Hi SEF,
Well my experience is virtually entirely limited to inland freshwater lakes. My boat was a water sports specific boat (i.e. waterskiing, wakeboarding, barefooting, tubing, etc), and I'm actually a terrible fisherman (lacking in the necessary patience, among other things :p ). So I don't have specific insights into open-sea fishing (or fresh-water fishing, for that matter). Generally I am aware that sharks have incredible jaw strength and resulting bite pressure and it would not surprise me that they could (if sufficiently motivated, notwithstanding Hollywood reality) significantly damage a lesser vessel. My boat was an all fiberglass boat with low gunnels - if a shark did attack it, it would not hold up at all and I'd be in deep water... :eek: :D
Hmmm, the idea of large floating sea colony is interesting. My first thought is technical - I think we have sufficient technical knowledge in the areas of marine architecture/engineering to make a vessel that could provide the needed amenities (i.e. power, navigation, propulsion, stability, freshwater, sustainable agriculture, etc). However, I wonder about the cost to build such a vessel and if the trade with established governments would be sufficient to pay for the design/build of the vessel. And the second major problem is of course human - you'd need to have a sufficiently large colony to make it self sustaining and to produce enough exports to be worthwhile to sell to other nations, but with that large group you'd need a clear, fair charter for who's in power and how that power is transferred. And that sort of charter would seem to not align with the basic premise of folks who did not want to live in established land governments. In general I'd expect that the technical challenges could be met. The challenges of fairly governing a large population in a sustainable manner would IMO be the real challenge.
SpyderEdgeForever wrote:Capt`n , may I ask you a question, please, about boats and large fish?
A friend of mine who has done a lot of sailing and open-sea fishing told me that in general most steel-hulled boats are impervious to shark bites and other large fish, but I read somewhere that some shark teeth have been recorded and tested to be able to bite through thinner steel hulls and, at least hypothetically, a large and determined shark could conceivably sink or seriously damage a small (small being in the 5-30 foot length) boat or ship even if it has a thin steel hull. What do you think the reality is in such situations?
my second question for you:
I read about and have had discussions with people who have this visionary idea of building a permanent "floating sea colony" made up of a series of large yacht like boats, floating sea platforms, and the like, to where they could literally become an independent oceanic mini nation unto themselves, trading with already-established nations and being a haven for people who do not want to live on established land governments. From your knowledge of boats and the sea and related matters what are your thoughts on this?
Thank you in advance!
