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Patent Model, Tug for Towing Canal Boats

National Museum of American History
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Object Details

patentee
Everson, Walter
inventor
Everson, Walter
Description
This beautiful wood model accompanied Walter Everson's 1871 patent application for an “improvement in tugs for towing boats” that received patent number 110754 on January 3, 1871. Walter Everson, a ship carpenter from New York City, proposed a paddle-wheel-driven tug for towing canal boats. "Its objects are to secure strength and compactness of construction, with increased efficiency in towing, and to prevent the washing of the banks by obviating the usual side swell."
Everson's solution was to place a single paddle wheel in a long, straight-sided channel, which would "confine the water...so that its expulsion is directly backward." For strength he designed the tug with two decks, heavily reinforced with internal framing. His model elegantly shows the complexity of this framing. Although he specified the use of two rudders, Everson made no mention of an engine for turning the paddle wheel.
1871
patent date
1871-01-03
ID Number
TR.325942
catalog number
325942
accession number
249602
patent number
110,754
Object Name
tugboat, patent model
patent model, tug for towing canal boats
Object Type
Patent Model
Other Terms
patent model, tug for towing canal boats; tugboat; Maritime; Paddle Wheel, Center
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 12 in x 4 1/4 in x 2 3/4 in; 30.48 cm x 10.795 cm x 6.985 cm
associated place
United States: New York, New York City
See more items in
Work and Industry: Maritime
America on the Move
Transportation
National Museum of American History
subject
Maritime
Patent Models
Record ID
nmah_843810
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-f657-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.
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