Boats and Boating: Information on boats and boating - "It's an Alien World in Every River" |
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When you look at a river, what do you see? A few flies on top? A fish or two?
Look closer.
Lay down on your chest at the side of the river and stare down into it. Look at a rock or a stick. Not very interesting? Keep looking.
Soon, you begin to notice things that don't seem to belong. Sticks don't come with little tubes of sand attached. What's that black bump? Oh, it's moving. It's... grazing? Every stream holds a tiny alien world, packed with creatures unlike anything we see on land.
Clinging mayfly and stonefly nymphs graze like tiny cattle on the algae and microscopic animals that cover every twig and rock. Sinister damselfly nymphs hunt them with a creepy, deliberate stalking posture reminiscent of both a prowling cheetah and killer robots from the future in some cheap sci-fi flick.
Caddisfly larvae build intricate houses of tiny stones and debris, which the tiny carpenters drag around with them like a shell. Colonies of them gather on various twigs and rocks, little housing subdivisions in a tiny underwater town.
Swimming mayfly nymphs, some of them shaped much like the slimy villain in the Alien movies, dart from place to place with the deftness of little minnows and take up station to catch food drifting by in the current. And below the ground, burrowing mayfly nymphs dig lairs with their powerful tusks from which they emerge only at night to prowl for food. All hope to avoid the gaping jaws of a big, ugly, prowling dragonfly nymph.
Until now, it was hard to observe this underwater world without getting very cold and very wet. But a new website, Troutnut.com, has brought detailed photographs and videos of this intriguing world and its residents to the comfort of your computer desk.
The website was sparked by the sport of fly fishing, in which trout anglers craft realistic imitations of tiny stream creatures from an intimidating mess of fur and feathers, and present their imitations delicately, even artistically. For them, better pictures of the real thing mean better imitations and more trout. But Troutnut.com's quest for more and bigger trout has led to a glimpse at this alien world that anyone can enjoy.
So next time you're walking past a stream, stop to take a closer look. Or head over right now to www.troutnut.com. Either way, you'll be amazed.
For thousands of years men have sailed the seas. From the earliest trips by the discoverers and settlers of the Americas, Australia and the Pacific Islands, through Odysseus' voyage to Troy and beyond to the time of Swashbucklers in the Caribbean mankind has made exciting voyages to the far corners of the world.
In those early days hard cold steel and brass protected the men and their ships. Today we have boat insurance, GPS systems, sonar and underwater charts.
While boat insurance is not as glamorous as a fancy cutlass nor as exciting as a cannon it does offer the
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Isn’t it exciting to steal away for the afternoon in a motorboat for a cruise down the river? Or perhaps you prefer an old-fashioned rowboat ride. Maybe a paddleboat is your idea of fun. On the other hand, you might live for the weekends when you can take an all-day sailing trip across the lake and back.
Whatever your taste in water transportation, managing a boat can be exhilarating and challenging. But if you’re the one in charge of steering, renting, or navigating the vessel, it is important to follow a few basic safety rules and be sure that your passengers do likewise.
Boat insurance is necessary for all boat owners who live on or really value their boats. If it is something that you feel you must replace then you need to insure it. If you live on your boat it is absolutely necessary that it be insured. Who would want to lose their home?
Also most boats are financed in the beginning. The lending company will insist on insurance in those cases just as they would with a house or a car. This is not unreasonable; they have as much to lose in the financial sense as you do if anything
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Imagine having your boat, and not just an ordinary boat. Imagine building with your own hand and being the proud owner of a Grand Banks Dory.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines dory as:
Dory n. pl. Dories
A small, narrow, flatbottom fishing boat with high sides and a sharp prow.
The common Dory size ranges from 10 feet to 14 feet in length and can hold from 3 to 5 persons. A Grand Banks Dory is usually 16 feet in length. The traditional Grand Banks Dory is also notable as a seaworthy vessel. The fishermen
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One of the greatest pleasures that a man can have is owning his own boat. It goes back to the days of adventure on the high seas when a man was absolute monarch of his realm as a captain of his ship.
Today there are very few places that the average man can be master and commander of his own destiny. But owning a boat is not without risk or expense. At one time cannons and carronades protected the owner and captain from loss today it is boat insurance that protects a man from loss.
It might seem like a
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