Starship Schematics Database:
dedicated to the sole purpose of archiving every single starship design ever conceived in the Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, and Space Battleship Yamato (A.K.A. Star Blazers in the USA) Universes, both official and unofficial, interesting and mediocre.
posted by Joe Beese
on Feb 12, 2011 -
35 comments
The Rhode Island School of Design has a set of beautiful designs for
dazzle ship camouflage.
Dazzle Camouflage was a way to confuse submarine operators as to the heading and speed of warships, so that they could not effectively fire torpedoes to sink them. Certainly a lot more colorful than today's camo! (
previously)
posted by that girl
on Feb 8, 2010 -
35 comments
Around Cape Horn - if you've ever wished for an authentic glimpse into the bygone era of the majestic age of sailing, this is it - a rare 1929 true adventure film about sailing a four-masted commercial barque around the Cape Horn during a huge gale. It was shot with a hand-cranked camera by Captain Irving Johnson who offers a spirited narration. 36 minutes, B&W
posted by madamjujujive
on Apr 11, 2009 -
29 comments
The United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 —
Authorized and funded by the U.S. government,
six ships sailed with 346 men (including
officers,
crew,
scientists, and
artists) on a four-year scientific and surveying mission, logging
87,000 miles around the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Two ships and 28 men were lost, and the Expedition's
contentious commander
Charles Wilkes was court-martialled for his erratic behavior, and was
sued by former officers and crew members. During the Civil War in 1861, he
boarded a British ship, seized two Confederate agents, and nearly provoked military retaliation by England (he was court-martialled once again in
1864 for insubordination.) Wilkes' 1845
Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition and the Ex. Ex.'s journals were
published by Congress, and some 40 tons of Expedition specimens and
artifacts became the
foundation of the
Smithsonian Institution's collections.
[Nathaniel Philbrick (video lecture) chronicles this almost-forgotten voyage in his 2003 book Sea of Glory (NYT review).]
posted by cenoxo
on Oct 25, 2008 -
21 comments
Edinburgh author
Iain M. Banks, creator of the post capitalist space faring society
The Culture and it's
oddly named ships, has long been the UKs top science fiction writer, but has never had
more than a toehold in the US (in part through lack of availability, in part due to lack of promotion and in part due to some pretty
awful covers. That could change:
Matter, his latest, has been heavily promoted in the US and sports a cover nearly identical to the UK edition. This week
Orbit are releasing US editions of the two earliest Culture novels, with the third following in July, which could mean a complete release of all the novels in the US in order.
[more inside]
posted by Artw
on Mar 23, 2008 -
160 comments
Having served as a troop transport in WWII, a luxury liner, and a sea cadet training vessel, the
Texas Clipper will come to her final resting place
tomorrow as part of an artificial reef in the Texas Gulf. During preparations for sinking, a long lost mural (
1 2 3 4) by
Saul Steinberg, best known for his
work at The New Yorker, was rediscovered hidden behind wallpaper and paint and saved from a watery grave.
posted by Orb
on Nov 15, 2007 -
4 comments
What do you know? Just when I thought ships were the way to go, I learned that
global emissions of carbon dioxide from shipping are twice the level of aviation, one of the maritime industry's key bodies has said It came out on the
BBC News this week.
posted by lamarguerite
on Oct 20, 2007 -
48 comments
The
Cutty Sark burns. Nineteenth century tea clipper, preserved as a museum-ship in Greenwich since the fifties, is currently ablaze.
posted by hydatius
on May 20, 2007 -
48 comments
Concrete Ships Toward the end of the First World War, and during the Second World War, the United States commisioned the construction of experimental concrete ships.
posted by dhruva
on Oct 13, 2005 -
25 comments
They that go down to the sea in ships, a really hauntingly beautiful collection of images of seafarers from the past. Some of the images have handwritten notes on the back as well. It's good to get a glimpse of the people and decades lived in by most of our grandparents. Who knows where all those digital images we all take will end up one day.
posted by rhyax
on May 2, 2004 -
7 comments
Sail ho! "In the spring of 1788, the original Lady Washington sailed into the northwest waters, becoming the first American vessel to make landfall on the west coast of what would one day become the United States...Launched in 1989, the
Lady Washington is a full-scale replica of the first American vessel to explore the Pacific Northwest Coast." Any
tall ships in your local area?
Now I'm in the mood for some
Barrett's Privateers or
Canadee-I-O .
posted by OneSmartMonkey
on Sep 19, 2003 -
2 comments
The Tricolor, a 50,000-ton cargo vessel carrying 3000 automobiles worth more than $40 million, is being raised. Cost to raise the
Tricolor: $40 million. It sunk, then was
hit three times, once by the Nicola, then by the
Vicky (an oil tanker which spilled some, and killed
marine life), then by a salvage tug. Good
summary of the collisions in Dutch and English, with photos (similarly in
French). Official
press briefings offer good outline of all stages since the beginning. The automobile manufacturers
tried to prevent pictures being taken of the destroyed automobiles, but
there they are and
even more and better. The
official Tricolor salvage site offers a PDF file on
how the salvage is being done: in part, with a huge cutting wire.
posted by Mo Nickels
on Aug 8, 2003 -
20 comments
Heavy Seas is an all too brief gallery of terrifying photos of huge waves crashing down around large boats & drilling rigs. I wish it were a little longer, but I did think the photos were impressive, as one who has never been at sea in very rough weather.
posted by jonson
on Mar 9, 2003 -
29 comments
The
Spiegel Grove was supposed to be sunk upright, creating the largest and most accessible artificial reef ever. Cool!
Unfortunately, the ship had other ideas and now appears to be impersonating a
giant turtle. One of the nation's top
marine salvage outfits has been called to the rescue. Looks like a potential Discovery Channel show in the making. (Check out the pictures on the Spiegel Grove site, they're pretty cool.)
posted by groundhog
on May 27, 2002 -
4 comments
Kalakala.org: World-famous art-deco Seattle ferry (most recently an abandoned Alaskan shrimp factory) rescued from rusty oblivion.
Gutenberg's earlier
post about "ghost pictures" on the old ferry Kalakala sent me looking for more info on the vessel, which I now know was once the second most photographed object in the world, next to the Eiffel tower. Volunteers are now slowly restoring it near Gas Works Park. Cool.
posted by Tubes
on Apr 4, 2002 -
12 comments
The J.W. Westcott II delivers toilet paper, the occasional pizza, and, most importantly, mail to freighters making their way through the Great Lakes. And now it's the only boat in the U.S. to be assigned it's own zip code.
posted by Oriole Adams
on Jun 30, 2001 -
6 comments
It is the middle of November, better get your boat off the
Great Lakes. Nautical fans might wish to purchase this excellent
model of the Edmund Fitzgerald, sunk 25 years + 2 days ago today.
posted by thirteen
on Nov 13, 2000 -
1 comment
