Spike-wheel pro-pel′ler.
A mode of propulsion of canal-boats in which a spiked wheel driven by the engine is made to track upon the bottom of the canal and thus draw the boat. Invented by Seaward. The spike-wheel operates outside the boat or in a compartment inside open at bottom. In order to accommodate the wheel to the inequalities of the bed of the canal, the wheel a has its bearings in a swinging frame b, the other end of which is hung to a shaft c, driven by a steam-engine, and having a pulley d, which communicates by a band with a pulley c on the shaft of the spike-wheel.Spike-wheel propeller. |