 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2013) |
 Replica of PS Comet in Port Glasgow town centre, showing the elongated paddle boxes over the two paddle wheels on each side.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Scotland | |
| Name | PS Comet |
| Owner | Henry Bell |
| Launched | 24 July 1812 |
| Maiden voyage | August 1812 |
| Out of service | 21 December 1820 |
| Fate | Wrecked in strong currents at Craignish Point near Oban. Subsequently rebuilt as a schooner, sank February 1875 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 28 ton |
| Length | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Beam | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam |
The PS (paddle steamer ) Comet was built in 1812 for Henry Bell, a Scottish engineer who with his wife had become proprietor of the Baths Hotel offering sea bathing in Helensburgh. On 15 August 1812, Bell's ship began a passenger service on the River Clyde, connecting Helensburgh to Greenock and Glasgow. This was the first commercially successful steamboat service in Europe. Bell obtained the engine from John Robertson of Glasgow, and the ship was built for him by John and Charles Wood of Port Glasgow.[1][2]
- ^ Derry, Thomas Kingston; Williams, Trevor Illtyd (1960). A Short History of Technology from the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900, Part 1900. Courier Corporation. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-4862-7472-0.
- ^ Walker, F.M. (2010). Ships & Shipbuilders: Pioneers of Design and Construction. Pen & Sword Books. pp. 56–59. ISBN 978-1-78383-040-4. Retrieved 9 March 2024.