Brunel's Ships and Boats - Softcover

Doe, Helen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1445683644 ISBN 13: 9781445683645

Publisher: Amberley Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

From a young age Isambard Brunel played with boats. He wrote to his father from school that he had quite worn out his hands by making models. At the age of 11 he witnessed his father’s experiments with steam shipping on the River Thames. In his 20s he wrote in his secret diary of his daydreams of leading a fleet of ships against Algiers. This was the exciting age of maritime steam and Brunel was the great innovator. His first ship was the Great Western, a wooden paddle steamer launched in 1837, followed by his famous ships the Great Britain and the Great Eastern. But these are not the only vessels in which he was closely engaged. Just before the final launching of the Great Britain he worked with the Admiralty on HMS Rattler to trial the first naval propeller-driven ship. In Bristol in 1844 he designed one of his smallest steam vessels, a drag boat, specifically to assist in clearing the silt from the floating harbor. A version of this little boat was built for use at Bridgwater and is now in the care of the ss Great Britain Trust. Brunel’s testy relationship with the naval architect, John Scott Russell, is well known but before the Great Eastern they worked together on two other steam ships, Adelaide and Victoria, for the Australian Royal Mail Steam Ship Company. This is the first book to provide an overview of all of Brunel’s vessels, small and large. Readers will see his progression as he pushed boundaries and tested new technology. New information will be added on the lesser-known ships, with new perspectives on the well-known ships. Primary sources include the extensive Brunel archive at the ss Great Britain and sources held elsewhere such as the National Archives at Kew and Parliamentary Papers. It includes the latest research but is written in an interesting and accessible style that suits a wide audience.

About this title

About the Author

Helen Doe is a maritime historian who has published extensively on nineteenth-century sail and steam, including co-editing and contributing to the award-winning Maritime History of Cornwall. Her previous book was The First Atlantic Liner: Brunel’s Great Western Steamship. Her interests are in the people connected with vessels, whether on land or at sea. She has a PhD from the University of Exeter, where she has been a lecturer for some years. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Vice Chairman of the British Commission for Maritime History, a member of the UK Government’s Council of Experts for National Historic Ships and trustee of the SS Great Britain Trust.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1445683644
• ISBN 13: 9781445683645
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96