Leonardo da Vinci sketched a paddle boat powered by people turning paddle wheels.
The concept replaced dependence on wind with mechanical propulsion. Leonardo’s drawings show paddle wheels mounted along the sides of a boat, with operators turning mechanisms that transferred motion to the wheels. Such a vessel could, in principle, move even when the wind was weak or unfavorable.
Leonardo did not establish a successful powered-boat industry, and his sketch should not be described as a modern motorboat. The design belongs to his broader study of watercraft, gears, pumps, and methods for converting human effort into motion. Paddle-wheel propulsion later became important in riverboats and steamships, but those vessels used engines rather than teams of operators.