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Wide boat

 Like a narrow boat but the other way round
  (+4, -7)
(+4, -7) 		  [vote for,
against]

Narrow boats on the British canal system are, typically, 7ft wide and between 30 ft and 70 ft long.

A wide boat could be 7ft long and up to 70ft wide. You then just cruise sideways through the canal system.

—nononoyes, Sep 05 2008

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       and you are on?   

       [marked-for-deletion] um, stuff turned around to face a different direction.
—po, Sep 05 2008
   

       oops I forgot -1   

       try harder next time
—po, Sep 05 2008
   

       Why stop there?   

       Why not one boat that fills the entire canal system?   

       "One boat to rule them all"
—normzone, Sep 05 2008
   

       like a snake. locks and all?
—WcW, Sep 06 2008
   

       Good point normzone. My original idea was to have a boat, whose width was the length of the canal system, making it possible to walk to any destination without leaving the boat. However, this is clearly a silly idea; it doesn't allow for all the bends, bridges and locks etc.
—nononoyes, Sep 06 2008
   

       Well, the bends would be easy to deal with, but building the locks into the boat will represent an engineering challenge.
—normzone, Sep 06 2008
   

       Yes, an articulated wide boat is certainly an option for bends, but as soon as you make the articulated joints detachable, in order to negotiate locks etc. you're really just describing a lot of wide boats joined together, rather than one very wide boat.
—nononoyes, Sep 06 2008
   

       Your bluff will be called when you hit the river and have the option of going "forwards".
—david_scothern, Sep 06 2008
   

       I can see where you're coming from there David. The key thing is to remember that in a wide boat one always travels sideways.
—nononoyes, Sep 06 2008
   

       I think this is funny. I may be alone in this, but... [+]
—wagster, Sep 06 2008
   

       Hawkwind reference appreciated - thanks Ian T.   

       Particular thanks also to Wagster. You're not alone; there's at least two of us.
—nononoyes, Sep 06 2008
   

       Murray Leinster too. "Right angles to reality".
—nineteenthly, Sep 06 2008
   

       Keelhauling mutineers would be a tad difficult.
—4whom, Sep 07 2008
   

       Keelhauling would certainly be a more treacherous experience (for the keelhaulee) than on a narrow boat. The space between the boat's shallow draft and the canal's limited depth (approximately 3 feet) would pose the same problem however, regardless of whether the boat were narrow or wide. The more portly mutineer would always be at risk of getting stuck.
—nononoyes, Sep 07 2008
   

       Believe the Chinese tried this idea but discounted it as being a load of old junk.
—Ah Supp, Oct 05 2011
   


 

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