SS Sirius (1837)
.jpg) |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name: | Sirius |
| Operator: | Saint George Steam Packet Co, Cork, Ireland |
| Builder: | Robert Menzies & Sons, Leith, Scotland |
| In service: | 1837 |
| Fate: | Wrecked and sunk off Ballycotton, Ireland, 16 January 1847 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Paddle steamer |
| Tonnage: | 703 grt |
| Displacement: | 1,995 tons |
| Length: | 178 ft 4 in (54.4 m) |
| Beam: | 25 ft 8 in (7.8 m) |
| Draught: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Depth: | 18 ft 3 in (5.6 m) |
| Installed power: | 500 ihp (370 kW) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Range: | 2,897 nmi (5,365 km; 3,334 mi) at 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h; 7.7 mph) |
| Capacity: | 40 passengers |
| Crew: | 36 |
Sirius was a side-wheel wooden-hulled steamship built in 1837 for the London-Cork route operated by the Saint George Steam Packet Company. The next year, she opened transatlantic steam passenger service when she was chartered for two voyages by the British and American Steam Navigation Company. By arriving in New York a day ahead of the Great Western, she is usually listed as the first holder of the Blue Riband, although the term was not used until decades later.
Sirius was 178 feet 4 inches (54.4 m) long from stem to stern and a depth of hold of 18 feet 3 inches (5.6 m). She had a beam of 25 feet 8 inches (7.8 m) and a draught of 15 feet (4.6 m). The ship had a burthen of 412 tons and a gross tonnage of 703.
The ship had a two-cylinder steam engine built by Wingate & Co. driving two paddlewheels. Her boilers provided steam to the engine at a working pressure of about 5 psi (34 kPa; 0 kgf/cm2). The engine produced a total of 500 indicated horsepower (370 kW) and the ship had a maximum speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The ship could carry a maximum of 450 long tons (460 t) of coal, enough to steam 2,897 nautical miles (5,365 km; 3,334 mi) at an average speed of 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h; 7.7 mph).
Sirius was one of the first steamships built with a condenser that enabled her to use fresh water, avoiding the need to periodically shut down her boilers at sea for cleaning. Unfortunately, this also resulted in high coal consumption.
Sirius, the largest of the St George company's steamers, was designed for their prestige Cork-London service, on which she began in August 1837.
...
Wikipedia