A steam brig is a two-masted

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

with auxiliary

steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transf ...

. The key advantage was that the ship could sail up-wind and it could use the steam power to move relative to the wind for an advantageous sailing angle. In practice, the disadvantages combined rather than the advantages. The type had great wind-resistance, leading to an increased use of fuel up-wind compared to a pure steam ship. At the same time, the requirement to store coal reduced the cargo space over that of a sailing ship. It thus combined the slow speed, high maintenance and poor righting (ability to resist

capsize Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is Turtling (sailing), upside down in the water. The act of reco ...

and wind) of a sailing ship with the small cargo space and fuel expense of a steam ship. The ship was typically abbrievated as ''StBrig'' - steam brig.

Examples

A prominent early example was the steam brig ''New York'', built at Newcastle Street, Norfolk, Va., in 1821. A British example was the ''Sunniside'', an 1830s cargo vessel.

Examples

References

See also