|
|
Article: Keelboats
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
KEELBOATS
Keelboats were long, narrow crafts that come to a point at one or both ends (the bow and/or the stern). They linked the northwest and southwest frontiers of the United States and continued to do so even after the introduction of the steamboat in 1811.
Keelboats moved along waterway currents. Going downstream, a keelboat could carry up to thirty tons of cargo and travel at about five miles an hour. Traveling upstream was more difficult. Return trips, often from New Orleans to Pittsburgh, could take as long as four months, traveling sometimes at a pace of less than one mile per hour. The boatmen poled, paddled, or pulled the boat by hand.
Powering keelboats against the currents ...