We can change the way that boats power themselves, sure. Go solar, wind, or bio-fueled. But it's hard to imagine a boat that, well, doesn't look like a boat. With cars, people are going crazy, removing wheels and changing seat configurations, all for the sake of being aerodynamic. But boats don't need to be aerodynamic...they need to be hydrodynamic, and how on earth do you do that?
Well, now someone has changed the way the boat looks...and they've changed it a lot. The agents of that change are a few Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who, like the Tesla Roadster people, are using their gobs of leftover cash to try and rethink the world a bit. They've rethought the boat into a "Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel" or WAM-V. The initial prototype, the Proteus, has been touring around for some time now, raising eyebrows wherever it goes.
The Proteus is mostly so fantastic because it completely re-thinks the idea of the hull. Like all catamarans, it spreads its weight onto separate tracks that displace less water. But unlike anything I've ever seen, it is "wave adaptive," meaning the floats are designed to bounce and flop around with the waves. While this would make for an uncomfortably bumpy ride in a normal catamaran, the crazy, flexible spider legs keep the central pod relatively balanced.
The two separate hulls spread the weight of the craft extremely evenly over a large area, meaning that the craft displaces less than a foot of water. Less water displaced means less fuel consumed. And though the boat's designers have yet to release fuel economy numbers, they are leading us to believe that they are very good. But I'll reserve my final judgement for when I see the numbers.
So that's the "wave adaptive" part...what about the "modular"? Well, it turns out that the hull of the craft literally needs to drop down beneath the spider's legs for folks to get on and off the craft. The hull can, additionally, be entirely replaced with a new hull for different missions. Obviously, a pleasure cruise requires a different hull configuration than a search and rescue operation. The boat is also optimal for shallow water research, as it will not disturb reefs and creates next to no wake even at fairly high speeds.
Because we recognize that this thing is cool because it looks weird, as well as for it's enviro-cred, we've put some pictures and videos in after the jump. We hope you enjoy.
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written by Brian Green, September 26, 2007
I hope this idea takes off. I've never seen a catamaran with pontoons that bend with the wave rather than slice through them. I think it's a great idea and I hope they are able to provide some great numbers in terms of efficiency. I'd also want to know how this craft does in rough seas.
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written by vigilant20, September 27, 2007
It seems like a whole lot of extra work (and extra cost) to make the cabin movable. You couldn't walk up the water spiders leg?
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written by Ben, September 27, 2007
Looks like that's what they're doing now-- you can see the stairs up the rear "leg" really clearly in the second video.
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written by Pieter, September 27, 2007
The spider's legs alone would be quite a drag on the air. Perhaps they could make that upper part more aerodynamic instead of thinking that was totally unimportant. Spiders have eight legs.... That is a coffee table on floaty things...
I would not ride in it. scary.
I would not ride in it. scary.
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written by calimocho, September 27, 2007
Wrong. This is simple physics. The way the boat stays afloat is by displacing an amount of water equal to its own mass. Otherwise it's the power of flight -- that's levitation, homes.
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written by mike, September 28, 2007
Um, no, you displace the same mass of water. Long skinny pontoons mean you spread that volume over a larger area, thus reducing the hight(depth) of the water displaced.
Now look at the pontoon from the front, you are pushing 2 smaller holes through the water, not one large one, thats why it takes less effort and consumes less fuel. You could take this to the extreme and push mile long, pencil sized pontoons, but then how do you get it close enough to the dock to board.
I love the idea, where do I sign up for a ride? When will the prototype visit NYC?
Now look at the pontoon from the front, you are pushing 2 smaller holes through the water, not one large one, thats why it takes less effort and consumes less fuel. You could take this to the extreme and push mile long, pencil sized pontoons, but then how do you get it close enough to the dock to board.
I love the idea, where do I sign up for a ride? When will the prototype visit NYC?
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written by diggmediggyou, September 28, 2007
I think we can't call it as boat since it doesn't look so. This is a transport on the sea. The designer must be a crazy person. I am just wondering what the main purpose for doing this design?
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written by phuntism, September 29, 2007
The post appears to be loosely using the word 'displace'. In nautical terms, 'displacement' generally refers to mass, (the USS Midway displaces over 264 thousand tonnes), but in this post, 'displace' is used to describe the depth the pontoons reach below the surface, which is normally called 'draft' (the draft of the pontoons is less than 1 foot).
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written by Paragon, September 30, 2007
what about the power... to kill a yak from 200 yards away, with MIND BULLETS!!
(that's telekinesis, kyle)
(that's telekinesis, kyle)
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written by Richard, October 01, 2007
In Australia we have used this technology for years. It definitely is more efficient for transversing water, but minor disasters become major catastrophies with this technology if one of the arms become damaged or the floatation device is ruptured. Being a sailor, for this reason, catamarans which is where this idea originated, are only mostly used for coastal travel due to the inherent risks of damage to one of the multi-hulls rendering the craft inoperable.
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written by Mark, August 10, 2009
Not practical to own or operate. Solves a problem that didnt need solving. Coastal cats are cheap to operate, offer a very smooth ride, and move very fast >30kts. The market for low capacity cross-atlantic ferries is nonexistent. Even it works as advertised, I hope they've figured out who would pay to own it.
+ Ocean crossing capability in a light weight boat
+ Comfortable ride in all conditions
+ Great view
-Very heavy given the capacity
-Huge size means that it wont fit in many high traffic docks
-Not cargo friendly (imagine carrying suitcase all the way up those stairs!)
-Inconvenient to board (especially for some older people and physically disabled)
-Complicated = more expensive to maintain
+ Ocean crossing capability in a light weight boat
+ Comfortable ride in all conditions
+ Great view
-Very heavy given the capacity
-Huge size means that it wont fit in many high traffic docks
-Not cargo friendly (imagine carrying suitcase all the way up those stairs!)
-Inconvenient to board (especially for some older people and physically disabled)
-Complicated = more expensive to maintain
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