A wing engine is a subsidiary engine installed in a motor boat alongside the main engine. [1] The primary purpose of a wing engine is to provide redundancy and safety in the event of failure of the main engine; a secondary benefit assists manoeuvering in port or in a marina.
Whereas the main engine will be larger and invariably mounted on the vessel's centreline, the wing engine will be considerably smaller and positioned to one side. A wing engine will typically be either:
In either case, the wing engine's propeller will be off-centre. This can give rise to steering difficulties; but this can be used to advantage in port with the main engine as follows: if the main engine has a right-hand propeller, the "prop walk" when in reverse will tend to move the stern to port. In these circumstances, the wing-motor should be arranged to have a propeller to the left (port-side) of the centreline, so as to balance the vessel in astern, or to produce (with the main engine in neutral) a vector thrust to starboard. [2]
Canal boats need very little power in canals, as there is virtually no current (and there are often speed limits). In such canals the wing engine may be used to propel the boat; but when the vessel puts to sea or navigates a fast flowing river, the power of the main engine would be needed. Diesel engines suffer harm if not run under load, so a small wing engine under load should be more efficient in a canal than a main engine operating barely above tick-over. [3] [4]
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of bulk goods. Originally barges were towed by draft horses on an adjacent towpath. Barges have changed throughout time. From 1967 to 1983 barges were considered a flat bottom boat that was nineteen feet in length or larger. Today, barges may be self-propelled, usually with a slow-revving diesel engine and a large-diameter fixed-pitch propeller. Otherwise, "dumb barges" must be towed by tugs, or pushed by pusher boats. Compared to a towed barge, a pusher system has improved handling and is more efficient, as the pushing tug becomes "part of the unit" and it contributes to the momentum of the whole.
A propeller is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral, that, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working fluid, such as water or air. Propellers are used to pump fluid through a pipe or duct, or to create thrust to propel a boat through water or an aircraft through air. The blades are specially shaped so that their rotational motion through the fluid causes a pressure difference between the two surfaces of the blade by Bernoulli's principle which exerts force on the fluid. Most marine propellers are screw propellers with helical blades rotating on a propeller shaft with an approximately horizontal axis.
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion engine became dominant. Since the energy crises of the 1970s, interest in this quiet and potentially renewable marine energy source has been increasing steadily, especially as more efficient solar cells have become available, for the first time making possible motorboats with an infinite range like sailboats. The first practical solar boat was probably constructed in 1975 in England. The first electric sailboat to complete a round-the-world tour, including a transit of the Panama Canal, using only green technologies is EcoSailingProject.
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships that cannot move well on their own, such as those in crowded harbours or narrow canals, or those that cannot move at all, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. The tugboat, for its size, is the most powerful craft afloat. Some are ocean-going, some are icebreakers or salvage tugs. Early models had steam engines, and modern ones have diesel engines. Many have deluge guns, which help in firefighting, especially in harbours.
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels, such as the icebreaking boats that were once used on the canals of the United Kingdom.
On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. To increase a vessel's safety and chances of surviving damage, the machinery necessary for the ship's operation may be segregated into various spaces. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime mover, usually some variations of a heat engine. On some ships, there may be more than one engine room, such as forward and aft, or port or starboard engine rooms, or may be simply numbered.
In marine propulsion, a variable-pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change the blade pitch. Reversible propellers—those where the pitch can be set to negative values—can also create reverse thrust for braking or going backwards without the need to change the direction of shaft revolution.
'Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting people or goods. The different modes of transport are air, water, and land transport, which includes Rails or railways, road and off-road transport. Other modes also exist, including pipelines, cable transport, and space transport. Human-powered transport and animal-powered transport are sometimes regarded as their own mode, but never fall into the other categories. In general, transportation is used for moving of people, animals, and other goods from one place to another. Means of transport, on the other hand, refers to the transport facilities used to carry people or cargo ,according to the chosen mode. Each mode of transport has a fundamentally different technological solution, and some require a separate environment. Each mode has its own infrastructure, vehicles, transport operators and operations.
Manoeuvering thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard side, without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires some forward motion for turning; The effectiveness of a thruster is curtailed by any forward motion due to the Coandă effect. A stern thruster is of the same principle, fitted at the stern. Large ships might have multiple bow thrusters and stern thrusters.
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a ship or boat across water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electric motor or engine turning a propeller, or less frequently, in pump-jets, an impeller. Marine engineering is the discipline concerned with the engineering design process of marine propulsion systems.
The harbour defence motor launch (HDML) was a 72 ft (22 m) long British-designed motor vessel used for harbour defence during World War II. Nearly 500 were built by numerous Allied countries during the war.
The Perkins 4.236 is a diesel engine manufactured by Perkins Engines. First produced in 1964,over 70,000 were produced in the first three years, and production increased to 60,000 units per annum. The engine was both innovative and reliable, becoming a worldwide sales success over several decades.
A Dutch barge is a traditional flat-bottomed shoal-draught barge, originally used to carry cargo in the shallow Zuyder Zee and the waterways of Netherlands. There are very many types of Dutch barge, with characteristics determined by regional conditions and traditions.
Nahlin is a luxury yacht and one of the last of three large steam yachts constructed in the UK. She was built for Lady Yule, heiress of Sir David Yule, and was launched in 1930. She is owned by British industrial entrepreneur Sir James Dyson, who purchased her from Sir Anthony Bamford, Chairman of JCB. The name Nahlin is taken from a Native American word meaning "fleet of foot" and the yacht has a figurehead depicting a Native American wearing a feathered headdress beneath the bowsprit.
The Waveney-class lifeboat was the first class of lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) capable of operating at speeds in excess of 10 knots (12 mph). Based on an American design, 22 saw operational service between 1964 and 1999 at the RNLI's stations around the coast of the United Kingdom and Ireland. After being superseded by faster boats in the 1990s, many were sold for further use with lifeboat services abroad, notably in Australia and New Zealand.
Integrated electric propulsion (IEP) or full electric propulsion (FEP) or integrated full electric propulsion (IFEP) is an arrangement of marine propulsion systems such that gas turbines or diesel generators or both generate three-phase electricity which is then used to power electric motors turning either propellers or waterjet impellors. It is a modification of the combined diesel-electric and gas propulsion system for ships which eliminates the need for clutches and reduces or eliminates the need for gearboxes by using electrical transmission rather than mechanical transmission of energy, so it is a series hybrid electric propulsion, instead of parallel.
Until Bill's death, Bill & Laurel Cooper were a married couple who were successful co-authors of several nautical books and travelogues. For a record number of decades, they lived afloat on a succession of boats, including a ketch sailing boat, a Dutch barge, and a motor boat of their own design.
Sisu was a Finnish state-owned icebreaker. Built in 1939 at Wärtsilä Hietalahti Shipyard in Helsinki, she was one of the world's first diesel-electric icebreakers. In addition to icebreaking duties, she served as a submarine tender for the Finnish Navy during the summer months until the end of the Continuation War.
DBA - The Barge Association is a club for leisure users of European inland waterways. The club was formed in 1992 as "The Dutch Barge Association", by a small group of UK owners of Dutch barges. It later expanded to include any form of barge and other types of boat with the same interests in cruising in European rivers and canals, becoming "DBA - The Barge Association". It is still generally known as "DBA". The DBA publishes a bi-monthly magazine, Blue Flag, plus a more frequent online newsletter.