Mr. Smith had not the means of accomplishing this
by himself, but with the improved prospects of the invention,
capitalists now came to his aid. One of the most effective and
energetic of these was Mr. Henry Currie, banker; and, with the
assistance of others, the "Ship Propeller Company" was formed,
and proceeded to erect the test ship proposed by the Admiralty.
The result was the Archimedes, a wooden vessel of 237 tons
burthen. She was designed by Mr. Pasco, laid down by Mr.
Wimshurst in the spring of 1838, was launched on the 18th of
October following, and made her first trip in May 1839. She was
fitted with a screw of one turn placed in the dead wood, and
propelled by a pair of engines of 80-horse power. The vessel was
built under the persuasion that her performance would be
considered satisfactory if a speed was attained of four or five
knots an hour, where as her actual speed was nine and a half
knots. The Lords of the Admiralty were invited to inspect the
ship. At the second trial Sir Edward Parry, Sir William Symonds,
Captain Basil Hall, and other distinguished persons were present.
The results were again satisfactory. The success of the
Archimedes astonished the engineering world. Even the Surveyor
of the Royal Navy found that the vessel could steer! The Lords
of the Admiralty could no longer shut their eyes. But the
invention could not at once be adopted.
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