The Economic and Industrial Impact of the Steamer It was entirely due to the exertions of inventors and promoters like John Fitch, Robert Fulton and others that the steamboat eventually asserted itself as the premier means of conveying passengers and cargo both down and up America’s mighty inland waterways. By the 1770’s and 1780’s, numerous experiments had been carried out in Europe to prove the viability of steam as a power source, but despite these successes, early attempts at steam-powered rivercraft were met with incredulity and viewed as mere curiosities. Unfortunately for the modern historian, several men were simultaneously at work on designs for a steam-driven paddlewheeler. His innovation was rapidly adopted by the numerous different hands at work on the initial steamboat models. In an age before high-pressure steam, Watt’s invention was a quantum leap forward in engine design. By 1782 he moved beyond simply improving older models when he invented the double-acting steam engine, effectively doubling the machine’s power output. Steam Engine Developmentīy 1769, James Watt had provided inventors with just such a power source when he patented an improved version of the steam engine. Modern attempts in both Europe and later in America began in earnest in the 16th century, but as before, paddlewheelers proved impractical without a consistent and reliable source of power. Side and center paddlewheels were long-thought to be the future of ship impulsion, but despite the best efforts of Roman engineers to design an ox-driven craft or Leonardo da Vinci’s hand-cranked conception, a constant and even force was necessary to successfully drive such a vessel. Mankind has turned to the sea for trade and travel for thousands of years, but by the 4th century, boatwrights in Europe were seriously engaged in developing a more efficient means of propulsion for their vessels.
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