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Steam launch Charlotte, England 1894
Important forerunner for recreational boating
Charlotte, ...
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- Steam launch Charlotte, England 1894
Important forerunner for recreational boating
Charlotte, a propeller-driven steam-powered launch, is the oldest preserved engine-driven boat in Switzerland, as evidenced by the French inspection plaque dated 3 December 1894 attached to the steam boiler. This would indicate that the English vessel was assembled in France. It was bought by Gustave Naville, the then director of Escher Wyss & Cie., Zurich. The vessel was used as inspiration – by way of technology transfer – for more than 200 steam launches built by Escher Wyss. The designation “Escher Wyss - 1895 - No. 92” on the cylinder is therefore misleading.
As a unique witness to the early days of engine-driven pleasure boats in Switzerland, Charlotte marks the beginning of recreational boating and is a forerunner of the very many motorboats we see on our waterways today. For a long time it was the fastest vessel on Lake Zurich. After Escher Wyss called in the administrators, Charlotte passed into private hands in 1934. The launch remained on Lake Zurich for 122 years. Its final dip in the water before it entered the Swiss Museum of Transport in 2017 took place on Lake Lucerne. Charlotte is purely mechanical: nowhere in the vessel will you find an electrical wire.
Steam boats
Switzerland until the 1970s was an industrial nation of world renown. Like the Sulzer brothers, who began supplying customers around the world with steam engines then large diesel engines, Escher Wyss & Cie. enjoyed an excellent reputation. Established in 1805 as Switzerland’s second mechanical spinning mill (using machines from the UK), in 1837 Escher Wyss began making steam engines for industrial and navigational purposes according to the English model; as a speciality, the company also made complete steamships. Of the 589 orders for large steamers registered
until 1913, 290 were purely for steam engines. The other 299 were for complete propeller-driven vessels and, in particular, paddle steamers.
Escher Wyss’s timber shipbuilders were not overworked with the making of life rafts for large steamships. As a consequence, in 1888 they established their own “motorboat” department, producing naphtha and small steam vessels, followed later by petrol and electric boats. Substantially more than 200 vessels were built in a variety of shapes and sizes according to the English model exhibited here, i.e. “Charlotte”. Very little is known of what became of them. That is what makes the preservation of this exemplar all the more unique, especially as barely any changes were made to it during its 122 years of service.
Water-tube boiler – the turbo of the 19th century
Steam boilers were typically heated using solid fuel such as wood or coal. Since the discovery of petroleum in 1857, refinery products grew in popularity. The Lifu and Thornycroft companies revolutionised steam boiler design and brought liquid fuel into the modern age. Kerosene was first used in lamps, and from around 1890 it was considered progressive and clean to also heat with it. Kerosene is a distillate that lies somewhere between heating oil and petrol in terms of its processing degree and soot formation. It meant that the boiler of the Charlotte could be ready in just 30 minutes or so. By comparison, water-tube boilers are considerably lighter and more compact than conventional boilers. Also, their thin-walled pipes provided optimum transfer of heat. For a pressure of 15 bar, the wall thickness of pipe required is just 0.8 mm. The corresponding steam-powered vessels were
purely mechanical.
The oil can – for the fourth important liquid
Water is needed for steam, kerosene burns in the boiler, and methylated spirit is needed to pre-warm the burners. The fourth important liquid is oil. Despite the centralised lubrication system, the engine is equipped with at least another dozen oiling points. These are lubricated using an oil can with an extra long spout for the hard-to-get-at points.
Boiler fragment
82 pipes exhibiting a wall thickness of just 0.8 mm produce up to 100 kg of steam an hour at a pressure of 15 bar (1.57 MPa) for Charlotte. The date on the French plaque testifies to the first boiler inspection on
3 December 1894.
Calorific values of fuels
Hardwood / 4,100 kcal/kg / 17,2 MJ/kg
Charcoal / 6,600 kcal/kg / 27,6 MJ/kg
Coal / 8,000 kcal/kg / 33,5 MJ/kg
Kerosene / 10,560 kcal/kg / 44,2 MJ/kg
Petrol / 10,850 kcal/kg / 45,4 MJ/kg
Hydrogen / 29,000 kcal/kg / 121,4 MJ/kg
Evaporator plate
The kerosene is heated in the labyrinth by the fire and evaporates into kerosene gas. A second pipe supplies this gas with combustion air to ensure that as little smoke as possible is produced.
Boiler pipes and fittings
The union nut is pushed onto the copper tubing. The end of the pipe is then flanged (provided with a lip) to produce a mating surface for screwing the pipe onto the nipple.
- Inventory No.VHS-12200
- Original/modelOriginal
- Object typeObject (three-dimensional)
- Manufacturer/operatorEscher-Wyss und Cie. (Escher Wyss bzw. Escher, Wyss + Co., Monogramm EWC) (1805 - 1983), Operator or user, archivalisch belegt
LiFu (1805 - 1983), Engine manufacturer, archivalisch belegt
Thornycroft and Co. (1805 - 1983), Manufacturer, archivalisch belegt
- GeographyTerritory: Zürichsee
- Dating1894
- Object weightL x B x H 840 x 152 cm
Gewicht 1200 kg (Verdrängung)
- Number of crew1
- Number of passengers5
- Type of propulsionPiston steam engine
- Engine designStanding
- Number of cylinders2
- Steam (bar)15
- Power (kW)11
- Speed (rpm)400
- Top speed (km/h)13.6
