From Newsgroup: alt.comp.os.windows-11

On 2026-10-20 15:15, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 20/10/2026 12:40, Daniel70 wrote:

On 6/10/2026 9:09 pm, Carlos E. R. wrote:

On 2026-10-06 09:37, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 05/10/2026 23:44, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

<Snip>

The Dutch used them for pumping, and the English for milling, for
centuries. (As did other nations, but those are the stereotypes.)

And both abandoned them the moment steam engines came along, and the
same with wind powered ships.

But wind powered ships were not abandoned.

Yeah .... I thought they were called Yachts.

I assumed you would understand (a great leap of faith admittedly) that
the context was *commercial* shipping

People still drive a horse and cart. And shoot arrows with bows. Too.

After the advent of steam engines in shipping, commercial shipping using
sails continued for a long time. Many ships had both methods. It was not
an abrupt change to steam. it took about a century, not "a moment".

I asked ChatGPT:

Q: With the advent of the steam engine, I think there was a time in
which ships used both sail and steam. How long did it take for
commercial shipping to rely only on steam?

A: Your impression is exactly right. There was a long transitional
period when merchant ships carried both sails and steam engines. The interesting part is that steam took roughly 70–90 years to become
dominant, and nearly a century to displace sailing ships from
large-scale international commercial shipping.

The transition began in the early 1800s, but it was not simply a matter
of inventing the steam engine. Ships had to become economical enough to
carry cargo over long distances without sacrificing too much space to coal.

The Geography of Transport Systems

+2

## The transition from sail to steam

Steamship./Nthe American Steamer "Savannah," The First Ship To Cross The Atlantic Ocean Under Steam (1819): Line Engraving, 19Th Century. Poster
Print by Granger Collection - Item # VARGRC0009216 - Posterazzi

### 1. 1810s–1830s: The first experiments

Steam engines were initially unreliable and consumed enormous amounts of
fuel. The Savannah crossed the Atlantic in 1819 using both sails and
auxiliary steam power, but relied mostly on sail. In 1838, steamships
began making regular transatlantic crossings powered by steam.

Ocean Evolution

+1

Steam Clipper Ship, 1863. /Nthe English Clipper 'Great Victoria'
Furnished With An Auxiliary Steam Engine And Screw, Built For The Liverpool-Australia Route./Nwood Engraving, English, 1863. Poster Print
by Granger Collection - Item # VARGRC0099992 - Posterazzi

### 2. 1840s–1860s: Sail and steam together

Ships such as the SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, carried both sails
and steam engines. Steam initially made economic sense for mail,
passengers and valuable cargo, while sailing ships remained competitive
for bulk goods and very long routes.

Deutsches Historisches Museum (DHM)

+1

12 City of rome ship 1881 Images: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search
Engine Public Domain Search

### 3. 1860s–1880s: Steam becomes dominant

Better engines and screw propellers reduced fuel consumption. Steam
overtook sail in the transatlantic passenger trade during the 1860s; by
1873, about 97% of European emigrant arrivals in New York came by
steamship. However, Australia and other distant routes transitioned later.

Cambridge Core

+1

Screw Steamer PHOEBE built by Abercorn Shipbuilding Co in 1876 for Pile
& Co \[J. C. Briggs\] London, Cargo

### 4. 1890s–1910: The final displacement of sail

Steamships became economical on long-distance routes, helped by improved engines, better access to coal and the Suez Canal. Large sailing cargo
ships nevertheless continued operating where their lower running costs
made them competitive. By around 1910, sail had largely disappeared from large-scale international commercial shipping.

The Geography of Transport Systems

+1

## Why did ships retain sails for so long?

There were three main reasons:

- Coal took up valuable space. Early steamships could devote an enormous proportion of their carrying capacity to fuel.
- Wind was free. On long ocean voyages, especially where coal supplies
were scarce, sails could save money.
- Sailing ships kept improving, too. The great clippers became faster,
and larger iron-hulled sailing ships could carry substantial cargoes economically.
Wiley Online Library
+1

One subtle point: even when steam had become the main source of
propulsion, ships sometimes retained masts and sails as a backup. So a
ship with sails was not necessarily a sailing ship in the commercial sense.

In short: the transition took place over approximately a century, from
the first experimental steam-assisted Atlantic crossing in 1819 to the near-disappearance of commercial sailing ships around 1910. The decisive
shift happened in the second half of the 19th century, particularly
between the 1860s and 1890s.
--
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;
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