In spite of this historic voyage, the great space taken up by her large engine and its fuel at the expense of cargo, and the public's anxiety over embracing her revolutionary steam power, kept Savannah from being a commercial success as a steamship.

In order to reduce drag and avoid damage when the engine was not in use, the paddlewheel buckets were linked by chains instead of bars,[8] enabling the wheels to be folded up like fans and stored on deck.

Contemporary engravings suggest that Savannah's mainmast was set further astern than in normal sailing ships, in order to accommodate the engine and boiler.

[10] When it became known that Savannah was intended for transatlantic service, the vessel was quickly dubbed a "steam coffin" in New York and Moses Rogers was unable to hire a crew there.

[citation needed] Savannah conducted a successful trial of approximately two hours duration in New York Harbor to test her engine on Monday March 22, 1819.

The following morning the ship got steam up for the first time at 11 a.m., but the engine was in use only half an hour before rough weather persuaded the captain to stow the paddlewheels and revert to sail power once again.

Scarbrough's invitation was sent, but as the locals objected to the President leaving South Carolina on a Georgian vessel, he pledged to visit the ship at a later date.

Monroe dined on board, expressing enthusiasm to the ship's owner, Mr. Scarbrough, over the prospect of an American vessel inaugurating the world's first transatlantic steamship service.

The President was also greatly impressed by Savannah's machinery, and invited Scarbrough to bring the ship to Washington after her transatlantic crossing so that Congress could inspect the vessel with a view to purchasing her for use as a cruiser against Cuban pirates.

[citation needed] Savannah's owners made every effort to secure passengers and freight for the voyage, but no-one was willing to risk lives or property aboard such a novel vessel.

In the event, Savannah's departure was delayed for two days after one of her crew returned to the vessel in a highly inebriated state, fell off the gangplank and drowned.

Contract's skipper eventually concluded the smoking vessel must be a steamboat crossing for Europe, exciting his admiration as "a proud monument of Yankee skill and enterprise".

After being informed by Captain Rogers that his novel vessel was functioning "remarkably well", the crew of Pluto gave Savannah three cheers, as "the happiest effort of mechanical genius that ever sailed the western sea."

Savannah's next recorded encounter was not until June 19, off the coast of Ireland with the cutter HMS Kite, which made the same mistake as Contract three weeks earlier and chased the steamship for several hours believing it to be a sailing vessel on fire.

Hundreds of boats came out to greet the unusual vessel, including a British sloop-of-war, an officer from whom hailed Savannah's sailing master Stevens Rogers, who happened to be on deck.

[17] During Savannah's stay at Liverpool, the ship was visited by thousands of people from all walks of life, including officers of the army and navy and other "persons of rank and influence."

[20] At Kronstadt, the Emperor of Russia came aboard Savannah and presented Captain Rogers with gifts of a gold watch[21] and two iron chairs.

On September 18, 21 and 23, Savannah made several excursions under steam in the waters off St. Petersburg, with members of the Russian royal family and other noblemen, as well as army and navy officers aboard.

After experiencing several days of rough weather while at Kronstadt, during which the ship lost an anchor and hawser, Savannah left Kronstadt under steam on October 10 bound for Copenhagen, arriving on the 17th, continuing on to Helsingor to pay the Baltic exit toll, then stopping at Arendal, Norway, to wait out bad weather before heading out to open sea and her homeward crossing of the Atlantic.

The ship experienced gales and rough seas almost all the way back to the United States, and the engine was not employed again until reaching home waters, the crossing having taken 40 days.

After removal of the engine, the ship was used as a sailing packet, operating between New York and Savannah, Georgia, until running aground along the south shore of Long Island on November 5, 1821, and subsequently breaking up.

[2] Savannah had proven that a steamship was capable of crossing the ocean, but the public was not yet prepared to trust such means of conveyance on the open sea, and the large amount of space taken up by the engine and its fuel made the ship uneconomic in any case.

Evidence includes the 1-to-1.3-inch wooden pegs holding the wreckage's planks together, consistent with a 100-foot vessel; the Savannah was 98 feet, 6 inches long.