Shallow draft was not an automatic paddle-steamer advantage. Some early screw propellers could be lifted into the hull, while paddle immersion varied with hull form and wheel design. Deep wheels were sometimes intended to push a flat-bottomed river vessel across shifting sandbars. The idea could work, but using the machinery that way also risked serious damage to the ship.
Notable Point · 13:21-14:31
Paddle depth could help or harm shallow-water work
Retractable screws and differently immersed paddle wheels complicate the simple claim that paddle vessels always drew less water.