how much freight can a sternwheeler carry!

[mjt60a]

http://www.pskingswearcastle.wanadoo.co.uk/Oddities.htm

[Eddy Matthews]

Imagine the potential problems caused by a load like that!

The obvious problem of stability with all the weight high up, the cotton dust in the air presenting an explosive mixture, and what would happen if the boat ran into a heavy rainstorm with all that cotton there to absorb water?

The captains and crew were either brave or daft - I'll leave you to decide which!

Eddy

[Dinosaursoupman]

Hey PDs,

Despite what it looks like, the Mississippi River Paddlewheelers were amazingly stable. They had a very wide beam to length ratio, flat bottom and shallow draft. Though many of them were lost to the perils of travelling the "Old Man" I cannot recall a single one capsizing, though there may have been those that did. Boiler explosions, hitting snags, hitting each other, fires (the bales of cotton were more likely to be ignited by embers from the smokestacks) were common factors contributing to the losses of Mississippi riverboats. In the book The Mississippi Steamboat Era in Historic Photographs by Gandy and Gandy ISBN 0-486-25260-4, the riverboat Arkansas City was even hit by a tornado. Even though it was damaged beyond repair, it did not capsize.

Randy

[poodge]

Now that's what I call "getting value for money"
I wouldn't like to be the boiler attendant though.Imagine that lot going up in smoke.How is the crew down below going to get out?

[Dinosaursoupman]

Hey Pds,

Poodge, fortunately for the stokers and other engine personel, the boilers and engines on most Mississippi riverboats were on the same deck that you see the cotton piled on. Below the main deck was little more than freight storage if anything. For the most part Mississippi riverboats were barges with fancy, light-weight houses built on top. I would recommend getting a copy of The Western Rivers Steamboat Cyclopoedium by A. L. Bates. It shows many of the details of how these types of vessels were constructed with an eye toward the model builder.

Randy