Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: Designs for boats, and other mechanical sketches. Verso: Gearing to turn a large paddle wheel, and another machine c.1485-90
RCIN 912649
The main drawing shows a mechanically-operated boat that could be folded up and carried on one’s back, as seen in the rapid sketch at centre right. The pale sketch at the centre of the sheet seems to be a design for a canoe, with a seal around the waist of the occupant. The drawings of wheels, joints and so on to the lower left are too summarily drawn to interpret fully.
