Account of the ferry across the Tay at Dundee

Technical description of the earliest steam ferry across the River Tay at Dundee on the east coast of Scotland in 1821. Includes illustration of remote control gear which enabled the helmsman to operate the engine controls from the deck - probably a world first. His description concentrates on the second vessel built for the ferry, called the George lV, built 1824. These vessels were twin hulled (catamaran) types with a paddle wheel in the central well. Although not specified by Hall, the design concept may have been strongly influed by Robert Fulton's similar ferries in the Hudson River and also by the ferry Aetna across the Mersey at Liverpool.