…what this could possibly be for.
It appears to be a real thing, not just a whimsical little boat somebody built – of course I could be completely wrong about that.
Spent some time searching around last night and came up with nothing but the picture. I can’t find a word written about it, and it’s got me puzzled. Can anybody spare me a clue?
They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
Little Bear 2009-2018
Laddie the Amazing Torso Boy 2011-2020
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I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.
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A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.
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Aristippus passed Diogenes as he was washing lentils.
He said, “If you could but learn to flatter the king, you would not have to live on lentils.”
Diogenes said, “And if you could learn to live on lentils, you would not have to flatter the king.”
Sandy Hook was a Gun Free Zone. So was the Westroads Mall. And the Aurora Theater. And Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Should I go on? They were all Gun Free Zones.
– Reality
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If ever a man should ask you
For your business or your name
Tell him to go and fuck himself
Tell his friends to do the same.
For a man who'd trade his liberty
For a safe and dreamless sleep
Doesn't deserve the both of them
And neither shall he keep.
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John Moses Browning - The most badass Mormon who ever lived.
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Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
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ESSE QUAM VIDERI –
To be, rather than to seem
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Speculative ONLY – there is a school in (I believe) Louisiana that teaches piloting (the guys who take a vessel in and out of port) – they do not only use simulators, but have some water where they pilot ships in miniature that have not just reduced size, but similarly reduced power and steering controls that mimic the real thing in scale. This might be one of their “fleet.” Or, it could just be some dudes amazing secret workshop project debuted for us to see…
Looks like a toy boat built to government specifications.
😉
No clue from me, unfortunately, but if you ever do find out what that is, PLEASE tell us. 🙂
It certainly has features in common with this training tug: http://ral.ca/2010/05/05/bratt-project-concept-whose-time-come/
It could almost be a Devlin Godzilli 22 https://www.devlinboat.com/wordpress1/2016/02/godzilla-22/ or it could be the 16ft version with a modified fo’c’sle. Though the 16 doesn’t come with an inboard engine option stock. https://www.devlinboat.com/wordpress1/2015/12/godzilli-16/
Mini tugs are actually pretty useful – if they are designed properly – around boat yards. The marinas that lead up to a gantry for removing a boat from the water are usually small, and crowded, and the boats being brought there often don’t have working engines.
I’ve seen details on that boat recently — there is an in-use photo of it from when the USS constitution was floated:
https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2017/07/25/uss-constitution-afloat/
I’ll have to think about where I saw the details and maybe I’ll find them again.
Ah! Now we’re getting somewhere!
Searching “beaver boat” on Duckduckgo got me this link, with this pic. Indicating that it really is a working small tug with an absurd power-to-weight ratio. It’s what’s under the water that counts. 😉
It’s basically an engine and thruster with some bollards and a pilot house on top.
You’ll also see small tugs like that in areas where they still do water shipping of logs.
Looks like it fits the same niche as yard locomotives, moving stuff around an industrial rail area.
Neat. Looks like fun. Lots of torque, not a lot of speed.
And now that I’ve re-stared at the photo, there is a “US NAVY” logo under front window on the wheelhouse.
That is just cool as all get-out, Joel! Thanks for sharing it!
I saw some odd things in the Navy, but that tops ’em. Well, almost.
Y’see, there was this one time–this ain’t no shit–when I was……
I believe that the one shown is used to pull the submarine gates in Puget Sound open and closed in the navy yard there.
Dozer tug. We use them up here for logs, log bundles and such. Very powerful, turn on a time – lots of fun. Not sure why the Navy would have one but could see it used to move boats or floating work platforms around the docking area without having to crew the boat. The version for logs have big welded teeth on the front for pushing the wood,
Gunderson LLC. has a similar mini-tug (aptly named Lil toot as well) to corral the wooden slip-blocks after a launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-lKZc1MsqA (@1:15-ish)
Worked there for 15 yrs, and they brought the pipes and drums out for EVERY launch.