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December 17, 2003
I read this this somewhere before,
the bit I don't agree with is .....
Recently I heard of another reason that makes a lot of
sense, early powered boats used automotive engines and
often were simply the engine in the middle of a boat
with an extension on the rear of the crankshaft to
drive a propeller at the back of the boat.
But I say
The early engined boats were steam driven , as everybody knows Steam
engines run just as fast in either direction . (simple reversing
lever on the valve gear) Not withstanding that, the first boats had
paddle wheels on either side (river boats had them at the stern)Then
good old Isambard put a screw (prop) at the rear. Like some 'planes
a twin prop boat would have contra rotating props for going forward,
both engines rotating in opposite directions.
We can still buy LH or RH props.
The fastest boat before WW1 had a steam turbine .
Maybe the first home built 'speed boats ' were fitted with car
engines as they would have been more plentiful than marine engines ,
but by then the Col. Regs were written. Pass Port To Port , or Red
light to Red light , which means in a channel / river the boats
travel on the right side.
Personally I find it more natural to drive on the right (USA and
continental Europe) I'm Right handed , my wife is Left handed and
hates driving on the righthand side of the road and she gets her
gears mixed up (stick shift)(is that why the the majority of Yank
cars are Auto's - just a thought)
The difficulty I have is swapping back to driving on the 'correct'
side when I return to Blighty, what?.
Alan
Oh! yes BTW its possible that the first powered flight was acheived
by an Englishman , before 17th December 1903. (flame suit on)
Toodle pip, time for bed , said Zebedee - its just turned 2 am
alan.east-jones@... 27626
Posted on December 17, 2003 02:12 AM
Posted to category(s) Cylinder Head | Drive Train | Engine (external) | Engine (internal) | Exterior | Intake System | Suspension & Steering | Transmission | Tuning | Wheels
