The fireboat is a ship equipped with firefighting apparatus designed to fight and extinguish fire on sea waters or on shore, when necessary. In the USA for example, the fireboat was invented when a firefighter attached a small hand pump on a boat in 1809. Not until after the Civil War was the boat an essential part of fire departments. In the 1860s the country had become a major contributor in international trade due to the industrial revolution. The ports and waterfronts became busier and … [Read more...]
Sloop – One of the Most Common Single Masted Sailing Boats
The sloop is a sailing boat with a single mast and a fore-and-aft rig. It has only one head-sail: if a boat has two or more head-sails, it is named cutter, not sloop, and its mast may be set further aft than on a sloop. In Dutch they call it "sloep", and in French it's called "chaloupe". The most common rig of modern sailboats is the Bermuda-rigged sloop. Typically, a modern sloop carries a mainsail on a boom aft of the mast, with a single loose-footed head-sail (a jib or a genoa jib) forward of … [Read more...]
Clipper – The Last Speedy Boat Type Before Steam Revolution
After a pause posting in this category, I'm restarting with the clipper, a very quick sail boat which is not in use anymore. The verb "clip" has been coined by the 17th century English bard John Dryden, with the sense of running or flying very quick. Clip became synonymous with speed, hence "clipper". Not everybody is certain of it as a nautical term until the end of the 18th century. The Baltimore Clipper When this new model of vessel was built, which was intended to "clip" over the … [Read more...]
Canoe – Definition and History
A canoe is a lightweight narrow boat, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel using a single-bladed paddle. In the UK, however, the term canoe is also commonly used for kayaks despite being technically incorrect. [source] Canoes are used for racing, whitewater canoeing, touring and camping, freestyle, and general recreation. The intended use of the canoe dictates its hull shape and construction … [Read more...]