Pram (ship)

A pram or pramm describes a type of shallow-draught flat-bottomed ship.

They were used in Europe during the 18th century, particularly in the Baltic Sea during the Great Northern War and Napoleonic Wars, as the pram's shallow draught allowed it to approach the shore. They typically carried 10-20 guns on one gun deck, and had either two or three masts. They were the kind of transport Napoleon would have used to cross the English channel.

More commonly today "pram" refers to a small utility dinghy with a transom bow rather than a pointed bow. This type of pram provides a more efficient use of space than does a traditional skiff of the same size. Modern prams are often 8 to 10 feet long and built of plywood, fibreglass, plastic or aluminum.

The Mirror and Optimist sailboats are examples of this form. Other prams are usually oar powered.

The Norwegian pram is commonly made of solid timber with lots of fore and aft rocker with a U shape cross section. In New Zealand and Australia the most common pram is an arc or v bottom rowboat commonly made of 6mm marine plywood often sealed with paint and/or epoxy resin.

Ship

A ship is a large buoyant watercraft. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size, shape and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas,rivers,and oceans for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public safety, and warfare. Historically, a "ship" was a sailing vessel with at least three square-rigged masts and a full bowsprit.

In armed conflict and in daily life, ships have become an integral part of modern commercial and military systems. Fishing boats are used by millions of fishermen throughout the world. Military forces operate vessels for naval warfare and to transport and support forces ashore. Commercial vessels, nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in 2007. As of 2011, there are about 104,304 ships with IMO numbers in the world.

Ships were always a key in history's great explorations and scientific and technological development. Navigators such as Zheng He spread such inventions as the compass and gunpowder. Ships have been used for such purposes as colonization and the slave trade, and have served scientific, cultural, and humanitarian needs. After the 16th century, new crops that had come from and to the Americas via the European seafarers significantly contributed to the world population growth.Ship transport has shaped the world's economy into today's energy-intensive pattern.

Ship (disambiguation)

A ship is a large vessel that floats on water, specifically the ocean and the sea.

Ship or ships may also refer to:

Acronyms:

In the arts:

Ship (comics)

The fictional A.I. entity originally known as Ship has appeared in several incarnations in the Marvel Universe. At times controlled by both the X-Men and their enemies, the sentient A.I. has at times been installed in the core of a Celestial starship, two space stations, and a techno-organic being. It is not related to Star-Lord's "Ship".

Fictional character biography

Ancient history

Ship's A.I. was created untold millennia ago by the Celestials as the operating system for a data collection device. The Celestials had genetically manipulated humanity, and they left the Ship in the area that would come to be known as Mongolia to monitor humanity's progress.

Circa 1100 A.D., a Mongolian immortal known as Garbha-Hsien (later known as Saul), discovered the Ship and lived next to it while he researched its mysteries. Saul never attempted to enter the Ship.

In time, the Egyptian immortal En Sabah Nur learned of Saul and sought him out as another immortal. In a confrontation, En Sabah Nur slew all of Saul's guards. Saul then sought to humble his fellow "forever-walker" by revealing the secret titanic vessel. Having had previous experience with futuristic technology due to his encounters with Rama-Tut, Nur attacked Saul and left the other immortal for dead and entered the Ship. He emerged later as a vastly changed being who now called himself Apocalypse.

Pram

Pram or PRAM may refer to:

Pram (boat)

Pram refers to a small utility dinghy with a transom bow rather than a pointed bow. This type of pram provides a more efficient use of space than does a traditional skiff of the same size. The Mirror and Optimist sailboats are examples of this form. Modern prams are often 8 to 10 feet long and built of plywood, fibreglass, plastic or aluminum. They are usually oar powered. The Norwegian pram is commonly made of solid timber with lots of fore and aft rocker with a U shape cross section. In New Zealand and Australia the most common pram is an arc or v bottom rowboat commonly made of 6mm marine plywood often sealed with paint and/or epoxy resin. In the past often used as a tender today it has been replaced in this role by the small inflatable.

Pram (band)

Pram are a British experimental pop band, formed in the Balsall Heath/Moseley area of Birmingham, England in 1990.

History

Early years

Originally from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Rosie Cuckston, Matt Eaton and Andy Weir went to school together. In the late 1980s Cuckston and Eaton moved to Birmingham, where Cuckston met Shropshire-born Samantha "Sam" Owen by chance (at a local supermarket's Singles Night). Weir had moved to London to study art, but kept in touch. The four musicians began working together in Birmingham under the temporary name Hole in 1988 (performing solely with vocals and a homemade theremin), changing their name to Pram some time later. Cuckston sang and played keyboards, Eaton played mostly guitar, Weir played drums, and Owen played bass guitar. A little later the group added a fifth member, Max Simpson, on keyboard and sampler. Over time, the various band members introduced their multi-instrumental skills to the project - in particular, Sam Owen and Matt Eaton shared bass guitar and six-string guitar roles (as well as adding to the keyboards) and Owen also performed on various woodwind instruments as well as singing backing vocals.