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iceboating

(Encyclopedia)iceboating, sport of sailing a specially prepared boat equipped with runners over ice. The first iceboats were probably sailed by the Dutch during the 18th cent., although the Finns and Sami (Lapps) m...

depth charge

(Encyclopedia)depth charge, explosive device used against submarines and other underwater targets, either rolled into the water from rails on the stern of a ship or propelled from depth charge throwers. The charge ...

rowing

(Encyclopedia)rowing, the art of propelling a boat by means of oars operated by hand. Boats propelled by oars (e.g., the galley) were used in ancient times for both war and commerce. Rowing is now generally used on...

Kai Islands

(Encyclopedia)Kai Islands or Kei Islands both: kī [key], island group (c.550 sq mi/ 1,420 sq km), E Indonesia, SE of Seram, in the Banda Sea, in the Moluccas. It is densely forested with valuable timber; the peopl...

Rehoboth Beach

(Encyclopedia)Rehoboth Beach rĭhōˈbəth [key], resort town (1990 pop. 1,234), Sussex co., SE Del., on the Atlantic coast; inc. 1873. Its industries include boat construction and printing. Settled about 1675, the...

gunboat

(Encyclopedia)gunboat, small warship for use on rivers and along coasts in places inaccessible to vessels of larger displacement. In the U.S. Civil War both sides used as gunboats, on the Mississippi and other rive...

fiberglass

(Encyclopedia)fiberglass, thread made from glass. It is made by forcing molten glass through a kind of sieve, thereby spinning it into threads. Fiberglass is strong, durable, and impervious to many caustics and to ...

Ferber, Edna

(Encyclopedia)Ferber, Edna, 1887–1968, American author, b. Kalamazoo, Mich. Her novels portray the lives of a wide variety of Americans in a vigorous, colorful, and panoramic fashion. Among her best-known novels ...

Richmond upon Thames

(Encyclopedia)Richmond upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 154,600) of Greater London, SE England. The borough was created in 1965 by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Barnes, Richmond, and Twickenham. Rich...

Papin, Denis

(Encyclopedia)Papin, Denis dənēˈ päpăNˈ [key], 1647–1712?, French physicist and inventor. He was an assistant of Christian Huygens and of Robert Boyle and was professor of mathematics at the Univ. of Marbur...