Team boat

The horses were hitched to strong timbers and by a forward movement of the feet caused the treadwheel upon which they stood to revolve and thus operate the gear wheels.

The team boat of this style consisted of two complete hulls, united by a deck or bridge, but separated far enough apart to allow the paddle wheel to be set between them.

This design eased the burden on the horses, freed up valuable deck space, and allowed the ferry to be built atop one hull.

[5] One of the first documented team boats in commercial service in the United States began running a Manhattan-Brooklyn route in 1814.

[11] Carrying vehicles, horses, and two hundred humans on a typical run, it could take anywhere from eight to eighteen minutes to finish the East River crossing.

First, they were thought to be cheaper to operate than any other type of ferry boat, and second, they did not incur fees under the Fulton-Livingston patents monopoly.

The Juliana, running from Barclay Street, was withdrawn from service, as announced, in favor of the more convenient horse boat.

[14] In 1816, a steamboat company running ferry service between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth had the law amended to permit the use of team boats instead.

[19] In 1838, Tremaine's Team Boat, using three horses, operated a ferry service at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

In 1824 the team boat Genius of Georgia operated on the Savannah River, under Captain William Bird, carrying a cargo of sundries.

An 1820 report by the South Carolina Department of Public Works described a five-man boat powered by eight mules; it carried 300 bales of cotton 250 miles in fifteen days at a cost of just $116.25.

[22] The team boats on the Delaware River serving Camden, New Jersey stopped for an hour at lunch time to feed the horses.