A glass-bottom boat is a boat with sections of glass, panoramic bottom glass or other suitable

transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...

material, below the waterline allowing passengers to observe the underwater environment from within the boat. The view through the glass bottom is better than simply looking into the water from above, because one does not have to look through optically erratic surface disturbances. The effect is similar to that achieved by a

diving mask Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

, while the passengers are able to stay dry and out of the water.

Use

Glass-bottom boats are used for giving tours, as they are usually designed to allow the maximum number of

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s to view out the glass bottom. Glass-bottom boats are in use in many seaside tourist destinations as well as lake towns. Typical tours in these boats include views of underwater flora and fauna,

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

shipwrecks A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

, and other underwater sights.

History

The glass-bottom boat was invented in 1878 by two men, Hullam Jones and Philip Morrell, in

Marion County, Florida Marion County is located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,908. Its county seat is Ocala. Marion County comprises the Ocala, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. it includes par ...

. Jones outfitted a dugout canoe with a glass viewing box at the bottom, which allowed tourists to view the clear waters of

Silver Springs, Florida Silver Springs is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County, Florida, United States. It is the site of Silver Springs, a group of artesian springs and a historic tourist attraction that is now part of Si ...

. Eventually, the spring was purchased by Col. W.M. Davidson and Carl Ray, who developed a gasoline-powered glass bottom boat in 1924.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glass-Bottom Boat Boat types Glass applications Glass architecture Tourist activities

Use

History

See also

References