Boats Quiz

Answer: The Titanic. Believed to be unsinkable, the Titanic went down off the coast of Newfoundland. The lack of enough lifeboats and blind confidence in the technology of the time turned this voyage into one of the greatest maritime disasters in history.

Answer: The Marine Chronometer. Invented by British clockmaker John Harrison, the marine chronometer had to remain extremely accurate despite the ship's movements and changes in temperature. By knowing the exact time at the home port, sailors could compare it to local time (calculated from the sun) and deduce their East/West position.

Answer: The Bowsprit. The bowsprit extends out beyond the bow. It allows the forward mast's stays to be attached and additional triangular sails called jibs to be deployed.

Answer: It is the movable part of the rudder that dips into the water to steer the boat. The rudder blade is the pivoting plate operated by the helm (tiller or wheel). By deflecting the flow of water, it changes the ship's course. Without a rudder, you go straight ahead, which is inconvenient when approaching the dock.

Answer: GPS. The GPS system, operational from the 1990s, has made astronomical navigation with a sextant almost obsolete for everyday use.

Answer: Kon-Tiki. Kon-Tiki drifted for about 101 days before running aground on a Tuamotu atoll. Heyerdahl wanted to show that South American peoples could have reached Polynesia.

Answer: One nautical mile per hour, i.e. 1.852 km/h. In the past, sailors threw a small board into the water, tied to a rope with evenly spaced knots, and counted how many ran out in a given time. The name stuck.

Answer: Their thrusters can rotate 360° and push in any direction. On these 'azimuth' thrusters, the whole propeller rotates around a vertical axis, so no rudder is needed. The tug can move forward, backward, sideways or spin round, which is essential for guiding a giant ship through a narrow port.

Answer: It removes water that collects in the bottom of the hull. Rain, spray, leaks around the propeller shaft: a little water always ends up in the bilge, the lowest part of the boat. A pump, often automatic thanks to a float switch, sends it overboard. If it starts running unusually often, that is frequently the first sign of a leak.

Answer: Paper nautical charts. This system displays official electronic charts overlaid with GPS position, radar and AIS. It has been compulsory on most merchant ships since the 2010s. Officers must still be able to navigate the old way if it fails.

Answer: The Trireme. The trireme was the quintessential warship of antiquity (notably in Athens). Manned by around 170 rowers, its main weapon was the bronze ram at the bow, used to smash enemy hulls. A kind of human-powered missile.

Answer: Robert FitzRoy. Captain FitzRoy sailed with Darwin around the world from 1831 to 1836. FitzRoy wanted a scientist as good company so he wouldn't sink into depression during this long, solitary voyage. Darwin, meanwhile, used the trip to lay the foundations of his theory of evolution.

Answer: A propeller suspended below a pod that rotates a full 360 degrees. Pods house an electric motor that directly drives the propeller. Since the pod can rotate a full 360°, it can direct thrust in any direction. No more rudder needed! A giant cruise liner can thus turn in place or dock sideways in port without the help of tugboats.

Answer: The Ra II. After the failure of Ra I (which fell apart at sea), Ra II, built from papyrus by craftsmen from Lake Titicaca, successfully sailed from Morocco to Barbados (6,100 km), proving that these woven-reed technologies could handle the distance on the open sea.

Answer: Its width spreads out buoyancy more evenly. The distance between a catamaran's two hulls gives it a wide flotation base, greatly reducing the risk of heeling and capsizing.

Answer: The Bismarck. Hunted by much of the British fleet after sinking HMS Hood, the Bismarck was finally sunk on 27 May 1941.

Answer: The outrigger canoe. Thanks to their stabilising side float, Polynesian outrigger canoes allowed the colonisation of thousands of Pacific islands, guided by the stars and currents.

Answer: That forward part helps turn the rudder and lightens the load on the helm. Water pressure on the forward part pushes in the same direction as the helmsman's action and offsets some of the force on the rear part. On large ships this greatly reduces the power needed to turn the rudder.

Answer: Dividing the hull into watertight compartments with bulkheads. Transverse bulkheads divided junk hulls into several compartments, so a leak stayed confined to one part of the ship. This know-how, described by Marco Polo, only became widespread in the West much later. It is listed as UNESCO intangible heritage.

Answer: Heading straight towards you. The green light is on starboard, the right, and the red on port, the left; they can only be seen from ahead and from the side. Seeing both at once means the ship is pointing its bow at you: you must act, usually by turning to starboard.