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Boat Facts

Boat Facts
A boat is designed to float on water, and can be used for travel, recreation, sports, fishing, transportation, military use and for rescue operations. Boats have been used by humans since the earliest civilizations when they were simply made of logs and reeds tied together to make rafts. Throughout history they have been an important method of transportation and exploration. They have also been used for military purposes for centuries. Boats can be powered by humans (such as with oars or paddles), by wind (with sails), or by one or more engines. Some of the earliest ships were powered by as many as 300 oarsmen.
Interesting Boat Facts:
Some of the smaller boats used by man today include canoes, kayaks, paddleboats, dinghies, and rowboats. Boats are usually designed for inland waterways such as lakes, rivers, and bays.
Some of the larger boats, sometimes referred to as ships, include cargo ships, cruise ships, military ships, yachts, and sailboats. Ships are usually designed for travel on seas and oceans.
In the Old Testament of King James Bible there are 37 references to ships, and one reference to a boat.
Native Americans used to make boats by digging out the inside of a log. These are the earliest canoes.
The oldest boats found by archaeologists are called Pesse canoes. The oldest recovered boat is believed to be between 7,000 and 10,000 years old.
Evidence from ancient references exists to prove that boats were used 900,000 years ago and in prehistoric times.
Over a century ago steamboats were popular for transporting people and goods along rivers.
The hull of a boat is the main body of the boat not including the sail or motor or oars.
The boat's left side is referred to as the port side.
The boat's right side is referred to as the starboard side.
The bow is the boats front, and the boat's back is called the stern.
The boat's width at the widest point from starboard to port side is called its beam.
There are approximately 18 million boats owned by Americans for recreational use today.
Some people live in boats called houseboats. These boats are very similar on the inside to a house built on land, and many aren't used for transportation at all - they stay in one place all year round.
The engines in motor boats have propellers that can be inboard or outboard.
Boats that carry cars and people across lakes and rivers are called ferries. Some carry only a few cars while others are built to be able to carry hundreds.
Many movies have been made about life aboard a boat or ship, including The Titanic, The Perfect Storm, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Poseidon Adventure.
Boats are made very strong but some still sink if they collide with other boats or objects. The passenger ferry called Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker in 1987, resulting in 4,375 deaths. In 1912 the Titanic, a ship that was considered unsinkable, struck an iceberg and sunk. 1517 people died when the ship went down.


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