"The Launching of Molson's Accommodation - 1809," by A. Sheriff Scott.
At the same time as canals were taming Canadian waterways, marine technology was providing better boats for use on them. This painting by A. Sheriff Scott commemorates the launching of the first British North American-made steamboat, John Molson's Accommodation. The boat was constructed in Montreal entirely of Canadian materials. Note the contrast between the two-masted sloops generally in use on the lower St. Lawrence and the stark simplicity of the steamboat, with its huge sidewheels and sturdy smokestack. On its maiden voyage, the Accommodation covered the distance between Montreal and Quebec City in thirty-six hours, a journey that often took a week by any other means. Molson's boat provided regular service along the lower St. Lawrence between these two ports as long as the river was free of ice. Although the Accommodation could handle tides and winds better than any other craft, it could not conquer ice. The cold Canadian winters denied complete success to the water transportation revolution.
