Category:
Boats
Boats
LaBoata
The LaBoata was created in Spokane, but it's recently been spotted around Phoenix, which is my neck of the woods.More info: auto evolution
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 11, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Boats, Cars
Device for attracting submarines and the like
Submarines were a new menace during World War I, but Louis Schramm figured he had a way to defeat them. His invention (Patent No. 1,143,233) involved powerful electromagnets that would pull submarines to the sides of a ship where they could be electrified, killing their crew.Critics pointed out that the magnets would attract anything metallic to the side of the ship, including mines.
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 08, 2023 -
Comments (3)
Category: Boats, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, War, Patents, 1910s
Fish Full of Freight
It's the 21st century and we don't have flying cars. Nor do we have atomic-powered submarine freighters towing underwater barges.However, this did remind me of the Russian scheme to use nuclear submarines as oil tankers.
Fortune - Feb 1959
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 22, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Boats, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, Transportation, 1950s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
S&H Green Stamps Motorboat Redemption
Folks of a certain age recall "trading stamps," tokens with a certain value given out to shoppers when they made a purchase.This site has a nice summary of the phenomenon, with lots of pictures of pages from the redemption catalog.
Here's an ad from 1968 which reveals you could get a Chrysler motorboat with Green Stamps.
Source.
I got curious about how many books of stamps that might take. So I did some very rough calculations, fudging the different years, etc.
This site reveals that a similar boat cost about $1500.00 when new in 1969.
In the catalog at the previous link, an Admiral Color TV demands 150 books.
Here's the likely price in dollars of such an item, as seen below.
So the boat cost six times a TV, and might, I'm guessing, demand 900 books of stamps. However, I also read that each filled book was worth $1.20, so that would require 1,250 books!
That's a lot of weekly shopping trips to your local IGA, since you got only a handful of stamps with each purchase. I wonder how many people ever took advantage of the offer.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 28, 2020 -
Comments (5)
Category: Boats, Business, Loyalty Programs, Shopper Incentives, Coupons and Other Discounts, Television, 1960s, 1970s
Informative Swimwear
In 2005, Robert Dickey and Ruth Stephens filed a patent application for "swimwear as information device." Their idea was to make a line of swimwear that displayed maritime signal flags. This would allow people to communicate messages to those around them via their swimwear. They explained:By using the appropriate international Signal flag or combination of international signal flags, different meanings can be communicated depending on the intentions of the wearer. For example, and individual could be wearing a covering garment (e.g. a jacket or Sweatshirt or the like) that prominently displays the international Signal flag "X-Ray', communicating the message "Stop carrying out your intentions and watch for my signals'. When the wearer sees someone with whom he or she would like to communicate with, the covering garment could be removed, revealing another article of apparel (e.g. a Swimsuit) displaying a Second international Signal flag "Kilo', communicating the message "I wish to communicate with you'.
The possible messages one could send seemed limitless, but they were never granted a patent. Perhaps the idea of messages on clothing was deemed too obvious.
There's also the limitation that only people conversant with maritime signal flags could decode the messages, which would make the various 'stay away' messages somewhat pointless.
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 26, 2020 -
Comments (3)
Category: Boats, Fashion, Inventions, Patents, Languages, Double Entendres and Nudge-Nudge, Wink-Wink
The rookie rower who failed to cross the Atlantic
Even though he had only been on the ocean once, while taking the Newfoundland ferry, Arthur Russell figured he could row across the Atlantic. He practiced for two years on his rowing machine and then set off from Halifax harbor. Six hours later, he had to signal for help and was rescued.
Edmonton Journal - May 31, 1990
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 11, 2019 -
Comments (4)
Category: Boats, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, Sports, 1990s
Life preserver suitcase
Just imagine if everyone on the Titanic had had one of these! (I'm guessing it must have been inspired by that disaster).
The Kiowa Journal - Oct 7, 1915
Posted By: Alex - Wed Aug 22, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Boats, Inventions, Travel, 1910s
Hot Tub Boat
It's a floating hot tub. The invention of Adam Karpenske of Seattle. Top speed: three-and-a-half knots. Available for rental or purchase.
From the company's FAQ:
Q: How is it possible to fill a boat with water and have it not sink?
A: The sleek design of a Hot Tub Boat allows for a high load capacity. The Hot Tub Boat has been carefully engineered, and the hot tub is positioned on the boat’s center of buoyancy, allowing for remarkable stability, even with 2100 pounds of water.
A: The sleek design of a Hot Tub Boat allows for a high load capacity. The Hot Tub Boat has been carefully engineered, and the hot tub is positioned on the boat’s center of buoyancy, allowing for remarkable stability, even with 2100 pounds of water.
Also from the FAQ:
Please refrain from nudity while renting a Hot Tub Boat and insure all the “important bits” are covered.
More info: King5.com
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jul 18, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Boats
Destination Atlantis
Auto mechanic Frank Russell of Biggleswade, England spent two years building a submarine in his backyard. He did it, he said, so that he could find the "lost city" of Atlantis. He described the construction of the sub in an article distributed by International News Service (Dec 1949):My job is that of a motor mechanic and these craft that I build are purely a spare time hobby. Thus I have to get on with their construction as I can afford it; a few shillings or a pound or so at a time. Believe me, this method is exasperating and heartbreaking.
Practically all the parts have been cut, filed and even some of the holes drilled with ordinary hand tools, though I did manage on several occasions to borrow an oxy-acetylene cutter and an electric drill.
I have built this craft entirely by myself except for some of the more tricky points of welding on the hull. This was done by a friend, who is a highly skilled factory welder.
This submarine has been built entirely out of second-hand steel plates and scrap from local yards. Oxygen cylinders, motors, batteries, and the like are all from government surplus sales. The only new items are the glass observation ports and some rivets and bolts.
Practically all the parts have been cut, filed and even some of the holes drilled with ordinary hand tools, though I did manage on several occasions to borrow an oxy-acetylene cutter and an electric drill.
I have built this craft entirely by myself except for some of the more tricky points of welding on the hull. This was done by a friend, who is a highly skilled factory welder.
This submarine has been built entirely out of second-hand steel plates and scrap from local yards. Oxygen cylinders, motors, batteries, and the like are all from government surplus sales. The only new items are the glass observation ports and some rivets and bolts.
The launch date for his sub was November 4, 1950. Unfortunately, I can't find any reports about the launch, but I'm assuming he didn't find Atlantis.
And I'm guessing he may have been pulling everyone's leg about wanting to search for Atlantis, because eight years later he was back in the news as the perpetrator of an elaborate UFO hoax involving a "do-it-yourself space ship made of wire, silver paper, clockwork and a couple of flashlights." So it seems that he was a bit of a practical joker.
The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) - Nov 8, 1950
New Castle News - Oct 7, 1949
The Decatur Herald - May 28, 1958
Posted By: Alex - Tue Oct 11, 2016 -
Comments (2)
Category: Boats, Hobbies and DIY, 1950s
Think before you build
Back in the 1930s, Benjamin Klinger spent 4 years building a boat in his basement. Then discovered he couldn't get the boat out of his basement.Unfortunately, I can't find any report that tells what ended up happening. Did he tear down a wall to get the boat out? Or is the boat still sitting there to this day?
Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel - Jun 22, 1935; and San Bernardino County Sun - Jun 22, 1935.
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 15, 2015 -
Comments (13)
Category: Boats, 1930s
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