Steam brig

A '''steam brig''' is a two-masted sailing ship with auxiliary steam power.<ref name="f002">{{cite web | title=1831: First cargo exported | website=Port Of Middlesbrough | date=2022-09-13 | url=https://www.portofmiddlesbrough.com/1831-first-cargo-exported/ | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref> The key advantage was that the ship could sail up-wind and it could use the steam power to move relative to the wind for an advantageous sailing angle.<ref name="f002"/>

In practice, the disadvantages combined rather than the advantages. The type had great wind-resistance, leading to an increased use of fuel up-wind compared to a pure steam ship. At the same time, the requirement to store coal reduced the cargo space over that of a sailing ship. It thus combined the slow speed, high maintenance and poor righting (ability to resist capsize and wind) of a sailing ship with the small cargo space and fuel expense of a steam ship.

The ship was typically abbrievated as ''StBrig'' - steam brig.<ref name="p334">{{cite web | title=Ship Abbreviations and Symbols | website=NHHC | url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/abbreviations.html#s | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref>

==Examples== A prominent early example was the steam brig ''New York'', built at Newcastle Street, Norfolk, Va., in 1821.<ref name="r922">{{cite web | title=The Early History of Ocean Steam Navigation | website=Scientific American | date=2024-02-20 | url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-early-history-of-ocean-steam-na/ | access-date=2025-03-27}}</ref><ref name="c762">{{cite book | last=Gratwick | first=Harry | title=Stories from the Maine Coast | publisher=Arcadia Publishing | publication-place=Chicago | date=2012-04-08 | isbn=978-1-62584-076-9 | page=}}</ref>

A British example was the ''Sunniside'', an 1830s cargo vessel.<ref name="f002"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==See also== * sail-plan * rigging * sailing ship * steam ship

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steam Brig}} Category:Sailing rigs and rigging Category:Ship types Category:Steamboats Category:Auxiliary steamers