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Ships Frozen in Ice

March 7th 2008 11:06
These vessels became trapped in dangerous ice in the Arctic and had to be abandoned. Now they're a bit of a tourist attraction.


Ships stuck in ice


Ships and boats frozen in ice



Abandoned ships in the artic ice


Boats stuck in Artic ice fields


Ships trapped in dangerous ice and abandoned



Abandoned vessels trapped in ice




*These pictures used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.
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The First Submarine

December 5th 2006 00:23
The "Turtle" was the first verified submarine capable of independent underwater operation and movement, and the first to use screws for propulsion. It was also the first military submarine as it was designed during the American Revolutionary War and meant to drill into a ship's hull and plant a keg of powder, which would be detonated by a time fuse.

Turtle was invented in Connecticut in 1775 by David Bushnell. Named for its shape, Turtle resembled a large clam as much as a turtle; it was 7.5 feet (2.3 m) long, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, and about 3 feet (0.9 m) wide, consisting of two wooden shells covered with tar. It submerged by allowing water into the hull and ascended by pushing water out through a hand pump, similarly to the use of ballast tanks in modern submarines, and was propelled vertically and horizontally by hand-cranked propellers, the first recorded use of the screw propeller for ships. It was manned and operated by only one person.

historic submarine
External view of the submarine.


Turtle, revolutionary war submarine
How the Turtle is operated.


18th century submarine
Inside the Turtle.


On September 7, 1776, Turtle, under the guidance of Army volunteer Sergeant Ezra Lee, attacked HMS Eagle, which was moored off what is today called Liberty Island, but it could not manage to bore through the hull. When he attempted another spot in the hull, he lost the ship, and eventually abandoned the attempt.

In 1976, a recreation was designed by Joseph Leary and constructed by Fred Frese as a Bicentennial project. It was christened by Connecticut's governor, Ella Grasso, and later tested in the Connecticut River. It is owned by the Connecticut River Museum and is currently on loan to Old Saybrook High School in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, where students under the direction of Fred Frese are currently building a working recreation of that model.

1976 Turtle submarine recreation
Turtle recreation.


Testing the recreated revolutionary war submarine
Testing the Turtle in the pool.


Turtle submarine recreation testing in the Connecticut River
In the Connecticut River.






*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia articles Turtle (submarine) and Submarine.

**These pictures used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.
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Boat Ferry

September 6th 2006 04:04
Most people get a little nervous about transporting their precious vehicles over water. Many rental companies won't allow it, and insurance companies won't cover it - and that's when they're travelling in a properly designed boat ferry.

The person below obviously has nerves of steel, or maybe it isn't his car. I'll let you decide.


Freight Ship Car
Ready to load on the makeshift boat ferry.


Boat Ferry
Loading the car on - they don't seem to be tying it down with anything.


Freight Boat
Pulling away from the dock - I hope the weather stays calm.


Car on boat
Away she goes - the car it sticking out a bit.




*These pictures used with permission from DamnFunnyPictures.
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Newspaper Boat

August 21st 2006 04:24
This is impressive, a usable boat constructed entirely of newspaper.

Newspaper Boat Docked
Seat & oars are wooden.


Newspaper Boat - no seat
You don't have to use the seat.


Newspaper Boat - Using the seat
Looks more comfortable using the seat.


Boat made of newspaper
You can go a fair way out in it.


Paper Canoe or Kayak
Specially designed trailer, although I can't see how you would fit on the bike seat!


Newspaper Nose Boat Close Up
Close up of the nose.




*These images used with permission from DamnFunnyPictures.


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