Steamboat “Elizabeth”

Two hundred years ago, at the beginning of November, our first steamboat left the shipyard of Russia. Named after the great empress, he served the country for more than two hundred years faithfully, traveling from distant Kronstadt to the capital of the Russian Empire.

Shipping History

The creation of the ship was Byrd’s triumph – built at its factory and by its design, it was the completion of Charles’s struggle for the right to develop Russian waters. At first, Fulton, the legendary author of the first steamboat, received the contract for the creation of a steam engine on the water, but since he violated the conditions, the contract was transferred to his competitor. He built the ship quickly enough, and already in 1815, with a huge crowd of people, the legendary ship was launched into the water, which will be the harbinger of a new century in the navigation of our country. For some reason, the pond of the Tauride Palace was chosen as a place for demonstration. It immediately became clear that the ship would become a hit – it fascinated most members of the royal family and many high-ranking officials. The creation of the first ship immediately anticipated the active development of the shipping company in Russia – he discovered the highest driving performance,

Steamboat “Elizabeth”

The ship, named after the Empress, turned out to be beautiful in design and in running capabilities. In length, it was more than 18 meters, which to put it mildly significantly for the ship of that time. The width was more than four and a half meters, and the draft by the standards of modern ships was, to put it mildly, ridiculous – only 61 cm. A significant power plant was installed inside the hold – its power was four horsepower, and the shaft speed with this design was forty revolutions per minute. The machine set the wheels in motion. Like all old steamboats, Elizabeth had a wheeled structure, there were six blades, and the wheels themselves were no more than two and a half meters in diameter and rotated relatively slowly. The steam boiler used firewood to create traction in the engine.

Breakthrough

Although the design of the ship assumed a brick chimney, and its speed was not more than eleven kilometers per hour, that is, by sea standards it did not even reach six knots, the creation of the first non-sailing ship was a real breakthrough. The amazing ship was not dependent on the wind and could travel even in areas where there were no winds or go against them. The first journey passed from St. Petersburg to distant Kronstadt, that is, along the route, which w