The rocking-horse-like WAM-V is a creation of Marine Advanced Research, Inc and the brainchild of Ugo Conti, an Italian engineer who co-founded the company with his wife Isabella. The WAM-V uses pontoons constructed of metal and fabric which are inflatable. It is equipped with shock absorbers to adapt to the motion of the waves and travel at a speed of 30 knots.
The Proteus is a 100-foot-long, 50-foot-wide WAM-V that is currently on the fourth leg of a journey from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. The tour began in January of this year. The Proteus, which can accommodate up to 12 passengers is able to travel up to 5,000 miles on a single tank of diesel fuel. Incredibly, for an open ocean capable vessel, it is able to be beached without damage. Look for an update to the performance details once they are available.
The cost to build the Proteus was a very reasonable $1.5 million.
Source: Slashdot, MSNBC, Marine Advanced Research, Inc.
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Tags: boat, Concept, Transportation
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Portension : Future, Frivolity & Folly - » Your Next Boat Will Fly
Sep 9, 2007 at 8:05 am
[...] hyper-fuel-efficient Proteus is in New York this week. [via The UberReview] The rocking-horse-like WAM-V is a creation of Marine Advanced Research, Inc and the brainchild of [...]
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