The first experiments with a twin-hull vessel were undertaken in England in 1663, while the first catamaran steamer was built in Czarist Russia in 1834 and operated on the river Neva.
Imifuniselo yokuqala ngenqanawa enesiqu esingamawele zenziwa eNgilane ngo1663, ngexa isitimela sesikhitshane esineziqu ezibini sakhiwa eRashiya eZanisti ngo1834 kwaye zasetyenziswa kumlambo weNeva.