Boats are shapes which push the water apart at the front ...and then bring the water together the back. (from a comment by - C A Marchaj)

How were boats built in the year 700? -lets do some research.

Medieval Boats and Boat building

There are very few examples of how boats were built in Medieval times, one illustration of boat building can be found in the Bayeux Tapestry which is believed was created around 1070.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry

This page has become a bit messy, I will clean it up, but for now I am making more mess by randomly placing some reserach about carrying boats, also known as portaging

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portage

Funny Boats

Another hero of mine is Tom McClean, who holds records for rowing and sailing the Atlantic, often in boats no bigger than a bath!

http://www.oceanrowing.com/Oceanrowers/Tom_McClean_CV.htm

Then Tom McClean designed this "whale" boat

http://www.motivationspeaker.co.uk/moby.asp

Tide Calculation

I have been researching the times of tides for a coastal sail up to Arbroath this weekend, I was interested to see the prediction of tides referrered to as being "Kelvin Tides". I googled this term and found -

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects/oceanography/1876-1129.aspx

A computing machine constructed before computers, designed by Lord Kelvin in 1872 to calculate the times of the tides. - Alex, Aug 2011

about boats

A boat is a watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane on water, and provide transport over it. Usually this water will be inland (lakes) or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is something small enough to be carried aboard another vessel (a ship). Some boats too large for the naval definition include the Great Lakes freighter,riverboat, narrowboat and ferryboat. Modern submarines can also be called boats, despite their underwater capabilities and size. This may be because the first submarines could be carried by a ship and were not capable of making independent offshore passages. Boats may be used by the military or other government interests, or for research or commercial purposes; but regardless of size, a vessel in private, non-commercial usage is almost certainly a boat.

This internet sourced description was posted by AppSHIP1 participant Damian

(source of research should also by included)

Damian's Page

Here is a great site which covers all you need to know about aerodynamic lift, yes, I know it is mainly relating to aircraft, but it can be easily applied to sailing.

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/short.html

My favorite section relates to the lift generated by a spinning cylinder

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/cyl.html

This theory effects any spinning object in a fluid, ie when Beckham "bends one" into the net he is utilising the "Magnus effect". Just in the same way as the military long range gunners will adjust their aim depending upon the wind speed and direction. This is because the gun barrels have a spiral inside which spins the projectile so as to stabilise it (like a Gyroscope - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope),  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifling-however this spin will create aerodynamic lift if the wind is blowing, and so -to calculate where said projectile will land we need to understand the Magnus effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship

Anyone can be an inventor, but first you must refine your craft. My craft is boats and sailing, your craft will most likely be something else.

the designer John Chris Jones said, "If you want to design a letter box - become a postman." experience and experiment are the tools for discovery, keep a diary of your thoughts and when something interests you, follow it up and do it some more.

have fun - Alex sept 2009