Sea tractor
Encyclopedia
A Sea tractor is a motor vehicle
designed to travel through shallow seawater, usually carrying passengers on a platform suspended typically 2 metre or so above a tractor-like chassis. Early models of Sea tractors had a 20 hp motor and a 10 person capacity. The sea tractor was most popular during the early 1930s, as a unique way to give scenic tours to patrons of waterfront hotels and resorts. In other applications, Sea tractors were used merely as a ferry through shallow waters. Sea tractors are hardly used in present time - as boat
s, ferries
, and other aquatic vessels often serve their function much more efficiently and comfortably.
at Burgh Island
own and operate a sea tractor, to carry hotel guests, and other visitors, the 250 m (273 yd) to the island at high tide, when the causway connecting the island to the mainland is covered. The current tractor is the third one to be used at this location.
A sea tractor is also used at South Sands Beach near Salcombe, Devon. The beach has no jetty or pier and the South Sands Ferry therefore cannot reach dry land to pick up passengers. The sea tractor transports passengers to the ferry waiting a few metres out to sea.
for PC and Nintendo Wii.
.
The Burgh Island sea tractor also appears as the method of transport between the mainland and the island in Evil Under the Sun (2001 film) TV series of ITV
's Agatha Christie's Poirot
.
The second Burgh Island sea tractor features in the 1965 Dave Clark Five film "Catch Us If You Can'(1965).
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
designed to travel through shallow seawater, usually carrying passengers on a platform suspended typically 2 metre or so above a tractor-like chassis. Early models of Sea tractors had a 20 hp motor and a 10 person capacity. The sea tractor was most popular during the early 1930s, as a unique way to give scenic tours to patrons of waterfront hotels and resorts. In other applications, Sea tractors were used merely as a ferry through shallow waters. Sea tractors are hardly used in present time - as boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
s, ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, and other aquatic vessels often serve their function much more efficiently and comfortably.
Current uses
The hotelBurgh Island Hotel
The Burgh Island Hotel is a hotel on Burgh Island, Devon in England.-History:In the 1890s, the music hall star George H. Chirgwin built a prefabricated wooden house on the island, which was used by invited guests for weekend parties...
at Burgh Island
Burgh Island
Burgh Island is a small tidal island off the coast of South Devon in England near to the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel...
own and operate a sea tractor, to carry hotel guests, and other visitors, the 250 m (273 yd) to the island at high tide, when the causway connecting the island to the mainland is covered. The current tractor is the third one to be used at this location.
A sea tractor is also used at South Sands Beach near Salcombe, Devon. The beach has no jetty or pier and the South Sands Ferry therefore cannot reach dry land to pick up passengers. The sea tractor transports passengers to the ferry waiting a few metres out to sea.
Video games
The first sea tractor featured in a video game appeared in the game Agatha Christie: Evil Under the SunAgatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun
Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun is a video game released for the PC and Nintendo Wii, and is the third installment of The Adventure Company's Agatha Christie series, developed by AWE Productions, based on Agatha Christie's novel Evil Under the Sun...
for PC and Nintendo Wii.
TV and Movies
Sea tractors have been featured on the famous child's TV Show TeletubbiesTeletubbies
Teletubbies is a BBC children's television series targeted at pre-school viewers and produced from 1997 to 2001 by Ragdoll Productions. It was created by Ragdoll's creative director Anne Wood CBE and Andrew Davenport, who wrote each of the show's 365 episodes. The programme's original narrator was...
.
The Burgh Island sea tractor also appears as the method of transport between the mainland and the island in Evil Under the Sun (2001 film) TV series of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
.
The second Burgh Island sea tractor features in the 1965 Dave Clark Five film "Catch Us If You Can'(1965).
External links
- English Ferry Wades Through Ocean Waves from Science and Mechanics, 1935