 power which has been given to each of the new boats, the 

 St. Patrick and St. George, lately built at Liverpool, namely, 

 of two fifty-five-horse engines, promises to make them superior 

 to any of their predecessoi's. 



Your Committee having thus briefly given a general de- 

 scription of the rise and progress of steam navigation, will now 

 proceed to make such observations, as the information they 

 have obtained seems to justify, upon the more scientific part 

 of the subject; and hi doing this, they will divide it under 

 four heads ; — 1st. The form of the vessel ; — 2d. Her strength; 

 — 3d. The machinery ; — 4th. Sails. 



1. Form of Vessel. 



Captain Rogers says, " In building a steam-boat she ought 

 to have a fine entrance, and her bow to flear off, not to shove 

 any water before her ; she should have a good line of bearing, 

 and her transom pretty square, and not too high : the transom 

 being square and low, and fine under, so as to give her a right 

 line of bearing, will stop her pitching and rolling, and make 

 her easy on the sea, and add to her speed." — Captain Town- 

 ley, who has been commanding steam-boats, since 1819, be- 

 tween Dublin and Liverpool, says, " As to form, a steam-vessel 

 should have an exti-eme fine entrance below, rise well forward, 

 and flam off, so as to let her fall easy into the sea, and throw 

 it off" when steaming head to wind ; she should have but little 

 rise of floor, so as to be pretty flat under the engines, and run 

 off as clean as possible abaft : I approve of giving them a good 

 deal of rake forward." — Captain J. Hamilton, of the Arrow 

 Post Office Dover packet, recommends for wet harbours " a 

 vessel with a rising floor about three inches hollow, to prevent 

 her rolling; fair und easy curved water-lines; the stem to rake 

 well, which makes her easy, going head to sea ; the stem post 

 to stand square to the keel, and to draw fi-om seven feet nine 

 inches to eight feet water." — Mr. John Scott, ship-builder at 

 Greenock, says, " I have continued to make the fore body of my 

 vessels very fine, with a good entry, which I have always found 

 made the vessel sail taster, and easier impelled." — Messrs. 

 Maudslay and Field say, " The form of a steam-vessel under 

 water should be that of the fastest schooner, bold at the bows, 

 the whole vessel rising but litde out of the water ; the spon- 

 cings, or projecting work on the sides, added to the proper 



body 



