Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with boats Questions tagged with 'boats' at Ask MetaFilter. Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:55:53 -0800 Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:55:53 -0800 en-us 60 The Scots Man and the Sea; Or; The Sun May Or May Not Rise, IDK Did Hume, in writing about the problem of induction, go on any thing like a tangent about how we might as well just row out into the middle of the sea? Slightly goofy, I know. At a party in grad school, I have a recollection that someone told me about reading Hume, and their being amused by a long rant about how since we can't know anything about anything that hasn't happened yet, we might as well just row out into the sea and die.<br> <br> Unfortunately, occasional attempts to find this passage with Google etc since then have only found a discussion of 'convention' involving two men in a rowboat pulling together.<br> <br> So: Did I hallucinate this/was lied to/some other causal or non-causal explanation, or is there in fact a passage along these lines? It's probably my favorite bit from a major philosophical treatise and it'd be a bummer if it didn't exist.,2014:site.256199 Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:55:53 -0800 boats epistomology hopelessness hume induction scottishenlightenment PMdixon How would you frame / insulate these portholes. I currently live on and am restoring an old dutch barge. I started with no idea what I'm doing and am slowly working my way up to lvl 1 boat restorer. The current job is insulating. I need to cover up all bare metal with insulation (I am using expanded phenolic foam board) but I also need to make sure I have sufficient wooden framing to attach walls to (it will be tongue and groove). The problem I am currently having is to the neatest way to insulate around some portholes and also insulate and neatly frame the triangular metal ribs. I'd like to leave the nice shiny brass visible but have everything else covered up neatly. Here are some pictures.<br> <br> <br> Uninsulated<br> <a href=""></a><br> <br> A couple of insulated ones:<br> <a href=""></a><br> <a href=""></a><br> <br> What are your thoughts?<br> Please also free to ask any questions because I expect I have explained this quite badly.,2014:site.255340 Wed, 15 Jan 2014 04:58:45 -0800 Boats Celotex Insulation Portholes Woodwork Just this guy, y'know I wanna be on a m-----f----n' boat! Never owned a boat, but thinking about buying one. What should I know about boat-buying and boat-ownership? (As always, special water-droplet-ness inside.) I'm not from a boat-owning family, but Mrs. jferg spent many childhood summers on a boat on Missouri lakes, and I've come to enjoy spending time on the water as well. So far we've been scheduling our lake time around my in-laws (who own a nice fish &amp; ski boat), but as my F-I-L gets older and more cantankerous (which could be an entire post on its own), its becoming more obvious that we should look into getting a boat of our own so that we're not tied to them for our lake weekends.<br> <br> So, we're doing some initial research into used boat buying, which mostly consists of browsing Craigslist. So before I go and do anything more than browsing, tell me what I should know about buying and owning a boat? I know how to drive a boat, load and unload it, and most of the basics. I have no clue (beyond common sense stuff) what the gotchas are in evaluating the condition of a 10- or 20-year-old (or more - I love the look of some of the older boats) boat. I do know that looking for a clear title on all 3 pieces is a requirement.<br> <br> For context, the boat will primarily be used for fishing and swimming, though I suspect the ability to pull a tube or skier might be nice once the kids are a little older. It would need space for at least 2 adults and 2 kids (K and 2nd grade right now, but they seem to keep growing), but a room for a couple of guests would be nice. Ideally being able to put it in on a less-well-maintained ramp would be nice, but again, not a hard requirement. Doesn't need to be fancy or luxurious, something one step up from an aluminum fishing boat would be entirely sufficient. It will be used on (mostly man-made) lakes in Missouri, not rivers or oceans. It would be wintered in storage or in our garage, depending on space.<br> <br> So, those of you mefites who are more boat-savvy than I, what should I be looking for in a boat, both type of boat and specific things to look for when buying? What am I not thinking about?,2013:site.244316 Mon, 08 Jul 2013 13:18:45 -0800 boats buyingboats moneypits resolved jferg Why do you sail? I have started to go sailing with a friend. A small 16 foot hobie cat. I would love to like it, but I'm not really sure I get it. My friend wants to eventually sail around the world (on a different boat!). I'm not so sure and struggling to get past the learning stage. So why do you sail? Any tips for getting the most of it? I particularly enjoyed Pirsig's essay <a href="">Cruising Blues and Their Cure</a> which covers some of my ambivalence.,2013:site.242312 Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:16:40 -0800 boats hobbies sailing travel molloy Sensors for boats, sensors for homes. Sensors! I'm inthe process of designing a comprehensive refit of a 21 Metre Dutch Barge and thought it's about time I made at least a small amount of use of my Robotics background. I'm thinking about including a vast array of sensors throughout the inside and outside and feeding it all into a central computer, then probably using these sensor feeds to do various automation actions. So this question has a few parts, some technical and some not. 1) If you could record any data (money and practicality being no object at all) in your house or in your boat, what data would you want? <br> <br> 2) Have any of you done this sort of thing before? i.e. home automation or smart home type things. What was a really bad idea? What did you wish you'd done?<br> <br> 3) If so, do you have any suggestions for sensors or busses or controllers?<br> I was thinking about using an I2C bus for various sensor grids, if only because I've used one before, but I'm not sure I can address several hundred sensors using it. Is there a better bus to use?<br> <br> 4) What have I stupidly not thought about?,2013:site.238027 Wed, 27 Mar 2013 05:28:30 -0800 Boats Home HomeAutomation I2C RaspberryPi Sensors Just this guy, y'know How can I find people to share a boat charter? For years I've been promising myself I'll spend New Year's Eve on Jost Van Dyke, in the British Virgin Islands. This is that year. I can fly out and book a hotel, but what I'd love to do is share a sailboat (or even a motorboat) with a few other people. How can I go about finding other interested people to share a bareback or captained charter? Me: comfortable assisting on boats (when told what to do), great cook, happy scuba diver. Is there some sort of matching service for wannabe sailors or cruisers? I'm not interested in a big boat, and I can't afford to charter the whole thing alone and then just hope that I can get other people to share. Thanks for your suggestions!,2013:site.234887 Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:09:21 -0800 boats BVI charters JostVanDyke NYE 2soxy4mypuppet What do modern sailors do when their ship is docked? Do the crews of ships such as container and bulk good carriers leave the ship and get to see the place they are visiting? If not, why not? General descriptions of the lives of modern seafarers that illuminate this question are more than welcome. This question has come about from a discussion between my partner and I. We live in a small town with a big port but never see the crews from the boats in town. We are both curious as to why.,2013:site.233572 Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:01:22 -0800 boats seafaring shipping ships trade deadwax Replacement Remote for an RC boat I have a radio control boat without a remote, very similar to the one <a href="">pictured here</a>. After much Googling, it doesn't look like a replacement is easily available. How would I go about setting up a radio control remote for this boat? What information and equipment would I need?,2013:site.233359 Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:24:45 -0800 boats radiocontrol rc remotecontrol toys slogger Who is the artist of this painting? My mom wants to figure out the artist of this painting. Can you help? <a href="">Here is the signature</a>, and <a href="">here is the whole painting</a>. Can you help us read the signature or give us any clues as to who/what/when/where? It's at least 30 years old, but could be much older. Sorry for the crappy quality.<br> <br> We don't think it's famous or worth a lot of money, but we're curious. Any advice?,2013:site.232419 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 18:12:31 -0800 artist boats marina mystery painting two lights above the sea Exploring Africa's Rivers by Steamship Talk to me about different kinds of steamships, which might have been used to travel around African rivers around the 1860's. I'm not interested in sailing ships or row-boats, but rather larger passenger or cargo ships powered by some sort of engine. <br> <br> Also only interested in boats that are designed to be used primarily on the rivers. They don't necessarily need to be ocean-craft.<br> <br> Any information regarding the structure and design of these boats would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance.,2012:site.230880 Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:04:59 -0800 1860's african boats riverboat ships steamship np312 Sailing away from DC! Do you know of any good places within a 2-hour commute of DC where it's possible to rent a sailboat and stay somewhere cheap for a weekend? I want to go relax at sea! I just passed my sailing class, and now all I want to do is head out somewhere reachable from DC where I can sail a boat, hang out on a beach or a pier, and get away from the city. Where can I go??<br> <br> Best case scenario is that the place is reachable by train or MARC, has lodging for under $100/night, and not too many tourists. I want to go at the end of July, or sometime in August. <br> <br> I'm open to bed and breakfasts, camping (though probably not the "roughing it" type of camping, because I have never done that before), AirBnB, or anything else. I am also open to renting a car and driving there if it is awesome (though accessible by transit would be much better!). If it matters, I will have US Sailing Small Boat Certification when doing this.,2012:site.219087 Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:45:27 -0800 bedandbreakfast bnb boats dc sailing travel vacation washingtondc aaanastasia Where do I buy a Houseboat? If building a house is cheaper than buying a house (if you exclude land costs) and buying a houseboat is cheaper than buying a house, could it be cost effective to have a "boat" designed and built outside London and then moor it in London to get a relatively cheap London house? I'm aware moorings are rare and can be expensive, but do you think the costs would work out? Do you know anything about the boat building world? I know nothing.<br> Where would one go to design/commission a boat? How much might it cost? <br> I saw an episode of Grand Designs where some guy spend £50k on a badly made boat, but he had no grasp of project management or planning or design, could a well planned boat be cheaper?<br> <br> Are there any other clever tricks you can think of to get a nice place to live without needing an enormous mortgage?<br> These could be boat based or non-boat based. Perhaps a Zeppelin moored above town (Like Sporticus!),2012:site.216439 Mon, 28 May 2012 15:16:27 -0800 AvoidingDebtSlavery Boats Building DefeatingStupidHousePrices Designing HouseBoats Houses ProjectPlanning resolved Just this guy, y'know Canoe! Canoe! Canoe! It's just fun to say. Let's say that I'm looking to buy a serviceable used canoe on the cheap. How should I go about it? So I just went on a canoe trip with my fiance and we both absolutely loved it. So much so that we're talking about buying a canoe so that we can go again without having to rent/borrow a boat in the future. We don't have a lot of money and our needs in terms of a canoe aren't really demanding, so we're thinking that buying a used canoe would be a good idea. Where should we look and what should we look for?<br> <br> Requirements, such as they are:<br> <ul><br> <li>Not aluminum. The noise is super unpleasant to me and really ruins the experience of gliding silently through nature.<br> <li>Probably going to be used mainly for day trips and camping trips on relatively calm water (think lakes and bayous). It would be nice if we could eventually take it out on some rivers in years to come, but we live in Louisiana right now where water is mostly a flat, slow-moving thing. We would want something that we could transport some gear in though, and something that could be portaged if necessary.<br> <li>We're both relatively new to canoeing, though we've each done a few trips in the past and immensely enjoyed our recent two-nighter out at Lake Fausse Pointe. Our paddling skills aren't super but they're steadily improving. Something relatively stable and straight-tracking would be nice.<br> <li>Cheaper is obviously better. We're not sure where to look for cheap canoes other than Craigslist, although that's certainly a start. What kind of price range should we be looking at for a serviceable used canoe? Nevermind paddles and lifejackets for now. Assuming we're willing to be patient and keep our eyes open for great deals, where are those deals most likely to be found?<br> <li>What should we be looking for in a canoe in terms of features, construction, and condition? What should we be on the lookout for when inspecting a potential buy in order to tell if it's going to do the job?<br> <li>What else am I not considering that I ought to be considering? We already have transport for the canoe figured out, and we're willing to figure out lifejackets, paddles, and other accessories separately if need be. We have a place to store the canoe.<br> </li></li></li></li></li></li></ul><br> Help me out, hivemind! I just know there's a canoe in my future, if I can just find it!<br> <br> Bonus question: where are some great places to check out in the Louisiana area once we have our canoe and are ready to go exploring?,2012:site.212351 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:57:22 -0800 boat boating boats camping canoe canoeing canoes paddling resolved Scientist Cheap sailing in Chicago What is the easiest and cheapest way to go sailing in Chicago without buying a boat? Years ago I had an ancient 25-foot sailboat and it was wonderful. I'd love to go sailing again, but I live in Chicago and a boat and slip here would be more than I really want to spend. I don't drive, so even something on a trailer would not really be practical.<br> <br> Is there any way to go sailing without owning a boat? Can I rent a Laser somewhere? Or crew on something bigger?<br> <br> I see a number of places that offer sailing classes. I don't mind taking a class in order to qualify but I'd like eventually to be able to sail outside of an instructional setting.,2012:site.210519 Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:47:36 -0800 boats chicago sailing enn a 15 yr. old at a boat show. Boats and kids. Need some advice here. Taking a friend's son to the NY Boat Show in January. Like most 15 yr old boys, he is attracted to power, engines, energy. Boating is new to me, so this has got me real intrigued in a whole new subject, but I want to attempt a few things here. 1. (my bias) is to introduce him to the wide world of boats out there. Some sense of the range, history, and beauty of design. (get him 'Sailing Alone Around the World'-Josh Slocum?) 2. (fun and free) but he's 15; it has to be fun, not a lesson. There will be babes in bikinis, lots of giveaways, distractions. 3. Yet a bit focused too. I think he (we) should do some homework, (there is a facebook page) get him a sense of it, excited, but maybe also identify some areas of interest? This is a big deal-thousands of boats of all kinds. Lots of people. How big is this, how is it arranged? are there kid things? how can you max a kid's (and my) afternoon w/out getting flattened by hucksterism and power yachts? any suggestions?,2011:site.202943 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:57:25 -0800 boats ebesan Books about boats. Victorian boats. Please recommend maritime novels and movies set in the late Victorian era.,2010:site.169851 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:41:29 -0800 boats maritime movies novels ships Hoenikker Help me buy a boat! Boating n00b here, can anyone give me a rundown on what to look for in a recreational boat? Hi Metafilter,<br> <br> I've seen people at the lake with their boats - waterskiing, tubing, etc.<br> <br> That looks like fun. I want to do that too.<br> <br> I think I'll get a boat in the spring.<br> <br> Problem is, I don't have a clue about boats beyond what was stated in "Lethal Weapon" ("there's the front, there's the back, water all around").<br> <br> If I want a pleasure boat for waterskiing or tubing, uh... where do I begin? I've got no clue what I'm even supposed to be looking for. So I'm fresh prey for a salesman.<br> <br> Can anyone give me orientation? ways to find an inexpensive boat are useful too.<br> <br> Also I have a small car (Civic), no trailer, no trailer hitch either.<br> <br> Please help a n00b<br> <br> thanks!,2010:site.169848 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 11:00:27 -0800 boats waterskiing thermonuclear.jive.turkey Help me identify these mystery vessels! I took the night ship from Oslo to Copenhagen last week. When we were about an hour out of Oslo, two of <a href="">these</a> boats came up on us out of nowhere, spent nearly an hour zooming up and down the length of the ship and back and forth across the wake, then abruptly vanished. Who were they and what, exactly, were they doing? The first boat had about ten people on it, in two single-file rows of five, plus a driver, and the second boat (photographed above) had slightly fewer people. All were wearing identical florescent yellow jackets and black pants, and everyone was sort of straddling a domed seat and hanging onto a bar in front of them for security. <br> <br> They did not attempt to touch or communicate with the ship in any way that I could see, just drove around it nonstop and at high speed for nearly an hour and then suddenly fell back and were gone.<br> <br> A lot of passengers on deck were snapping photographs, but nobody seemed to who they were or why they were there.<br> <br> Can anyone provide any insight? Was it a drill or practice of some kind, and if so, for what? My curiousity is killing me here.,2010:site.163003 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:57:59 -0800 boat boating boats copenhagen denmark norway oslo resolved ship anderjen Name some movies with good boating scenes... What are some movies that are mostly filmed on a boat? like "the Bounty" or "Moby Dick" I've recently read Moby Dick and well.. have a desire to go on the ocean.<br> <br> I loved the movie the Bounty. Could you recommend me some movies which are mostly filmed on a boat or have a lot of boating scenes...<br> <br> Thrillers especially.<br> <br> Any movies...<br> <br> Thanks guys and gals,2010:site.159193 Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:20:05 -0800 boats movies Bacillus Desert-dweller seeks fun in Crescent City I'm in New Orleans the week of the 13th-20th and have very few plans for what to do during the day (by myself) or at night (with a friend). I'm looking for suggestions for places to go, preferably that we can get to by streetcar. Note: I've never spent this much time in a city with a big river before and have no idea what to do with that. I'm looking especially for places to eat/drink that have patios where I can sit and read, as well as fun walking/shopping places. (<a href="">This question</a> mentioned patio/sidewalk cafes, but the answers didn't specify which ones were patio and which ones weren't.) I love bookstores (especially comic book and used ones), clothing stores and jewelry, if you have store recommendations. I'm not interested in chain restaurants/stores.<br> <br> It would also be cool if you have ideas involving the river. I'm from the desert and so the Mississippi is strange/awesome to me, but I have no idea what you are supposed to do with actual rivers aside from look at them or have bridges that go over them. Bonus points for boats, since I've never really been on a boat, and it would be fun to go on a boat!<br> <br> We're also looking for places with jazz, since the friend I'm visiting still hasn't managed to see any.<br> <br> Stupid touristy crap is welcome, as is offbeat stuff.<br> <br> I've already seen the question on <a href="">seeing the devastation</a>. The Bulldog, The Columns, the Kitchen Witch, and Oak Street are already on the list.,2010:site.147134 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:11:25 -0800 boats jazz mississippi neworleans resolved tourism NoraReed Shipwrecked! Is there any way of determining what percentage of ships arrived safely at their destinations - or did not - during a given period in history? I'm struck by how prevalent the imagery of shipwrecks has been in literature throughout history. I'm talking about shipwrecks as plot points in stories and plays, as a metaphor in poetry, and so on.<br> <br><br> And I'd guess that, depending on when the author or poet was writing, their work might be more or less likely to feature shipwrecks depending on how common such accidents were at the time.<br> <br><br> But, so far, I haven't found any way of finding out precisely how likely it was that any given trip at sea would have been to end in disaster during any given time in history. Do we think that 80% of journeys ended successfully? 60%? 40%? Did the numbers change appreciably between, say, the 13th century and the 17th?<br> <br><br> I'm not sure if there's any verifiable way of getting these answers, but the more examples I came across, the more I realized that I had absolutely NO idea how frightening and/or grimly realistic the idea of shipwrecks would have been for Shakespeare's audience, or Homer's, or Wordsworth's.<br> <br><br> Any knowledge of the subject (even anecdotal) or suggestions about books or websites to read would be great!,2009:site.127655 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:39:29 -0800 boats literature ocean resolved ships shipwrecks travel AngerBoy Help me launch my boat I've nearly completed building <a href="">my first boat</a> and would like to get it in the water. I know that I can take my boating license online, but how do I get a "hull number" or some sort of registration for the boat (assuming this is needed)? I am located in Toronto, Ontario.,2009:site.122670 Wed, 20 May 2009 18:40:15 -0800 boats resolved glider Guess this is why the virus in Hackers sang "Row row row your boat". Why do some yachts mess with my wifi network? I live right next to a canal, and especially in the summer a lot of boats pass through it, about 5 meters from my window. Some percentage of those are small <a href="">yachts</a>, and some percentage of those passing yachts kill my wifi.<br> <br> On my Mac I see this as the wifi signal icon turning grey for a bit (a few seconds). I stream my music to my speakers over Airtunes, so this usually makes the music stop completely, unless the "jamming" is so short that iTunes recovers and starts playing again after 5 seconds or so.<br> <br> I don't think there's anything I can do about it except move, and it's only a minor annoyance because it doesn't happen very often, but I am wondering what it is in these boats that messes with my signal. GPS? Radar? Radio? And why is it only a small percentage of yachts that do this?,2008:site.98183 Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:44:04 -0800 boats jamming wifi yacht Skyanth How can I get out on the water in Portland, Oregon? How can I get out on the water in Portland, Oregon? When I visited Boston a friend took me out sailing on the Charles river. They had some sort of community program where you could take lessons and then take out boats you were certified for. It was a lot of fun, so I'm wondering if there's anything similar, not too expensive, in Portland. Rowing might be interesting too, or just some way to boat around without actually owning a boat. I have lots of experience listening to Sloop John B, if that helps?,2008:site.95946 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:11:46 -0800 boats oregon portland rowing sailing water Post-it Goat Two boats, which one should we purchase? I know nothing about boats, but I'll be buying one soon and have narrowed it down to two styles. Help me make a choice. We have a house on a very small lake that isn't big enough for anything other than canoes, paddle boats, kayaks, and small boats. Motors are not allowed (except small trolling motors). Residents around the lake use their small boats to visit other neighbors and take leisurely rides up and down the lake.<br> <br> We'd like to buy a boat so that our mother, who loves the lake but is scared of water, would feel safe on. So the number one thing we're looking for is stability. <br> <br> We've found 2 boats that we like, but they're slightly different and I have no idea if one is more stable than the other. <br> <br> <a href="">Boat 1</a><br> <br> <a href="">Boat 2</a><br> <br> Does anyone knowledgeable regarding boats know if one would be appreciably more stable than the other?<br> <br> <small>We've already decided against paddle boats, small pontoon boats, etc</small>,2008:site.93764 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:11:19 -0800 boat boats lake water justgary