Shipbucket

Never knew about this one, either...interesting. And nice work on the drawing, too!

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Nice drawing and interesting design!

Thanks everyone.

@Charybdis

This image shows the front and side profiles of the rollers.



I used this same image to draw the rollers, frame, and rudder assembly, however I used photos of the ship for the superstructure, masts, and rigging as the top half of the profile drawing(s) aren't entirely accurate and the side profile is a cutaway showing 350 HP engine that powered the propeller, thus masking some of the outer details.

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Current Worklist: http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... f=5&t=5562

Looks like it is ready to move on the railroads.

As the old saying goes, "Truth is stranger than fiction,", and that's true even in maritime engineering.

I present the roller boat, designed and built by the Canadian lawyer turned inventor, Frederick A. Knapp, a concept driven by his passion for inventing and by his admiration of Queen Victoria. Knowing that the Queen avoided water travel because of sea sickness, and having fantasies of the Queen visiting Canada, Knapp set out to design a vessel that could travel across the water while being unaffected by wave action, providing a stable means of transport. Financed by the daredevil William Hunt, Knapp's roller boat was built by Polson Iron Works in Toronto and began trials on Lake Ontario in 1897.

Knapp claimed his design would be capable of 200 miles per hour, however it could barely manage the embarrassingly slow top speed of 3 knots, and afterwards the ship became known as "Knapp's Folly" by the locals. Modifications were made to the ship, increasing the length of the paddles, and later trials were more successful, leading Knapp to design 800 foot long versions, one to act as a troop transport and the other as a grain carrier, of which neither were built. Two years later the vessel was revised, adding a bridge and conical structures over the openings in the side. The rebuilt roller boat was intended to serve as a ferry, however on its first crossing the vessel ran aground.

In 1907, after being repaired, the Knapp roller boat broke away from its moorings and collided with the steamer Turbinia, and Knapp was forced to sell his ship to pay for the damages done. The furnishings were bought but the hull was never claimed and it sat in Toronto Harbor, rusting away until it was moved and buried in 1927. Today the hull lies under Lakeshore Blvd. and there are no plans to excavate the site.

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Current Worklist: http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... f=5&t=5562

Interesting design!

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MS State Guard - 08 March 2014 - 28 January 2023

The Official IJN Ships & Planes List

#FJB

Fascinating stuff as ever, those inventors sure had some wild ideas!

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Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

Great stuff, again. You're introducing ships a few have newer heard about. That's good thing in SB overall

The more I research the designs I plan on drawing the more weird ships I find along the way. I stumbled upon this peculiar car carrier yesterday named the MV City of St. Petersburg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_City_of_St._Petersburg

What's odd about it is the semi-spherical bow that's designed to reduce wind resistance and save fuel.

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Current Worklist: http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... f=5&t=5562

Great work!