(1.10.7) PS Charlotte Dundas 1802
Built in 1802 by John Allen with her engine built by the Carron Company, and named after the daughter her designer, Lord Thomas Dundas, the Charlotte Dundas would turn out to be one of the several contenders for the title of World’s First Successful Steamboat. She had one paddle wheel set in a recess in the stern, driven by a direct drive horizontal engine, and powered by a single boiler set off-center to balance out the weight. She successfully towed two 70-ton barges 19 miles (30 km) along the Forth and Clyde canal to Glasgow, fighting a strong breeze along the way, at last proving that these awkward machines could be of practical use.
Largely due to fear that the wash from the steamboat’s paddles would erode the river banks, plans to build a fleet of steamboats were thwarted, and the Charlotte Dundas was left at a backwater of the canal at Brainsford, and eventually the poor old steamer was broken up in 1861.
Top speed: 4.5 knots (real one was only about 1.7 but that’s just way too slow for my liking)
Length: 17 Meters (not including rudders)
Width: 5.25 Meters
Height: 12.5 Meters
Coal Capacity: 324
-Working paddle wheel
-Simulated steam engine with condenser pumps
-1 Boiler
-4 Towing bollards
-Twin rudders
-1 Manual bilge pump
-Rope storage for 3 ropes
Simply light the boiler, wait for steam pressure, and keep the firebox filled with coal.
-This is NOT an exact 1:1 scale recreation. I used roughly the same hull dimensions, engine stroke, and paddle wheel diameter, but the rest is just whatever scale worked best, and there’s also the fact that it doesn’t seem to be clear as to exactly what it all looked like, with inconsistencies including whether or not the boiler stuck out past the deck, whether the funnel was amidships or aft, how the stern was shaped, and whether she even had a mast. There’s also the fact that I couldn’t find any info on what was in the bow other than just coal storage.
-This whole thing was built in only two days
-obviously being a paddle steamer with a huge open hatch on the deck, she won’t take waves too kindly.
-Depending on what workbench you’re at, You may have to adjust the position of the boat in the workbench so that it doesn’t spawn underwater and flood.
-This boat was heavily based on this cutaway illustration from 1956 https://youtu.be/Th6H5KNu5kU?si=6bCI1RiiWdDnGJmF
Discord server for checking out how the latest builds are coming along, chatting, memes, the occasional build competition and other nonsense: https://discord.gg/7Z2VWqvDwq
