bselliott

Monday, May 28, 2007

Ketch

A ketch is a marine craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft (rearward of) the main mast. Both masts are rigged mostly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be approved forward of the main mast when going to windward. If a ketch is not rigged for jibs is known as cat ketch, sometimes called per auger. On older, larger ketches the major mast may in addition carry one or more square rigged topsails, alike to a sloop. A ketch may also carry further sails, see below.

The lowest fore-and-aft sail on the major mast is called the mainsail, while that on the mizzen is called the mizzen sail. These may be any kind of fore-and-aft sail, in any grouping. The Scots Zulu, for example, had a dipping lug main with a position lug mizzen.
The ketch is popular among long distance cruisers as the additional sail allows for a better balance, and a smaller more simply handled mainsail for the same overall sail area. It also allows sailing on mizzen and jib only without introducing extreme lee helm, and in an emergency can be quite well steered without use of the rudder.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Inflatable boat

An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of elastic tubes and a flexible flat floor. Often the transom is rigid allowing a location and structure to fasten an outboard motor onto, and this type of boasting balloon is sometimes called a "Zodiac boat". Often, inflatable boats are intended to be packed into in a small volume, so they can easily stored and transported to water when needed. This feature allows such boats to be used as life rafts for larger boats or aircraft, and for travel or recreational purposes.
Other conditions are "inflatable" and (an old term) "rubber dinghy".
The modern RIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat) is a growth of the inflatable boat using a solid or section ally rigid floor and capable of taking a high powered transom mounted outboard engine appropriate for high speed operations well up into the ski boat speed ranges.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Cigarette boat

The cigarette boat or go-fast boat is a high performance boat of a feature design. Originally designed for his offshore racing team by Donald Aronow, the fast, powerful boats became infamous as the drug smuggling boat of choice in many parts of the world in the 1990s and first years of the 21st century.
In harmony with their pure racing heritage, the accommodations on these boats are minimal, and they are built to hold 5 or more passengers. While most do have some cabin under the foredeck, it is low and much smaller than a characteristic motor yacht of similar size. Apart from the racing market, most buyers of these boats purchase them for the mystique; the mixture of the racing and smuggling connections, plus the immense power and high top speeds make these boats popular as ostentatious displays of wealth.
These boats are hard to detect by radar except on flat calm seas or at close range. The United States Coast Guard and the DEA establish them to be stealthy, fast, seaworthy, and very complicated to intercept using conventional craft. Because of this, Coast Guards contain developed their own high-speed craft and also use helicopters. The helicopters are prepared with Anti-materiel rifles which can be used to disable the motors of the go-fast boat. The Coast Guard go-fast boat is a rigid hulled inflatable boat RHIB ready with radar and powerful engines. The RHIB is armed with quite a few types of non-lethal weapons and M240 GPMG.