Doncaster (1792 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Doncaster (ship).

Doncaster was launched in 1792 at South Shields. She spent many years as a transport. It was during this period that she became, during an experimental trial, the first British ship to be propelled by a propeller. Later, she traded across the North Atlantic with Quebec and north. She was wrecked in ice in 1835 off Cape North, Cape Breton Island.

History
Great Britain
Name	Doncaster
Namesake	Doncaster
Owner	18 February 1793: George Burdon, Newcastle and Matthew Smith & Robert Scotland, South Shields 16 October 1806: Robert Scotland, South Shields 21 December 1807: George Burdon, Newcastle 18 February 1812: William Harle, Newcastle 4 May 1812: William Harle, Newcastle and Edward Weatherly, Newmarket 26 March 1825: John, James, William & Eleanor Harle, Newcastle and Edward Weatherly, Newmarket 30 March 1829: James Harle, Newcastle and Edward Weatherly, Newmarket
Builder	Lockwood Brodrick, South Shields
Launched	1792
Fate	Wrecked 24 May 1835
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen	330, or 350, or 363, or 368 (bm)
Length	103 ft 5 in (31.5 m)
Beam	29 ft 0 in (8.8 m)
Draught	19 ft 0 in (5.8 m)
Depth	19 ft 0 in (5.8 m)
Sail plan	Ship-rigged; later barque
Armament	1797: 2 × 6-pounder + 4 × 4-pounder guns 1813: 8 × 6-pounder guns

Career

Doncaster first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR), in 1794.^[2]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1794	Scotland	G.Burdon	London transport	LR
1797	Scotland F.Paterson	G.Burdon	London transport	LR

In February 1800, the English inventor and engineer Edward Shorter proposed using a propeller attached to a rod angled down temporarily deployed from the deck above the waterline of a vessel and thus requiring no water seal. The device was intended only to assist becalmed sailing vessels. He tested it on Doncaster in Gibraltar and at Malta and the device was able to achieve a speed of 1.5 mph (2.4 km/h). She thus became the first British vessel to be moved by a propeller.^[3]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source
1802	Paterson J.Shout (or Chout)	G.Burdon	London transport London–Gibraltar	LR

Lloyd's Register ceased carrying Doncaster in 1810, but she still appeared in the Register of Shipping (RS).

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source & notes
1809	J.Chout	G.Bourdon	Liverpool–Gibraltar	LR
1809	J.Smith	G.Burdon	Shields–London	RS; thorough repair 1806

Lloyd's List showed Doncaster, Smith, master, sailing from Quebec on 24 September 1808. Ship arrival and departure data suggest that he had been master of Doncaster since at least 1807, and that she had sailed to the West Indies and Quebec. Doncaster reappeared in Lloyd's Register in 1813. The information did not always agree with that in the Register of Shipping.

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source & notes
1813	Pinckney	W.Hearn	London transport	RS; new wales 1813 & good repair 1813
1813	W.Binckley	W.Hearn	London transport	LR; new decks 1807 & thorough repair 1812
1815	Binkley D.Pinckney	W.Haven	London transport Liverpool–Newfoundland	LR; new decks 1807 & thorough repair 1812
1816	Pinkey Robinson	W.Hearn Harle & Co.	Liverpool–Newfoundland Liverpool–Quebec	RS; new wales 1813 & good repair 1813
1819	Robinson	Harle & Co.	Newcastle–Quebec	RS; new wales 1813 & good repair 1813
1820	H.Marshall	Harle & Co.	London–Quebec	RS; new wales 1812 & good repair 1818

On 25 November 1824, Doncaster, of Newcastle, Marshall, master, was in the harbour at Portsmouth. She was discharging timber from Quebec when she was forced on shore, where she grounded.^[4]

Year	Master	Owner	Trade	Source & notes
1826	H.Marshall	Harle & Co.	Liverpool–Quebec	LR
1827	H.Marshall	Harle & Co. Captain & Co.	Liverpool–Quebec London–Nova Scotia	LR; large repair 1818 & small repairs 1826
1828	H.Marshall	Harle & Co. Captain & Co.	Liverpool–Quebec London–Nova Scotia	LR; large repair 1818 & small repairs 1826
1830	H.Marshall G.Winships	Harle & Co.	Liverpool	LR; large repair 1818 & small repairs 1826
1832	G.Winships J.Foster	Harle & Co.	London–Miramichi, New Brunswick	LR; large repair 1818, & small repairs 1826 & 1832

Fate

Doncaster, Foster, master, was lost on 24 May 1835, off Cape North, Cape Breton Island. Ice crushed her and she sank off St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne to Miramichi. The brig Dorothys rescued Doncaster's six crew members.^[5]