Ravaillier auto-boat

The Ravaillier auto-boat was the work of French engineer Jules Ravaillier, who spent several years developing it. Trials in Paris, where it ran on the roads and navigated the Seine, attracted the interest of the French War Department. George E. Crater of Stanhope, New Jersey, was impressed enough to buy the machine and the world patent rights, and in late 1907 he was shipping it to New York to demonstrate there.

Design

It was essentially a steel power boat mounted on the wheels and running gear of a car. A four-cylinder 20 hp petrol engine under the forward deck drove a conventional shaft and propeller afloat. On land, a lever disconnected the propeller and engaged a car-type countershaft, which drove the rear wheels by chains. The countershaft passed through stuffing boxes in the hull, and both axles ran through watertight steel tubes. A three-speed gearbox with reverse served both the propeller and the wheels. The wheels were galvanised steel with small solid rubber tyres, and a single steering wheel worked both the front wheels and the rudder.

Performance

The Rudder reported about 22 mph (35 km/h) on the road and 5.5 mph (9 km/h) in the water. It could climb a 15 per cent bank on a reasonable surface. For steeper or softer exits, an engine-driven capstan at the bow could winch the machine out on a rope tied to a tree or boulder. There was room for two people on the seat at the back of the cockpit and two more in a shallow cockpit behind it.