   #copyright

Boat

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Air & Sea transport

   A boat is a craft or vessel designed to float on, and provide transport
   over, water.

   A boat's propulsion will be achieved through any of the following
   means, individually or in combination: propellers, oars, paddles,
   setting poles, sails, paddlewheels, or water jets. Boats are generally
   smaller than ships, and although there is no hard rule between the two,
   the rule of thumb is that a boat can be mounted on a ship but not
   vice-versa.
   A wooden boat operating near shore.
   Enlarge
   A wooden boat operating near shore.

Parts of a boat

   A boat in an Egyptian tomb painting from about 1450 BCE
   Enlarge
   A boat in an Egyptian tomb painting from about 1450 BCE

   The roughly horizontal, but cambered structures spanning the hull of
   the boat are referred to as the "deck". In a ship there are often
   several, but a boat is unlikely to have more than one. The similar but
   usually lighter structure which spans a raised cabin is a coach-roof.
   The "floor" of a cabin is properly known as the sole but is more likely
   to be called the floor. (A floor is properly, a structural member which
   ties a frame to the keelson and keel.) The underside of a deck is the
   deck head.

   The vertical surfaces dividing the internal space are "bulkheads", they
   are important parts of the vessel's structure. The front of a boat is
   called the bow or prow. The rear of the boat is called the stern. The
   right side is starboard and the left side is port. Many boats have a
   section called the gralper. This section is designed to reduce water
   flow to the non-aerodynamic parts of the boat.

Types of boats

   A passenger boat to the islands off the coast of the Sai Kung Peninsula
   of Hong Kong.
   Enlarge
   A passenger boat to the islands off the coast of the Sai Kung Peninsula
   of Hong Kong.
   A sailboat (racing dinghy) and barge share the Mississippi River,USA.
   Enlarge
   A sailboat (racing dinghy) and barge share the Mississippi River,USA.
     * Air boat
     * Banana boat
     * Bangca
     * Bareboat charter
     * Barge
     * Bow Rider
     * Cabin cruiser
     * Canoe
     * Cape Islander
     * Car-boat
     * Caravel
     * Cargo Boat
     * Catamaran
     * Catboat
     * Coble
     * Centre Console
     * Coracle
     * Cruiser
     * Cuddy
     * Cutter (pulling boat)
     * Cutter (sailing boat)
     * Dhow
     * Dinghy
     * Dory
     * Dragon boat
     * Dredge
     * Durham Boat
     * Dutch Barge
     * Express Cruiser
     * Felucca
     * Ferry
     * Fireboat

     * Fishing boat
     * Folding boat
     * Go-fast boat
     * Gondola
     * Houseboat
     * Hovercraft
     * Hydrofoil
     * Hydroplane
     * Inflatable boat
     * Jangada
     * Jetboat
     * Jet ski
     * Jon boat
     * Junk
     * Kayak and Sea kayak
     * Ketch
     * Lifeboat
     * Log boat
     * Longboat
     * Luxury yacht
     * Motorboat
     * Narrowboat
     * Norfolk wherry
     * Outrigger canoe
     * Padded V-hull
     * Personal water craft (PWC)
     * Pinnace
     * Pirogue
     * Pleasure craft
     * Pontoon
     * Powerboat
     * Punt

     * Raft
     * Rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB)
     * Riverboat
     * Runabout
     * Rowboat, rowing boat
     * Sailboat, sailing boat
     * Sampan
     * Schooner
     * Scow
     * Sharpie
     * Shikaras
     * Ship's tender
     * Ski boat
     * Skiff
     * Sloop
     * Submarine
     * Surf boat
     * Swift boat
     * Tarai Bune
     * Tjalk
     * Trimaran
     * Trawler (fishing)
     * Trawler (cruising)
     * Tugboat
     * U-boat
     * Waka
     * Wakeboard boat
     * Walkaround
     * Water taxi
     * Whaleboat
     * Yacht
     * Yawl

   Unusual boats have been used for sports purposes - for example, in
   "bathtub races" which use boats made from bathtubs.

Boat building materials

   A ship's lifeboat, built of steel, rotting in the wetlands of Folly
   Island, South Carolina, USA.
   Enlarge
   A ship's lifeboat, built of steel, rotting in the wetlands of Folly
   Island, South Carolina, USA.

   Boats can be classified by the material used to build them. Until the
   mid 19th century all boats were wooden. As the forests of Britain and
   Europe continued to be over-harvested to supply the keels of larger
   wooden boats and the Industrial Revolution cheapened the cost of steel,
   the age of the steel ship began. In the mid 20th century aluminium
   gained popularity, being lighter and easier to work with than steel.
   Around the mid 1960s, boats made out of glass-reinforced plastic, more
   commonly known as fibreglass, became popular, especially for
   recreational boats. The coast guard refers to such boats as 'FRP' (for
   Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic) boats.

   One of the advantages of fiberglass boats is that they are extremely
   strong, and do not rust, corrode, or rot. Fiberglass provides
   structural strength, especially when long woven strands are laid,
   sometimes from bow to stern, and then soaked in epoxy (i.e., plastic)
   to form the hull of the boat. One of the disadvantages of fiberglass is
   that it is heavy and to alleviate this, various lighter components can
   be incorporated into the design. One of the more common methods is to
   use cored fiberglass, with the core being balsa wood completely encased
   in fibreglass. While this works, the addition of wood makes the
   structure of the boat susceptible to rotting. Similarly, 'advanced
   composites' are simply other methods designed to introduce less
   expensive and, by some claims, less structurally sound materials.
   Severn class lifeboat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. This is the
   largest class of UK lifeboat at 17 metres long
   Enlarge
   Severn class lifeboat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. This is the
   largest class of UK lifeboat at 17 metres long

Boat propulsion

   The most common means are:
     * Human power (rowing, paddling, setting pole etc.)
     * Wind power (sailing)
     * Motor powered screws
          + Inboard
               o Internal Combustion (gasoline, diesel)
               o Steam (Coal, fuel oil)
               o Nuclear (for LARGE boats)
          + Inboard/Outboard
               o Gasoline
               o Diesel
          + Outboard
               o Gasoline
               o Electric
          + Paddle Wheel
          + Water Jet ( Jet ski, Personal water craft, Jetboat)
          + Air Fans (Hovercraft, Air boat)

Why boats float

   A boat stays afloat because its weight is equal to that of the water it
   displaces. The material of the boat itself may be heavier than water
   (per volume!), but it forms only the outer layer. Inside it is air,
   which is negligible in weight. But it does add to the volume. The
   central term here is density, which is mass ('weight') per volume. One
   has to divide the mass of the boat (plus contents) as a whole by the
   volume below the waterline. If the boat floats than that is equal to
   the density of water (1 kg/l). One could say that to the water it is as
   if there is water there because the average density is the same. If one
   adds weight to the boat, the volume below the waterline will have to
   increase too, to keep the mass/weight balance equal, so the boat sinks
   a little to compensate.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
