On the Water
Autonomous, self-mooring buoy system
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June 26, 2007 Both military and scientific missions stand to benefit from a new rapidly-deployable and autonomous mooring buoy system developed by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Lockheed Martin. Capable of being launched from air or sea, the system can self-moor in various bottom types - including sand, mud or rock - to depths of between 30 and 650 feet and has applications ranging from submarine detection to the collection of meteorological and oceanographic measurements. Read More
Race 2 to NZ – it’s all square in the America’s Cup
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June 24, 2007 Just when we thought the high-tech Alinghi had the edge, Emirates Team New Zealand came from behind to square the score in the 32nd America’s Cup Match. Conditions were ideal with a 10 knot breeze, and an enormous spectator fleet surrounded the course (see image gallery). The first half of the race was a carbon copy of the first race but the second lap belonged to the Kiwis, who made the pass on the second beat and extended on the run to the finish. Racing will resume on Tuesday in the best of nine race series. Read More
Alinghi wins first race of America’s Cup match
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June 23, 2007 America’s Cup Defender Alinghi won the first race of the 32nd America’s Cup Match on Saturday afternoon in the waters off Valencia. In perfect conditions for racing, with a stable 12 knot sea breeze, Emirates New Zealand skipper Dean Barker won the start, but within a few minutes, Alinghi showed enough pace to force the Kiwi boat to tack, and from there, the Swiss were in control. Alinghi is now long odds-on with bookmakers to win the best of nine race series, Read More
The Front-Runner: Radical new personal boating concept
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June 22, 2007 Although it looks like there should be a Jedi Knight at the controls, these pics of the innovative Front-Runner were not taken on a film set. The full-size hydrofoil watercraft employs twin 215 horsepower forward-mounted jet-drive motors and an airplane-like steering system to create what's been described as an off-roading experience on water. The steering system allows changes in heading, pitch and bank, and its ability to navigate shallow waters means the 11 foot long Front-Runner can reach previously inaccessible places. One of the most outstanding water going craft we've encountered, the concept is not far from reality according to designer Joey Ruiter, with the productions costs and price tag expected to be comparable to a typical twin-engine jet boat. Having completed a working prototype the focus is now on finding a manufacturer to take the project into the production phase. Read More
Emirates Team New Zealand claims The Louis Vuitton Cup
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June 7, 2007 The entire Emirates Team New Zealand squad climbed up on the prize giving stage to receive the Louis Vuitton Cup on Wednesday evening, after winning the fifth race of the Final, to sweep their way into the final of the America’s Cup. The 5-0 sweep was a first time in Louis Vuitton Cup history and the next task for Emirates Team New Zealand is facing Alinghi in the 32nd America’s Cup Match. Throughout the four years of preliminaries (Louis Vuitton Acts), the Kiwis and the Alinghi team have sailed 10 matches, with the Kiwis up 6-4. Last year, the Kiwis won 4 of 5 races. The intriguing battle for this global trophy which showcases the best sailors and the finest nautical technology begins in a little over a fortnight - 23 June. You can follow the racing on the internet in several ways such as the official race tracker, Live Sailing’s real-time 3D animation with real-time boat speeds, time and distances, live weather data, and audio commentaries and free on demand Internet video coverage of the 32nd America's Cup on your PC or Mac. Read More
Collapsible catamaran fits in a sports bag
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May 23, 2007 Part of sailing's exclusive reputation is due to the considerable cost and inconvenience of owning, transporting and storing watercraft. A UK company has just made the sport far more accessible, with a range of small, sporty 2-person catamarans that fold up and fit into a convenient carry bag - so it's now possible to take your own boat on holiday with you, or become a weekend racer with your boat stored in a cupboard through the week. Read More
Why the America's Cup is the oldest and richest prize in sport
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May 22, 2007 In a fascinating study, Allianz, the main sponsor of BMW ORACLE Racing, has released details of a report into the economic impact of participating, winning and hosting the America's Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport. The report takes into account a range of factors such as infrastructure investment, international visitors, media, sponsor, business, construction, accommodation, hospitality, retail, entertainment, transport and logistics and the conclusion is that it provides a massive fiscal injection. The report makes interesting reading. If Alinghi won the Cup and took it to Dubai, the economic impact for Dubai would be US$10 Billion. If BMW ORACLE Racing were to win the Cup and take it to either San Francisco or Newport the corresponding economic impact would be US$9.9 B or US$4.5 B. Total economic return for hosting the 33rd America's Cup in Auckland, New Zealand would reach US$1.75 B, however Emirates Team New Zealand could expect to generate increased revenues if it chose to host the event in Dubai. Total economic return from Luna Rossa winning and then hosting the America's Cup in Genoa, Italy would be in the region of US$3.75 B. Right now, the most likely scenarios involve Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand will fight out the final where they will win the right to take on Alinghi. Read More
A modern engineering masterpiece - the nuclear sub that will go 25 years without refuelling
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May 21, 2007 A hulking 100 metres long, the Astute is the largest, most heavily armed, stealthiest and most sophisticated submarine ever built for the Royal Navy. The massive nuclear sub, which will never need refuelling in its 25 year service life, is able to circumnavigate the globe underwater, producing its own fresh water and air for the crew - and its range is only really limited by the need for fresh food supplies. From every angle, it is an engineering masterpiece, spoken of as one of the great engineering achievements of all time and more complex than the space shuttle. Britain's Royal Navy is set to launch this new flagship in less than a month. Read More
World's first solar-powered transatlantic crossing a complete success
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May 15, 2007 With the oil age slowly coming to an end, the key defining moment of the the 21st Century will likely be the human race's transition to renewable energy. And while we'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming from our dependance on fossil fuels, small groups of innovators are already paving the way toward the next step. In a giant leap towards unfuelled travel, a full-sized motorised catamaran, the "sun21," has just completed a leisurely crossing of the Atlantic ocean without consuming a drop of fuel. Stored solar energy powered the 5-man crew from Spain to the USA at a constant rate of 5-6 knots around the clock via electric engines. This is a major achievement - a reliable, long-distance, powered vehicle with zero fuel costs - and its successful journey hints at a cleaner, greener, cheaper future of transport. Read More
Watercross racing: what to do with your snowmobile in summer
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May 15, 2007 Here's an extreme sport that's been developing quietly behind our backs for 30 years now. Snowmobile fanatics around the world are lightly modifying their high-powered vehicles for frenzied "Watercross" races on lakes in the summertime. The massive machines buck, jump and wheelie their way to ferocious 60mph top speeds, and are as physical to ride and turn as a motocross bike. Game on! Read More
Sealegs – boating without the hassles
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May 14, 2007 Viewed from one angle, Sealegs is the world’s most advanced amphibian, but from another, it’s boating without the hassles. While getting a boat in the water is not exactly a herculean task, it nonetheless prevents many people from going boating every day. Sealegs takes the entire process of launching and docking a boat out of the equation – just get in, drive into the water and reverse the process at the other end. The current Sealegs offering is essentially a 5.7 metre Rigid Inflatable Boat with Sealegs retractable 3-wheel system embedded. The addition of the system costs around US$20,000 to the cost of a normal inflatable and adds 100 kg for the ability to drive up any surface from which you can launch a boat. There’s an optional drive-on boat trailer as the boat isn’t registerable for the open road. On land it runs at 6 mph but it does considerably better on water with a top speed of 35 mph thanks to a 120 horespower engine. There’s a 7m version coming soon that can handle a 150 horsepower motor. In Australia, the 5.7 metre version costs AUD$ 49,000 plus another AUD$14,000 for a 120 horsepower motor. The new 7metre unit fully decked out with options will run to AUD$110,000. Demand is growing with a 12 month wait for orders already, the manufacturer is gearing up to increase production capacity by 400% which means the queue won’t be as long in the future.
America's Cup: down to the final four challengers
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May 10, 2007 The Louis Vuitton cup is heating up. The 10th flight of racing saw Desafio Espanol 2007 join BMW Oracle, Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand as the four semi-finallists. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup gets to tackle the defending Swiss champion Alinghi in a best-of-9 series to decide who takes home the America's Cup, the oldest sporting trophy in the world. Read More
A0: the hybrid-powered luxury sports catamaran
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May 10, 2007 We love this design concept from Spanish design team Ubica. The A0 is a powered catamaran with vast amounts of luxurious living space in the two side floaters, a maximum speed of 50 knots and an estimated power output of around 2740 kilowatts from a hybrid biodiesel turbine/electric powerplant. Read More
Bullimore off to a difficult start on round-the-world record attempt
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May 9, 2007 Fortune has not been smiling on solo yachtsman Tony Bullimore in his latest attempt to break the solo round-the-world sailing record of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds set by Dame Ellen MacArthur in 2005. Battered by strong winds and suffering the loss of his heavy-weather staysail, Bullimore has been forced off course to preserve his boat. Only on day six of his journey, he's already behind the record pace - but the 69 year old Brit is confident that once he's past Cape Horn his boat will have the speed to make up lost time under the light winds of the Atlantic ocean. Read More
A bicycle built for two (and a boat)
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May 7, 2007 It’s not your average bicycle, which probably explains why it costs US$5000, but it is the perfect partner for one of the beautifully-crafted Caillou luxury sailing canoes of the same manufacturer and each one is custom built and colour-matched to your boat. The Boat sits on a sidecar that attaches to the tandem bicycle by means of quick release couplings, enabling the bike to be used as a normal tandem bike when you’re not transporting a canoe. “Like our boats we are promoting a more accessible marine lifestyle,” said Caillou’s Antonio Marques, “and we wanted a means of transportation for those who lived within seaside or lakeside communities but didn’t have direct access to the water.” Read More
Fiat and Sunseeker join forces in P1 Powerboat racing
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May 2, 2007 In a deal that reflects the maturing of the P1 Powerboat World Championship, Sunseeker have secured a deal to use Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT) engines in their 2007 title quest. This agreement is the first of its kind in Powerboat racing and is usually only seen in the Formula One arena, which shows how much the P1 championship is taking off as a sport. Read More
SeaBob, the rechargeable hand-held underwater propulsion device.
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April 30, 2007 Ever wondered what it feels like to power through the water like a dolphin? The SeaBob is like a cross between a jet-ski and a bodyboard -hold on tight and leap through the waves, or turn downward and head for the ocean floor with speed, grace and agility. This simple device creates a whole new category of recreational vehicle, and it looks like a blast! Read More
Dockwise debuts the world's biggest purpose-built yacht carrier
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"The majority of yachts do not have the range to reach many of the world's inviting cruising areas and international playgrounds," reads the company's vision statement, but this need no longer be a limitation. Yacht owners simply sail their craft into the massive semi-submersible Yacht Express, where they are securely attached. The owners can then rendezvous with the yacht at its destination, or accompany their craft aboard the carrier in five-star luxury. Read More
Reinventing the ball for new recreational pursuits
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April 12, 2007 Bizit Air Products have come up with a fun idea - inflatable plastic balls with up to a 4.5 metre/15 foot diameter that can accomodate dancers, motorcycles, and even cars for a showstopping presentation that's hard to ignore. Fully sealed, the balls allow an occupant to walk on land, water, or even a sea of hands, all the while looking like they're trapped in a soap bubble. Read More
2007 America's Cup: Louis Vuitton Cup starting Monday to determine a challenger for Swiss powerhouse Alinghi.
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April 12, 2007 The eyes of the nautical world are all on Spain at present where the biggest show on water has convened to determine the contender to take on Alinghi for "ye auld mug". The completion of the Lois Vuitton Ranking fleet races gives us time to pause and reflect before the one-on-one Louis Vuitton Cup races begin next Monday to decide on a final challenger to the defending Alinghi team in the 2007 America's Cup regatta. Read More
Walking on water, Nordic-style
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April 4, 2007 Four Architecture students from the Univerity of Munich have come up with a device that combines a gondola with an elliptical trainer to produce a unique sensation of "walking on water." The bizarre "TU-Fin" concept is the brainchild of designers I.Kiryakov, S.Ballmeier, K.Eichelberg & M.Dressler, and is essentially a racing canoe hull with an elliptical exercise machine mounted to it. Exercising on the machine powers a pair of rear-mounted flippers that propel the craft forward to an estimated 6.5 knots. Unlike a rowing action, the user is able to look forwards as they go. Read More
Gibbs and Lockheed Martin to develop high speed amphibious vehicles for military use
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April 3, 2007 The promise of robust, affordable and extremely practical commercial amphibian vehicles for domestic purposes moved much closer this week with the news that Lockheed Martin and Gibbs Technologies have agreed to develop a family of high speed amphibious vehicles designed specifically for military operations. The resultant vehicles will advance Gibbs technologies and almost certainly increase production to far more cost-efficient levels. The militarized High Speed Amphibians (HSAs) will use technology from a fleet of prototype amphibious vehicles developed by Gibbs Technologies for consumer use, including the Gibbs Aquada, a three-person sports car, Gibbs Humdinga, a four-wheel military vehicle, and Gibbs Quadski, an amphibious all terrain vehicle. Gibbs' technology enables amphibians to travel at speeds over 45 mph on water and over 100 mph on land - and to transition from water-to-land or land-to-water in five seconds. These features provide a much needed capability for military littoral, riverine and special operations. Read More
America's Cup secrets revealed
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April 2, 2007 Since 1851, the America's Cup has transcended the sport of sailing to become a symbol of the pursuit of excellence. For the first 133 years, THE CUP was indeed the America’s Cup, as America had a grasp on the trophy which could not be broken until Ben Lexcen’s winged keel helped Australia II to victory in 1983. Since then the event has become truly global and this year we’ll see the 32nd America's Cup Match between the defender, Alinghi, and a new challenger beginning June 23, 2007. Racing starts tomorrow to begin sorting out who the defender will be and yesterday was an important day – the day when all 12 contenders had to drop the protective skirts that had been guarding the underbodies of their race boats. Although there were no visible breakthrough design innovations on the scale of the fabled winged keel, many observers were astonished by the range of solutions to the same basic design question posed by the America's Cup Class Rule. Pics of all the keels inside. Read More
World’s First True Hybrid Tug
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March 22, 2007 Seattle-based Foss Maritime has announced that it plans to build the world’s first true hybrid tug boat, a “green” vessel that will significantly reduce harmful nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and carbon emissions. It will also consume less fuel and be quieter than its conventional predecessors. The hybrid tug will look almost identical to the Dolphin-class tug boats pictured, and will match their 5000 horsepower. The hybrid tug’s drive units will be powered by batteries coupled with diesel generators and feature a modified engine room accommodating two 670 horsepower battery packs and two 335 horsepower generators. Read More
The Kawasaki Ultra 250X – 250 horsepower that is!
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March 21, 2007 The concept of a powered watercraft for personal use is roughly 100 years old this year and the earliest we can trace came about early when the remarkable polymath Frederick William Lanchester came up with the idea of putting a powerful motor in a small boat. The personal watercraft (PWC) concept took shape in the 1960s, combining the elements of self-power, small size and quick steering and though there were several viable efforts, notably by Bombardier, it was Kawasaki ‘s standup JET SKI watercraft of the early seventies which kickstarted the market. Unlike snowmobiles, motorcycles , quads and all other forms of personal powered recreational vehicle, the Jet Ski offered a thrilling experience with significant less likelihood of serious physical damage (water is a lot softer than mother earth) and a workout so physical that it promotes extreme health. Since then the PWC market has evolved into four major manufacturers with two main forms of ski – stand-up and sit-down – with the larger sit-down versions easily serving as three-person craft. I have watched it happen, as I attended the launch of the original Kawasaki Jet Ski way back in the seventies. It had a 400 cc motor so it seemed like an ideal time to reflect on how far the PWC has come in such a short time when I recently attended the launch of the Kawasaki’s latest Jet Ski, the Ultra 250X. As they have done several times in motorcycle history (the Kawasaki 500 H1, the Kawasaki 750 H2, the Kawasaki Z1, the Kawasaki Z1300, and most recently the Kawasaki ZX14), Kawasaki has gazumped all those who came before it with a single product. Kawasaki Heavy Industries prides itself on producing the biggest, the fastest, the most powerful and every few years you can count on them delivering it. The Kawasaki’s Ultra 250X model designation refers to its horsepower output. That’s 250 horsepower – capable of pushing the Ultra 250X along at around 68 mph. That’s not the biggest strength of the machine though – awesome power is available pretty much from the get-go, and simply hanging on to a machine with 250 horsepower flinging you at the horizon is a feeling like no other. The Ultra 250X hauls butt like no other off-the-shelf PWC and we can’t wait to see what the aftermarket dreams up for it and what competitors respond with. In the meantime, it’s the king of the heap. We guarantee that if you can wrestle the Ultra 250X into submission, then grizzly bears won’t pose a problem and runaway locomotives will be simply backhanded away. Read More
The Solar Shuttle – solar-powered 42-passenger boat
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March 17, 2007 Designed by SolarLab founder Christoph Behling, the SolarShuttle is the UK’s largest and most advanced solar boat. It was launched last July, and operates on the ecologically-fragile Serpentine Lake in one of the oldest parks in the world, London’s Hyde Park. Entirely pollution-free and silent running, the exquisitely beautiful SolarShuttle can carry 42 passengers in all daylight conditions, has reserve power for night-time running and even generates surplus energy that can be fed back into the national grid. Read More
DockitJet offers both a jet boat and a jetski
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March 17, 2007 The concept of using a jetski to power a larger watercraft was pioneered back in the early nineties and has yielded a stunning array of versatile PWC-dockable watercraft such as the Shuttlecraft, Windjet, Jetmate and Jetmaster, but the idea has been taken in a different direction with this inventive PWC-dockable Rigid Inflatable Boat. Instead of going with fibreglass structures driven by one and quite ingeniously two synchronised jet skis, the Dockitjet utilises an unsinkable RIB for a fast, lightweight, very stable and incredibly practical watercraft capable of carrying six people plus all their gear quite comfortably. Available in two sizes (5.0 meters and 5.6 meters), you can dock and undock the PWC of your choice in minutes and have the best of both worlds. Videos here and licensing enquiries here. Read More
The 25 mph electric hydrofoil surfboard
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March 10, 2007 A hydrofoil is a boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils develop enough lift for the boat to become foilborne - i.e. to raise the hull up and out of the water. This results in a great reduction in drag and a corresponding increase in speed and has resulted in some of man’s more interesting water conveyances. The advent of the world’s first human powered hydrofoil catalysed a lot of activity in the area and one of several new manufacturers of human-powered hydrofoils, inventist, took the knowledge it had gained in developing the Aquaskipper and developed the Hydroglide, a surfboard with quick-charge, high-torque electric motor and a hydrofoil underneath. It’s still in the development stages but showing remarkable prowess with a top speed of 25 mph. That’s faster than the human-powered hydrofoil record, so it’s no slouch. The Ni-MH rechargeable battery has an average run time of two hours and takes just an hour to charge. Steering of the Hydroglide is accomplished with a steering bar and as the videos show, you can lie down or stand up. Read More
The world’s first affordable recreational submarine
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Yet another affordable and very compelling new water vessel has reached market. With a price in the region of an expensive sports car, the appropriately named Dutch company Uboatworx has begun producing the first affordable recreational submarine (U-Boat). Uboatworx currently builds a single seat version known as the C-Quester I with a two-seater due in June. Both C-Questers have a top speed of 3.5 mph, are safe to a depth of 50 metres and offer a dive time of 150 minutes. At just over 9 feet long, 6 feet tall and wide and weighing 1.1 tons, the submarine is small enough to trailer to the nearest boat ramp or launch from a yacht. Entry is jet fighter style through a canopy, steering is via a joystick and both the seating position and the experience are apparently quite similar to flight, though getting a license is much cheaper and less time-consuming than a pilot’s license - a three day course and an exam being the only obstacles, apart from the UKP65,000 price tag (more for the two-seater). The cabin is pressurized, a filtration system removes spent air, oxygen is added to maintain air quality and all the safety boxes appear ticked, so the C-Quester appears an out-of-the-box winner at such an affordable price. Motive force is supplied by three electric motors – so it’s a genuine plug-in electric boat which just happens to be able to operate below the surface too. Read More
Killer amphibious vehicle - 39 mph on water and 55 mph on land
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With waterfront property highly prized the world over, we see the amphibious market as one of the next great opportunities – the people with the greatest disposable income will have the greatest need for amphibians. At the same time, new techniques, technologies and materials are yielding a new breed of amphibious craft that are seemingly omnipotent. Most amphibious craft to date have been biased towards performance on land (such as the Splash, Commander, Amphicar, Platypus, Aquada and Humdinger) or water (such as the Aerosan or Sealegs here, and here). Only the Quadski seems to have a balance of performance on both, and it is limited to one, perhaps two people. Now a new technology threatens to seriously disrupt this marketplace. Fast Track Amphibian has entered the development phase for a product line of all-terrain amphibious vehicles using tracks as their means of propulsion on both water and land. Nearly all other amphibians comprise two drive systems – the FastTrack does it all with one, gaining a significant advantage in weight. The patent-pending technology that enables the tracks to work as the sole means of high-speed propulsion on water is unique. It enables a vehicle to “get out of the hole, over the hump and on to the plane from dead in the water. Videos of what this means in the real world can be found here. FastTrack equipped vehicles can start, stop and cruise on water like a boat as well as traverse diverse terrain, from ice and snow to swamps, deep mud, mountains and deserts - all at very high speeds. The first technology demonstrator can achieve 39 mph on water and 55 mph on land, all in comfort thanks to the air shocks and massive suspension system, which can be retracted or extended to suit the circumstance. The technology demonstrator carries six people at high-speed almost anywhere, giving it seemingly limitless opportunity in the areas of recreation, utility, search and rescue, ship-to-shore and military operations. Potential recreational uses include sports and racing, hunting and fishing, wilderness touring and camping. This vehicle will take you up a muddy hill in the forest better than a motorcycle, take swamp and tundra and ice and snow in its stride and enter and exit the water in almost any conditions … it is a genuine all terrain vehicle and transitions from one medium to another seamlessly. It makes very soft, comfortable, water entries at 40 mph and similarly smooth egresses at 20 mph. The first vehicles the company produces for non-military customers will be hand built and custom made for those who can afford to be the first owners of this unique machine. These vehicles will have aggressive styling, two or five place plush seating and 300 plus horsepower for speeds of 60 mph on water and 80 mph on land. More videos are available here, showing the FastTrack 1 driving down a country road, running on powder snow, pulling two water skiers, on the plane with tracks down and tracks up, a ramp entry into water at over 40 mph, and watch how easily it crosses this river. This short video shows the beastie doing 37 mph on water. Read More
Fungus in hull paint may solve barnacle problem
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February 28, 2007 Biofouling of marine organisms on ship hulls has been a global problem since man crafted the first boat. These days, many marine enterprises suffer the problem and the cost of reducing it, in aquaculture, offshore industries and harbours. In shipping alone, marine biofouling and its most significant organism, the barnacle, increase drag, adversely affect fuel consumption, increase pollution (via the workload on the machinery and downtime due to dry-docking. The annual global cost of cleaning alone is in the billions of dollars. Toxic paints are the most prevalent current anti-fouling strategy but they cause severe environmental disturbances due to the emission of toxic substances into the marine environment. Currently used toxic paints based on Tributyl tin oxide (TBT) are the first target as they generate unwanted effects at non-target organisms and will be banned by 2010, but this ban may be followed by the prohibition of other substances in marine paints. Now a new type of paint has been developed which uses an extract from the microscopic fungus Streptomyces avermitilis to poison barnacles. The fungus lives in the ocean and is extremely poisonous to acorn barnacles and other crustaceans, a feature based on the environmentally friendly defense of the fungus against being eaten. A new study from Goteborg University in Sweden has found that when this fungus is added to paint for ship hulls, the surface remains entirely free from barnacles. As little as a 0.1-percent mixture of pure fungal extract in paint is sufficient to affect the nervous system of barnacles and prevent any growth and the fungal extract is toxic only as long as the paint is on a painted surface. When the paint is dissolved in sea water, the activation of the poison appears not to take place, making the paint apparently harmless to organisms in the open sea. Read More
The 32 knot eXplorius HydroFoil Sailing Yacht
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February 22, 2007 Innovation is abounding in the marine area at present with some enthralling concepts hitting the internet of recent times, with Industrial Designer Arnold Freidling’s Hydro-Foil sailing yacht “eXplorius” being the latest. With wind speeds exceeding 10 knots, the underwater wings lift the hull of eXplorius out of water, reducing friction and displacement to a minimum. Gliding over the waves at sailing speeds of up to 32 knots, this yacht makes transatlantic trips for two to six ‘maritime jetsetters’ possible. So far the eXplorius is a design project, but during the development of the project, Freidling consulted with a marine engineer, so his yacht concept is very realistic. He is currently seeking investors who are interested in taking this design concept to market. Read More
The Skimmer – 100 km/h ground effect recreational water toy
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February 22, 2007 Recreational vehicles will come in many different forms in the future as a raft of developing enabling technologies spawn new categories of technologically-enhanced ground, water and aircraft – not only are these traditional categories splintering, but there are new variations of toys for big boys, some of which will develop their own categories – craft like the part boat, part sled, part ground-effect Tupelov aerosan, the Bionic Dolphin and Sea-Breacher, the SeaPhantom, a host of recreational submarines such as Deep Flight, the amphibious Quadski and the list just goes on and on of new RVs that break out their own category. One emerging area of enormous promise is that of powered ground-effect RVs – we’ve already seen human-bearing inflatable towable water kites such as the Kite Tube and the Manta Ray and the now dormant Sharkski but with light weight, high power and computer-aided design, the concept of an affordable powered ground-effect vehicle for under US$50,000 is within reach. The Skimmer is a small jet-ski like ground-effect airplane that starts in the water and can be flown over sea, rivers and lakes, steered partially by handlebars and partially by moving one’s body weight, similar to the way a motorcycle is ridden. With a maximum speed of 100 km/h and maximum flying height is 1.5 metres, the Skimmer offers maximum excitement and minimal fuss, because no flight papers are necessary. Dutch product designer Roel Verhagen originally conceived the Skimmer concept as an entrant in the 2005 Braun Prize. Read More
Noise-cancelling piezo-ceramic bearings
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February 16, 2007 In an interesting development, the same technology that is used in noise-cancelling headphones (roughly speaking) is to be applied to heavy marine engines to reduce their noise and vibrations. The vibrations from marine diesels spreads through the entire hull, but researchers have now found a way of blocking the sound immediately below the engine with the help of computer-controlled counter-vibrations from an active damper between the engine and the bearing by which the engine is attached to the hull. This active bearing is made primarily from piezo-ceramics, materials that can change their shape when electrically stimulated. If they are stimulated very quickly, they generate high-frequency vibrations – which are exactly what marine engines need. Using sophisticated sensors, the scientists measure the engine’s vibrations and trigger the piezo-ceramics such that they precisely counteract this motion. Read More
Alternative-Fuel Power Boat set for world circumnavigation attempt
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February 16, 2007 Earthrace is a bid to break the 75 day world record for circumnavigating the globe in a powerboat, and using only renewable fuels. Circumnavigating the globe represents the pinnacle of powerboat challenges, and at 24,000 nautical miles, is also the world's longest race. The current record of 75 days was set by British boat Cable & Wireless in 1998 and the most curious aspect is that outright record is still safely held by sail power (The World’s Fastest Catamaran), at 50 days 16 hours. The 1,200 horsepower Earthrace aims to smash the powered record by completing the voyage in less than 65 days, but is unlikely to get near Orange II’s wind-powered record. Wave piercing is a key element in the boat’s design, as it allows the 78ft wave piercing tri-maran to run continuously at high speed in any conditions. Earthrace will begin its record attempt on March 6 and is still seeking US$500,000 in additional sponsorship for its unique attempt. Read More
