Last Updated 11/23/09 7:00 PM
Super Boats: 5 New Designs Go Fast, Far—Even Fly! (With Videos)
Published in the February 2008 issue.
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Shape Shifter: Proteus
It looks like a giant water-strider bug, and for good reason: The 100-ft.-long Proteus, launched in 2006 at a cost of $1.5 million, operates on a similar principle, gliding over the surface instead of pushing through it.
The craft’s creator, engineer Ugo Conti of California-based Marine Advanced Research, dubs his concept the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel, or WAM-V. As the ship moves over swells, the inflatable pontoons flex at joints while shock absorbers in the base of the spindly legs cushion the ride.
The concept has been put to the test: Since its launch, the prototype has logged some 3000 miles on the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Mediterranean. “You have a very shallow-draft vessel that has ocean-crossing capabilities,” says chief engineer Mark Gundersen. Applications could include search and rescue, military transport to undeveloped beaches and shallow-water environmental monitoring.
The craft’s creator, engineer Ugo Conti of California-based Marine Advanced Research, dubs his concept the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel, or WAM-V. As the ship moves over swells, the inflatable pontoons flex at joints while shock absorbers in the base of the spindly legs cushion the ride.
The concept has been put to the test: Since its launch, the prototype has logged some 3000 miles on the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Mediterranean. “You have a very shallow-draft vessel that has ocean-crossing capabilities,” says chief engineer Mark Gundersen. Applications could include search and rescue, military transport to undeveloped beaches and shallow-water environmental monitoring.
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