Talk:SS Archimedes

A fact from SS Archimedes appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 26 July 2009 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that SS Archimedes (pictured), built in 1839 by Henry Wimshurst, was the world's first propeller-driven steamship?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2009/July.

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This is a very interesting article. Perhaps some details could be added the articles on steamships and propellors which currently make no mention of this ship at all. Long Shrift (talk) 11:25, 23 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! Nice to have my hard work appreciated :)

I do intend to do some linking to this article, and also add some more information to some existing articles, but Rome wasn't built in a day and all that. It took much longer than I anticipated to write this article, and I will probably take a short break for a day or two before continuing. Gatoclass (talk) 12:45, 23 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Great article well done (well, never done...). Green Cardamom (talk) 05:33, 26 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

A most valuable article, but could the author kindly clarify the source of the info that Archimedes was built at Phoenix Wharf? The link at footnote 13 seems only to specify Millwall. I ask this as the OS map of the area in 1861 shows Phoenix Wharf to be quite a small site with not enough space for building a ship of 125 feet overall. On the other hand the Ratcliffe Cross Dock (about 100 yards to the west) was a dry dock of about 150 feet in length and would have been very suitable. There are good sources showing that Henry Wimshurst operated at Ratcliffe Cross Dock in the 1850s, so it seems at least possible that he may have used the dock to build the Archimedes there in 1838. --Pettifer (talk) 19:18, 1 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

At the time I was trying to find something sigificant to mention about Phoenix Wharf. I'm unable to clarify at which yard the Archimedes was built. You're right in the reference is only

August 21, 1884. Henry Wimshurst died. For many years a shipbuilder at Millwall, Wimshurst was an ardent supporter of Pettit Smith in his endeavours to introduce screw propulsion, and, with the aid of friends, in 1838 he built the Archimedes, the vessel which first demonstrated the value of the screw for propelling ships in the open sea, and in 1839 he built the Novelty, the first screw steamer to make a commercial voyage.

I've removed the redlink to Phoenix Wharf. --Robkam (talk) 00:05, 11 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]