Knapp's roller boat

[Paulrjordan]

For those of you who not aware of yet another bizarre Canadian
invention, here is a brief description of the "roller Boat".

In 1895, the great Canadian stunt performer and promoter Guillermo
Antonio Farini decided to retire from show business to concentrate on
his new interest – horticulture. He planted some 60,000 begonias at
his London estate and wrote a book about growing them. His business
investments that year included a gold mine, headed by a Toronto
jeweller, J.E. Ellis, in Rossland, B.C. That may have been one of the
reasons he moved to Toronto in 1898 where he became involved in
another invention, Frederick Knapp's Roller Boat. Knapp believed his
vessel could cross the ocean at speeds up to 200 miles an hour by
rolling over the waves. Farini thought so too, but this turned out to
be one of his scientific and financial failures: the boat was sold for
scrap in 1908.

Here's a contemporary report from September 15th 1897 after it was
launched in Toronto.

"A New Idea - The much-talked of Knapp Roller boat was launched at
Toronto, Sept. 8th. The vessel, which is cylindrical, is 110 feet long
and 25 feet in diameter. At each end are to be two sixty-horse power
engines. Mr. Knapp, the designer, expects by the principle of rolling
over the water instead of plowing through it, to shorten the time of a
voyage across the Atlantic to two days. As yet, the vessel is without
her engines and minus the internal chamber where the passengers are
supposed to remain, while the outside of the ship is revolving. The
outer part of the roller boat is to be kept in motion by the attempt
of a sort of locomotive to climb up the shell, much as a squirrel
sometimes keeps in motion the revolving treadmill in which he is
confined. The boat will cost $10,000. She was built by George Goodwin,
a wealthy contractor, and Postmaster General Mulock."

And if you think this sounds nuts...you'd better ask Chris first!

PJ