ABSTRACT
In the application of the steam engine to navigation the machine has received many modifications in the form and arrangement of the parts, but in principle the marine engine is identical with the condensing engine. A great impulse was given to steam navigation, by the substitution of iron for wood in the construction of ships. The weight of an iron ship is only two-thirds that of a wooden ship of the same size. The use of steam power in navigation has increased at an amazing rate. Between 1850 and 1860 the tonnage of the steam shipping entering the port of London increased threefold, and every reader knows that there are many fleets of fine steamers plying to ports of the United Kingdom. The actual speed attained by steam-ships with engines of a given power and a given section amidships will depend greatly upon the shape of the vessel.
