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Vehicle: Boat: Sailboat
Bergboats   (0)  [vote for, against]
Plunk a bunch of masts (or anchors for huge kites) into icebergs and sail around in them.

Run charters out to see them, advertise for holiday getaways on them.

When they become too unstable, park them in a harbour, cooling off the cities a small amount, lessening a/c load on the grid. A bit of well-placed explosives should get them down to sizes that will melt and dissipate before winter (so there's no extra load on heating).

Since icebergs and massive chunks of Antarctica ice shelves are mostly underwater, it's a bit more complicated than booting about the lake on a sailboard, but still should be doable.
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 06 2017

Original version of this Idea http://99percentinv...ft-carrier-project/
A pretty old idea.... [Vernon, Jun 12 2017]

Any moment now there's going to be an annotation by [8th] involving Pykrete and aircraft carriers.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 06 2017


Gibber .... Habakkuk ... Lord Louis Mountbatten ... Pykrete ... mumble ... Churchill ... Atlantic air gap ... U-boats ... VLR Liberator ... snort, grunt ... invasion of Iceland ... Ice airfield ... Lilly ... DMWD ... Mulberry Harbour ... Lend-lease ... cough ... EH ? WHAT ? EH ? WHO ARE YOU ? YOU'RE NOT MY SON ... have I had my tea yet ? I hate strawberry jam, the pips get under my top setARRRGH STUKAS .... no, as you were, just a motorbike I think ... they're taking my clothes, you know ... hrrrk mnk, mnk, nurse ... NURSE ! I NEED A TISSUE oh too late ....
-- 8th of 7, Jun 06 2017


Incidentally, given that icebergs tend to be made of ice all the way through (and therefore have a uniform density), any superstructure or mastage that you add is likely to end up as substructure.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 06 2017


Ah, missed that bit.... non-circular'ish icebergs then, or include outriggers (powered, to aid in navigation andor propulsion).

The Borg needs a reset... I think the Handbook calls for Irish espresso, or maybe a couple of scented-candles: machine-oil and sheep-dung-a-mile-off.
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 06 2017


//non-circular'ish icebergs then// Not gonna help. Icebergs have the remarkable property that their centre of mass is also in the centre of their displacement - one of nature's little miracles.

//The Borg needs a reset// That often happens. I used to turn it off and then on again, but I've found it better if you turn it on then off again.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 06 2017


//Icebergs have the remarkable property that their centre of mass is also in the centre of their displacement// eh ?

[Summary edited, just in case...]
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 06 2017


I sorta grok what you say, but that would mean that a raft made of logs (consistant density) couldn't use a sail, either.
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 07 2017


Hmm. You may be not completely incorrect. I guess it means that a raft with a sail would be more stable upside-down than right way up, but there's an activation energy needed to flip it. But yes, point taken.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 07 2017


[Vernon] Thanks for the link, but the idea has nothing to do with the WWII pykrete idea. This is more for getting icebergs where they can do some good, instead of just floating around melting in the middle of the ocean.
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 12 2017


While we're on the subject, can I just mention that "grok" is not a word. It's madey uppey and sounds ugly. People who make up ugly words should be proxitified.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 12 2017


I initially read this as Borgboats. Would never work. It would be cubical, cuz each Borg would want a cubical cubicle.
-- whatrock, Jun 12 2017


//"grok" is not a word//

<looks on with horror>
-- FlyingToaster, Jun 13 2017



random, halfbakery