Free Process Essays - How Boats Work :: Expository Process Essays

How Boats Work   As most people probably know a propeller is what drives a motorboat through the water. However, the water gives off quite a bit of resistance. If you want to travel at greater velocities you have to speed up the boat to push against the water and to move the hull higher. The force of the water against the hull is called friction. This slows the boat down. If a boat hull is designed well the water will flow around more easily. The sail of a modern sailing boat or yacht catches the wind and pushes the boat forward. The sail of a boat is very similar to the wing of an airplane or even a bird's wing. The same principles that govern those structures happen - a plane's wing lifts the plane and a boat's sail lifts and pushes it forward. Imagine the sail of a boat cutting into the air. As the sail cuts through the air some of the air goes around the curved side and some air goes across the shorter (back side). The air on one side makes the sailboat lean over and the air on the other side pushes the boat sideways. Another question now arises what makes the boat go forward? Well the hull is weighed down by a keel; this huge weight counters the wind push and makes the boat go forward. Now when discussing boats there are many types, another type of interest would be a jet boat. If   it was possible to see through the hull of a jet boat and into the jet unit which propels the boat to high velocities we would see amazing things. The water flows in a given direction. The spinning turbine blades cause water to be sucked up through the intake under low pressure. Once inside the turbine chamber the water gains velocity and is powered out of the back of the turbine under high pressure by the specifically designed turbine blades. The opposing force of this powerful jet blast powers the boat forward. Another principal of boats is how they float.   Floating was first recorded by