Due to scarcity and high cost of steam engines in the colony of Sydney, the ferry was powered by four horses working a treadmill around a capstan that drove the paddles.
Weighing about 80 tonnes and 24 metres in length, Experiment's first trip to Parramatta was made on 5 October 1832.
With a capacity of 20 tonnes of cargo and 100 passengers, the vessel could average 5 knots.
However, horse performance was unreliable, and Experiment found itself floating downstream on several occasions.
He replaced the horses with a 12 hp (9 kW) steam engine and on 9 April 1835 she began five years of successful service as a paddle steamer ferrying both cargo and passengers.