All Entries Tagged With: "cool boats"

PlanetSolar, The World’s Largest Solar-Powered Boat

Since the 1980s, skipper Raphael Domjan has been dreaming of sailing around the world using the minimum amount of energy.  Five years ago, he embarked on a journey to fulfill that dream.  Recently, they unveiled the vessel that will help him accomplish it – PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar-powered boat.
Shown off at the HDW shipyard in Kiel, Germany, the catamaran measures 100 feet long, 50 feet wide and 25 feet high.  Using a multi-hull body constructed by the Knierim Yacht Club, they’ve been able to incorporate a massive photovoltaic array of solar panels that cover a monstrous area of 5,300 square feet, employing a total 38,000 units of SunPower’s 22% efficiency, next-generation cells.

PlanetSolar will depend solely on the solar generators for its power the whole time it stays on the water, predicting an average engine consumption of 20kW.  Weighing 61 tons, it can travel at a top speed of 14 [...]

Scubacraft, A Sea-Diving Speedboat

A speed boat that craftily doubles as a submarine has been an endless fascination in many movies and comic books.  If the Scubacraft, which  recently went through underwater testing at the Pinewood Studios, pushes through, that longing can finally become a reality.
On the surface, the Scubacraft looks like a typical luxury racing speedboat, sporting aerodynamic lines and fancy good looks.  Once you tire of the usual sights around the marina, however, it should let you uncover a whole new world right below you – all without having to get off your seat.

Able to scoot over water at up to 50 miles per hour, then dive up to a depth of 100 feet, it’s the coolest watercraft we’ve seen in the last few years.  Even though it’s not fully-contained like an actual submarine (you’ll have to wear scuba gear when going under), it makes for a uniquely thrilling ride all the [...]

Citibot Folding Kayak Shrinks From A 10-Foot Boat To A 3-Foot Bag

Sometimes, I leave the house wondering if there will be a tsunami.  Or a typhoon with flash flood.  Or if the icebergs suddenly melt while I’m out.  I’m a pretty good swimmer, but I hate getting wet in my best suit.  For those times of unusual paranoia (as a result of bad drugs dreams), I know I will feel safe carrying a Citibot Folding Kayak.
Lightweight and convenient, it folds to a large but portable backpack that weighs a mere 24lbs.  In fact, it’s small enough to check on an airplane.  When let loose, it assembles into a fully-functional boat that can carry a single person up to 210 lbs.  That’s heavyweight level right there, so unless you’re Brock Lesnar (or Oprah on a bad month), it should handily take you along flooded streets and highways (assuming the paranoid flooding happens, of course).

The Citibot Folding Kayak measures 35 x 18 x [...]

M/V Auriga Leader: World’s First Solar-Powered Cargo Ship

While it’s a more or less established fact that commercial cars won’t be able to make use of any sort of solar-based powertrains soon, larger vehicles are a whole other story.  Huge cargo ships, which offer plenty of exposed surfaces, are actually a more likely candidate.
The M/V Auriga Leader is the first cargo ship to take a step in that direction, wearing a total of 328 solar panels on its top deck to help supply 40 kilowatts of energy.  That constitutes 10% of the 400-kilowatt power requirements of the entire vessel, helping cut down on its overall diesel consumption.

A commercial carrier that transports up to 6,400 cars for every trip, the M/V Auriga deposits the energy generated from the solar array right into the main grid, allowing the engine to burn less diesel fuel when running the vessel’s electrical systems.  This is a major change from previous implementations, where solar [...]

Yacht Express: So That’s How They Deliver Boats!

How do you deliver a boat from one country to another?    As it turns out, you put them in an even bigger boat that makes the trip.
When it comes to taking boats across the continents, the float-on-float-off Yacht Express from Dockwise is the undisputed king and the largest of its kind.  A semi-submersible, it sinks into the water in order to pick up two dozen or so yachts that it can carry across its deck.  Once they reach the delivery spot, it submerges again to allow each watercraft to be driven off.
The large transatlantic delivery boat measures 686 feet long, with a beam that’s 106 feet high.  Deck space for all the passenger boats (by that, we mean boats that act as the passenger) is 541 feet long and 102 feet wide.  Balancing is accomplished by four main ballast pumps, while cargo handling is performed by a T-crane with [...]

Replica Supertanker Looks Like A Toy, Costs A Quarter Of A Million Dollars

Want to get a boat that makes you look like a Nintendo character come to life? While the image may appear like it came straight out of some child’s fancy, believe me when I say those are two future captains of supertankers riding a $250,000 replica of the real thing.
How that boat can cost $250,000 is beyond my understanding, although they do use it to train students at the Warsash Maritime Academy in Southampton to pilot huge supertankers that carry one of the most dangerous cargo on the high seas – highly-flammable oil. As fun as they look like, these “baby supertankers” are probably not the kind of toys you want to mess with (and not as fun to ride, just basing from the look on that guy’s face).
The replica supertankers, as it turns out, are very hard to control, effectively mimicking the possible difficulties captains will face [...]

Luxurious Oculus Yacht Styles Itself As A Giant Fish-Head

Luxury yachts, for the most part, typically sport the same sexy frames.  Occasionally, though, you chance upon one with such an unconventional styling that you just have know more.  The Oculus Yacht, whose lines resemble the head of a giant fish, is one such craft.
From afar, you’d probably think it was a robot fish straight out of Voltes V, swallowing the folks lined up on its deck.  Up close, you’d likely realize (erringly) that it really is a gigantic beast and try to get away as fast as you can.  Of course, you’ll be wrong on both instances, since it’s not a Prince Zardo creation at all.  Rather, it’s just a really opulent ride with a decided resemblance to last night’s seafood dinner.
Sporting a low-rider profile (characterized by a lowered surface) and a reverse bow configuration, the yacht can manage speeds of over 25 knots, with that gaping mouth scaring [...]

A Luxury Sailboat Fit For A Pirate…Arrrr

Got a spare $100 million tucked under the sheets somewhere?  How about shelling that out for this one-of-a-kind luxury sailboat currently on sale at JamesList?  Called the Maltese Falcon, it sports three huge masts that’s as close as I’ve ever seen a luxury yacht get to a real pirate ship.  Just stencil a crossbones logo somewhere on the sails and you’re good to go!
Everyone knows, of course, that any pirate worth his eye patch pillages the sea on sails instead of lame-ass motors.  Originally commissioned by American millionaire Tom Perkins (who’s not a pirate, by the way) back in 2006, the gorgeous yacht easily fits the bill, owning the reputation of being the world’s largest and fastest personal sailboat.
Measuring 289-feet long, you’ll have plenty of deck to tell your crew to come on to, along with enough chores to keep your band of criminals busy day and night.  The imposing [...]