Did Napoleon really say this?

[Alcsentre Calanice]

"You would make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bon-fire under her deck? I have no time for such nonsense."

Found this quote on the net, but don't find a good source.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-th...ich-could-have-allowed-him-to-conquer-England

 

[Alcsentre Calanice]

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-th...ich-could-have-allowed-him-to-conquer-England

Thanks

Though, it says:

There's another quote ascribed to Napoleon:

You would make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her decks? I pray you excuse me. I have no time to listen to such nonsense.​

which will be familiar to anyone who's played Sid Meier's Civilization IV. Unfortunately, I can't find any source for this quote earlier than 1979, so I suspect it was invented. The fact that there's apparently no French version of it available is suspicious in itself, since Napoleon in 1803 didn't speak English.

 

[Amelikite]

The problem with ocean going steam ships was the lack of a reliable way of propelling them through the water, paddles didn't really work well, though it was ok for rivers. Napoleon should have been sufficiently familiar with the idea of steam engines to know that steam engines existed, and could either potentially or in practise move a ship. It just wasn't sufficient for his needs. So there was no reason for him to show such incredulousness.
Frenchmen had by that point, been building steam engines since well before Watt.

 

[Alcsentre Calanice]

The problem with ocean going steam ships was the lack of a reliable way of propelling them through the water, paddles didn't really work well, though it was ok for rivers. Napoleon should have been sufficiently familiar with the idea of steam engines to know that steam engines existed, and could either potentially or in practise move a ship. It just wasn't sufficient for his needs. So there was no reason for him to show such incredulousness.
Frenchmen had by that point, been building steam engines since well before Watt.

Yeah, steam boats weren't utilizable in these days for any practical use.
I was just searching for the quote.

 

[Amelikite]

Yeah, steam boats weren't utilizable in these days for any practical use.
I was just searching for the quote.

Ok.My point is that when examining the authenticity of a quote, then its a good idea to examine the liklihood of the quoted person making that statement in the first place.