Original Photo: 

Born in Prescott, Ontario in 1854, lawyer Frederick Augustus Knapp turned his passion for invention to transportation and the development of one of the strangest vessels ever seen in Toronto Bay - the Roller Boat. Prompted by his admiration of Queen Victoria and her well-known sea-sickness, he designed a cylindrical boat that was supposed to conquer waves of any magnitude, leaving a calm ride. The prototype boat was built in 1897 by the Polson Iron Works Co., located at the foot of Sherbourne St. and was a unique design - 110 feet long, with a 22-foot diameter outer cylinder for rotation and a smaller stationary inner cylinder for passengers. Using 2 steam engines at the ends, the boat log-rolled across the water like a rolling pin, cutting through the waves with blades affixed to its exterior. Although the design was ingenious, the prototype never reached adequate speed and was hard to maneuver so eventually interest in the boat ceased. In 1907, the hull of the boat broke loose from its moorings at Polson wharf and crashed into a boat, As payment for damages, the hull was sold for $300 but in the end never claimed. As the Toronto waterfront expanded over the years, the hull was dragged to the foot of Parliament St. and in 1927 the city buried the boat where it lay under new landfill.

Research by Olena Sullivan