Frederick Knapps "Rollerboat"

[Eddy Matthews]

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

KNAPP's 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  â€“ horticulture. He planted some 60,000 begonias at his London (Ontario, Canada) 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."

[thewharfonline]

Thats weird as

[PJ]

Dear old Fred Knapp...it must have seemed like a great idea at the time and it's right up there with Bessemer's gimbled saloon deck designed to eliminate sea-sickness on the British cross Channel routes.  Actually these inventions all made "theoretical" sense in their way and these inventors are to be commended for having had the courage to think laterally, often expending enormous personal fortunes to see their ideas materialize.

In any case, here's a picture of the "Rollerboat" for all those who have never seen this crazy Canadian folly.

PJ
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

[mjt60a]

Good grief! how did they intend to steer it???

The 'Bessemer' now, that's an interesting ship (see it here - http://www.history.rochester.edu/ehp-book/shb/fig86.gif - or here - http://www.history.rochester.edu/ehp-book/shb - to see the entire article about it)  I wonder if anyone's made a model of it  

[steamboatmodel]

Hi PJ
Do you have any other photos of the rollerboat? I believe the remains are buried along the lakeshore. And how did they intend to steer it?
Regards,
Gerald

[PJ]

Well, Gerald, here is a picture courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives showing what appears to be the remains of Knapp's Rollerboat.  

Steering??? I haven't a clue how this would have been done..in fact the mind boggles at how he might have attempted to get this thing through the Western Gap!

Maybe you can research this further in the City of Toronto archives.  Don't forget to post a message if you find out any more.

Regards

PJ
(Victoria, BC)