Portal:Engineering/Selected article/12
A Halkett boat is a type of lightweight
Canadian Arctic
, and the problems involved in designing boats light enough to be carried over arduous terrain, but robust enough to be used in extreme weather conditions.
Halkett's first design was a collapsible and inflatable boat made of rubber-impregnated cloth. When deflated, the hull of the boat could be worn as a cloak, the oar used as a walking stick, and the sail as an umbrella. This was followed by a two-man craft that was small enough to fit into a
knapsack
, and when deflated served as a waterproof blanket.
Although widely praised by Canadian explorers, Halkett's designs had a limited market, and he was unable to persuade the
Orcadian explorer John Rae, and one held in the Hudson's Bay Company Museum Collection at the Manitoba Museum are known to survive today. (Full article...
)