Which English ironmaster built the first iron boat in 1787?

John Wilkinson built the first iron boat in 1787.

Wilkinson was an English ironmaster and one of the Industrial Revolution’s most inventive manufacturers. He pioneered improved cast-iron production and developed precision boring machinery that helped make James Watt’s steam engines practical. His nickname, “Iron-Mad Wilkinson,” reflected his enthusiasm for using iron in new applications.

The boat was an iron barge called Trial, launched near Broseley on the River Severn. Wilkinson needed a reliable way to move iron goods and other materials, and the experiment demonstrated that a metal vessel could float and operate successfully. At the time, many observers doubted that an iron boat would stay afloat.

The achievement is sometimes described more precisely as the first iron barge rather than the first iron ship. Later vessels, including larger ocean-going iron ships, used the same basic idea on a far greater scale. Wilkinson’s experiment helped establish iron as a viable material for boatbuilding.