These two voyages stand in a class by themselves, and both mark a distinct step forward in the progress of the modern mercantile marine. The earliest steamboats, whether European, British, or American, were smooth-water vessels only, and were admitted to be of an elementary and experimental character. The _Charlotte Dundas_ and _Comet_ in Scotland and the _Clermont_ and _Phœnix_ in America were much beyond anything that had preceded them, and were significant as indicating a perception of the possibility of extending the activity of steam-propelled boats from the placid waters of canals or rivers to the greater waters of harbours, ports, and estuaries. The four vessels first named demonstrated, each in her own way, that it was necessary to build the hull to suit the engine, instead of acquiring a hull and putting an engine into it and trusting to luck. The _Phœnix_ showed in 1807 that a vessel constructed to carry a steam-engine of a suitable size could be trusted on the open sea, by steaming from New York to the Delaware. A few years later, the Clyde shipbuilders showed that they could construct steamers which should go down the Clyde estuary and even essay the journey to Ireland. It is true they used sails whenever possible, but when winds or tides were against them the engines alone were depended on. Vessels with two and three masts were employed, and as marine engines were made of greater size, power, and weight, vessels of greater dimensions were equipped with them, and the coastal service was inaugurated. By this time the engine had become a powerful auxiliary to sail on short voyages for which large bunker space was not required. The maintenance of the coastal voyages in all weathers proved the thorough seagoing qualities of the steamers. In estimating the value of the _Savannah’s_ voyage and its place in the history of steam navigation, it must not be forgotten that she was a sailing vessel, was built to be one, that the form of her hull was not altered in any way when she was engined, and that on her return, when her machinery was taken out of her, she resumed her place in her country’s trade as a sailer. Quebec’s _Royal William_, on the contrary, was designed and built to be a steam auxiliary vessel, and it was not until she had established herself in that capacity that her voyage to the Mother Country was decided upon. The performances of these two ships were thus of great importance; they demonstrated, in the case of the _Savannah_, that a little sailing ship could carry a small auxiliary engine which might help her in and out of port, and at other times if it were necessary and fuel permitted; and in the case of the _Royal William_ that a steam packet could essay an ocean voyage and depend both upon her sails and steam-engines to enable her to reach her destination in good time. No further attempts were made, however, until 1838, which was destined to become a memorable year.