Steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
Origin of the name
The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term "steam yacht" on 16 May 1817 albeit in describing PS Thames, ex Duke of Argyle. She was one of the five passenger steamboats then under Dodd's direction, and his description was used in an effort to advertise how luxurious these vessels were-for the general public. Her service on the river had first been reported in a newspaper. At that time, she had not been formally renamed, but was still sailing under the description "Thames steam yacht".
The history of the first three private steam yachts is as follows:
Quentin Durward, wooden paddle steamer registered 10 June 1823 by builders Sime & Rankin, Leith,100'8" x 16'5" x 9'3", 78 tons. After being sold to R.Ogilvie & G.Crichton of Leith in 1823 and to the Leith & Dundee Steam Packet Co, Dundee in 1824, she was sold on 12 June 1827 by the English millionaire Richard Thornton,to Kaptajnløtnant Lauritz Christensen, Copenhagen, who renamed her Dania. Since he first used her on pleasure tours on the Sound, this makes her the first ever private steam yacht