SS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, transiting mainly under sail power from May to June 1819. In spite of this historic voyage, the great space taken up by her large engine and its fuel at the expense of cargo, and the public's anxiety over embracing her revolutionary steam power, kept Savannah from being a commercial success as a steamship. Originally laid down as a sailing packet, she was, following a severe and unrelated reversal of the financial fortunes of her owners, converted back into a sailing ship shortly after returning from Europe.
Savannah was wrecked off Long Island, New York in 1821. No other American-owned steamship would cross the Atlantic for almost thirty years after Savannah's pioneering voyage. Two British sidewheel steamships, Brunel's SS Great Western and Menzies' SS Sirius, raced to New York in 1838, both voyages being made under steam power alone.
Development
Savannah was laid down as a sailing packet at the New York shipyard of Fickett & Crockett. While the ship was still on the slipway, Captain Moses Rogers, with the financial backing of the Savannah Steam Ship Company, purchased the vessel in order to convert it to an auxiliary steamship and gain the prestige of inaugurating the world's first transatlantic steamship service.
Savannah was fitted with an auxiliary steam engine and paddlewheels in addition to her sails. Moses Rogers himself supervised the installation of the machinery, while his distant cousin, and later brother-in-law, Stevens Rogers oversaw installation of the ship's rigging and sails.
Since Savannah crossed the Atlantic mainly under sail power some sources contend that the first transatlantic steamship was the , crossing in 1833. It used sail only during boiler maintenance. Another claimant is the British-built Dutch-owned Curaçao, which used steam power for several days when crossing the Atlantic both ways in 1827.
Description
The Allaire Iron Works of New York supplied Savannah's engine cylinder, while the rest of the engine components and running gear were manufactured by the Speedwell Ironworks of New Jersey. The 90-horsepower low-pressure engine was of the inclined direct-acting type, with a single cylinder and a 5-foot stroke. Savannah's engine and machinery were unusually large for their time, and after the ship's launch, Moses Rogers had difficulty locating a suitable boiler, rejecting several before settling on a copper model by boiler specialist Daniel Dod. The ship's wrought-iron paddlewheels were 16 feet in diameter with eight buckets per wheel. For fuel, the vessel carried 75 tons of coal and 25 cords of wood.
As the ship was too small to carry much fuel, the engine was intended only for use in calm weather, when the sails were unable to provide a speed of at least four knots. In order to reduce drag and avoid damage when the engine was not in use, the paddlewheel buckets were linked by chains instead of bars, enabling the wheels to be folded up like fans and stored on deck. Similarly, the paddlewheel guards were made of canvas stretched over a metal frame which could also be packed away when not required. The whole process of retracting the wheels and guards took no more than about 15 minutes. Savannah is the only known ship to have been fitted with retractable paddlewheels.
Savannah's hull and rigging were constructed under the direction of Captain Stevens Rogers, who later became the ship's sailing master. The ship was full rigged like a normal sailing ship, excepting the absence of royal-masts and royals. Contemporary engravings suggest that Savannah's mainmast was set further astern than in normal sailing ships, in order to accommodate the engine and boiler.
Interior
Savannah was fitted with 32 passenger berths, with two berths in each of the 16 state rooms. The women's quarters were reported to be "entirely distinct" from the men's. Three fully furnished saloons were also provided, complete with imported carpets, curtains and hangings, and decorated with mirrors. The state rooms were large and comfortable and the interior has been described as more closely resembling a pleasure yacht than a steam packet.
Early service
When it became known that Savannah was intended for transatlantic service, the vessel was quickly dubbed a "steam coffin" in New York and Moses Rogers was unable to hire a crew there. Stevens Rogers then traveled to New London, Connecticut, his hometown, where his reputation was well established, and he could find seamen prepared to serve on the vessel.