Framed Historical Print: Launch of the Steam Yacht Ross Winans

Framed Historical Print: Launch of the Steam Yacht "Ross Winans"

Item: #4303

Add a touch of 19th-century maritime history and engineering eccentricity to your home or office with this captivating framed print. This fascinating lithograph/engraving captures the momentous 1866 launch of the experimental steam yacht Ross Winans at Millwall, England. Showcasing the ship's highly unusual "cigar" shape alongside bustling dockside crowds, this vintage artwork is an excellent conversation starter for nautical enthusiasts, history buffs, and lovers of industrial oddities. The piece comes professionally framed in a classic dark wood finish, ready to hang and display.

Product Details

• Artwork Title: Launch of the Steam Yacht "Ross Winans" at Millwall, England

• Print Dimensions: 14 x 10 inches

• Frame Dimensions (Outer): 22 x 18 inches

• Alternative Dimensional Specs: 20 x 16 x 3 inches

• Format: Framed vintage print under glass

The Brief History of the Ross Winans Steam Yacht

The Ross Winans was a radically experimental 19th-century vessel, widely known during its era as a "cigar ship" due to its spindle-shaped hull.

• The Visionaries: The yacht was designed and financed by Ross Winans, a highly successful American inventor and railroad engineer, alongside his sons.

• The Concept: The Winans family sought to revolutionize maritime travel by creating an ultra-streamlined hull with minimal superstructure, theorizing it would cut through ocean waves with far greater efficiency than traditional ships.

• Launch and Scale: The Ross Winans was launched on February 21, 1866, from Hepworth's yard at the Millwall Docks on the Isle of Dogs in London. The iron-clad vessel displaced around 400 tons and measured 256 feet long by 16 feet in diameter.

• Radical Propulsion: Instead of conventional side paddlewheels or a single rear screw, the vessel was driven by two massive 22-foot diameter propellers, with one positioned at the extreme bow and the other at the extreme stern.

• A Costly Failure: Despite the vast sums of money invested and the massive public curiosity it drew, the cigar ship concept became a technological dead end. The Ross Winans only conducted limited coastal trials in the Solent channel near Southampton and never undertook a proper ocean voyage.

• The End of the Line: After spending decades moored in Southampton waters as a local curiosity, the vessel was eventually sold for scrap in the late 1890s.