Leonardo da Vinci designed a paddle boat intended to move through water using rotating paddle wheels.
The concept belongs to Leonardo’s wide-ranging studies of transportation and water engineering. Instead of relying only on wind or oars, the boat would use mechanical paddles driven by a system of gears and cranks. This offered a possible way to produce steady propulsion on calm water.
Leonardo drew many machines that were never built or tested at full scale. His paddle-boat design is therefore best understood as an inventive Renaissance concept rather than a documented working vessel. The drawings show his interest in transferring motion through gears and applying mechanical power to practical travel.
It should not be confused with Leonardo’s later ideas for underwater craft. A paddle boat operates on the surface, whereas submarine concepts are designed to travel beneath it. The design also differs from a conventional sailboat, whose main propulsion comes from wind acting on sails.