Patrick Miller of Dalswinton
Encyclopedia
Patrick Miller of Dalswinton
, just north of Dumfries
(1730-1815) was a Scottish
banker and shareholder in the Carron Company
engineering works and an enthusiastic experimenter in ordnance and naval architecture, including double- or triple-hulled pleasure boats propelled by cranked paddle wheels
placed between the hulls.
He attempted to interest various European navies in his design for a super warship, but only Sweden showed any notable interest; their great naval architect Chapman called it the "English (sic) sea-spook". The Swedish king Gustv III, as thanks for the actual vessel, "Experiment", that Miller sent him, despatched Miller seeds of the Swede in a magnificent snuff-box, featuring marine illustrations, now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
On seeing a steam-carriage model made by the engineer William Symington
(or on the suggestion of Symington's friend James Taylor
), he got Symington to build his patent steam engine with its drive into a twin-hulled pleasure boat. This was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch near Miller's house on the 14 October 1788. The next year a larger engine was fitted to a 60 feet (18.3 m) long twin-hull paddle boat and tried on the Forth and Clyde Canal
. After initial problems of paddle wheels breaking up on 2 December, the vessel travelled some distance along the canal at a "motion of nearly seven miles an hour" on 26 December and 27 December 1789. Miller had been complaining about the cost of the venture, and he then abandoned the project. Ten years later, Lord Dundas
restarted Symington's work on a steamboat
, leading to the famous paddle steamer
Charlotte Dundas
.
Dalswinton
Dalswinton is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway in the south of Scotland. It is located about 6 miles north-north-west of Dumfries. To the east of the village a wind farm has been built...
, just north of Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
(1730-1815) was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
banker and shareholder in the Carron Company
Carron Company
The Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. The company prospered through its development and...
engineering works and an enthusiastic experimenter in ordnance and naval architecture, including double- or triple-hulled pleasure boats propelled by cranked paddle wheels
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
placed between the hulls.
He attempted to interest various European navies in his design for a super warship, but only Sweden showed any notable interest; their great naval architect Chapman called it the "English (sic) sea-spook". The Swedish king Gustv III, as thanks for the actual vessel, "Experiment", that Miller sent him, despatched Miller seeds of the Swede in a magnificent snuff-box, featuring marine illustrations, now in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
On seeing a steam-carriage model made by the engineer William Symington
William Symington
William Symington was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas.-Early life:...
(or on the suggestion of Symington's friend James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
), he got Symington to build his patent steam engine with its drive into a twin-hulled pleasure boat. This was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch near Miller's house on the 14 October 1788. The next year a larger engine was fitted to a 60 feet (18.3 m) long twin-hull paddle boat and tried on the Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
. After initial problems of paddle wheels breaking up on 2 December, the vessel travelled some distance along the canal at a "motion of nearly seven miles an hour" on 26 December and 27 December 1789. Miller had been complaining about the cost of the venture, and he then abandoned the project. Ten years later, Lord Dundas
Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas
Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas FRS , known as Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet, from 1781 to 1794, was a powerful figure in the Kingdom of Great Britain, now remembered for commissioning the Charlotte Dundas, the world's "first practical steamboat".-Biography:Thomas was the only son of Sir Lawrence...
restarted Symington's work on a steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, leading to the famous paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
Charlotte Dundas
Charlotte Dundas
The Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world's "first practical steamboat", the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships....
.