The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland. It is the world’s only rotating boatlift. It opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s as part of the Millennium Link project. The Wheel is essentially two huge, balanced water tanks suspended on arms which rotate around a central axis like a Ferris wheel. Each tank can support up to four twenty-meter-long boats at one time. Boats move into the tanks through the lock gates, which displaces a mass of water from each tank equal to the weight of the vessels. The tanks are thus always equalized in weight, allowing the pull of gravity on the descending tank to do most of the work elevating the rising tank. his balance allows the wheel to consume very little electricity per turn despite the enormous weight involved. It uses a mere 1.5 kilowatt-hours– or roughly the equivalent power needed to boil eight kettles of water– each time if hefts a 600 metric ton load. And it does this in under four minutes per turn.

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The boat used 537 sq.m of photovoltaic solar panels, which deliver power to an electric motor. PlanetSolar is the first vehicle to have successfully achieved the feat of traveling around the world using solar energy alone, all powered by the sun. The ship sailed for 585 days without fuel to show the potential of solar energy.

Facts:

Length: 35 m / Width: 23 m
Height: 6.10 m / Weight: 95 t
Solar Panels: 38’000 with 22,6% yield
Maximum engine power: 120 kW
Average Engine: 20 kW (26.8 HP)
Crew: min 4 people

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The Belle of Louisville is the oldest operating western rivers steamboat. It was originally built as Idlewild in 1914 by James Rees & Sons of Pittsburgh, PA, for the Memphis Packet Co.. Nowadays, it is top Louisville attraction. She takes passengers on cruises up and down the Ohio River and races in the Great Steamboat Race every year on the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby. It has the shallow-draft flat-bottom hull braced by hog-chain trusses, multiple fire-tube boilers, paddlewheel propulsion. Tickets for individuals for Sightseeing voyage cost 21 USD per adult, 20 USD per senior(60), 12 USD per child (3-12) and free for child under 2 years.

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The worlds largest mega yachts – luxury toys for their owners.

Name: Eclipse

Length: 557 Feet (170m)

Builder: Blohm + Voss in Hamburg, Germany

Designer: Terence Disdale

Owner: Roman Abramovich

Cruise Speed: 22 knots

Maximum Speed: 25 knots

Name: Dubai

Length: 532 Feet (162m)

Yacht Builder: Platinum Yachts FZCO. Dubai hull

Yacht Designer: Andrew Winch

Owner: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Cruise Speed: 25 knots

Maximum Speed: 26 knots

Name: Al Said

Length: 508 Feet (155m)

Builder: Lürssen Yachts, Germany

Designer: Espen Oeino International

Owner: Qaboos bin Said al Said

Cruise Speed: 14.5 knots

Maximum Speed: 25 knots