Tell me this doesn't look like something out of Johnny Quest.
These first pictures were taken in the Port of Ilwaco on the coast of Washington State. The crew of this thing wore civilian clothes but guarded the boat closely and would not answer any questions.
The boat had no name or number. 
It was suggested by some observers that it may be something Boeing is working on. The pontoons appear to be made of very thick rubber and some said that they might be fuel cells. People noted that each of the steel spider-like legs are jointed in three places, looking like windshield wipers, and that perhaps the boat could be lowered in calm seas and raised when it is rough.
A person who lives there said it arrived out of the fog the night before. The crew would not say who they were or where they were from, and were not allowed to discuss the craft.
Then, on October 6, in San Francisco Bay ...
From a local paper... "Marina Bay's newest tenant. A number of readers alerted us to the arrival of this unique craft on Tuesday, so we did some research - or at least tried to. Precious little is publicly available about this craft, but we were able to dig up a few facts: It was designed by prolific Bay Area yacht designer Jim Antrim from Ugo Conti's original concept; it's 100 feet long and 50 feet wide; it's powered by twin diesel engines; the inflatable hulls were built by Arcata's Wing Inflatable's; the craft was assembled in Anacortes, WA (where it was spotted several times during apparent sea trials); and it's capable of crossing oceans with 'as much, if not more, stability than a normal catamaran,' according to Jim Antrim."
Cool, but you couldn't get me out in the ocean in that damn thing. What the hell would it be used for, other than as some sort of technology test bed? Bizarre.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Wow, how bizarre!
Posted by FHB at 10:45 PM
8 comments:
There's a lot of other info on it out there, but this is a collection of the most photos I've seen. Thanks.
That's what I'm thinkin'. Reminds me of that spider robot thing in that JQ episode.
Deist my ass...
Hey dude, if you want to engage me then do it like a fuckin' man. Deist my ass...please explain that idiotic position...
jpoindexter@austin.rr.com
Nevermind, don't email me. Cool boat though.
Looks like something that would hide behind a rock and take somebody's picture.
Johnny Quest! Where's Race Bannon and Haji? By the ghost of Lord Spagthorp-Buffington's WaterWhizzer, I thought it had to be a movie-prop for WaterWorld II!
Wonder how effective the crane-like legs are against a pitchpole capsize? The lashings of rope seem insufficient and under-engineered for whatever task they are designed.
I have no idea. Can't see how it could take anything like even moderately rough seas. Might me cool to sail around calm saes though, along a coast where you can observe the wildlife from above.
That catamaran thingie IS freaky and weird - plus, it doesn't look that comfortable -- where do they put the shuffleboard game in that little thingie?
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