Waterline drawing of Princess Royal circa 1850 n.d.

Description

Princess Royal, a screw steamer of 149 tons built in 1850, because in the early nineteenth century the public expected ships to have masts and sails, and they were useful if the ships' engines broke down. This was a not uncommon occurrence in the early days of steam.
However, iron shipbuilders did not follow the traditional design of the square riggers, but adopted the schooner fore and aft rig seen here for several reasons: All the sails could be set from deck, this would save expensive labour costs for seamen. Similarly, the topmasts could be lowered and raised from deck. This rig had a reduced wind resistance when steaming into the wind, thus saving coal and increasing speed. Stronger iron rigging was adopted, and this reduced wind resistance as well due to less cordage being needed.