Can anyone find a weirder boat?

Totally inspired by VeryTricky's excellent 'more beautiful boat' thread, I wondered if there might be interest in seeing what strange creations we can unearth.

Here are some starters: all real, and all floating!

The Monofoil - under development to break the sailing speed record.
www.monofoil.com



the semi-submersible heavy-lift ship MV Blue Marlin, carrying the damaged USS Cole



Richart Sowa's Spiral Island, built from 250 000 plastic bottles



a hydrofoil DUKW



FLIP (FLoating Instrument Platform)


Francis Reynolds Hydrocopter



and USS Wolverine, one of two paddle steamer aircraft carrier trainers which operated on lake Michigan.



So, can anyone find a weirder boat?

 

Here's a few odd ones, nothing like the "hydrocopter" or the "monofoil" though.

 

" Three years ago (1872) the first design for a circular iron-clad was submitted by Admiral Popoff to the Imperial Russian Admiralty... The extreme diameter of the hull of the Novgorod is 101 feet...The engines for propelling the ship, 6 in number, give motion to 6 independent screws, having parallel shafts placed in a longitudinal directions. ... The great advantage of the circular form is that it enables a vessel to be built of small draught of water, with the greatest displacement as compared with weight it is possible to give her. From this account it is evident that the present idea of a circular vessel has nothing in common with any project of the kind which has hitherto appeared, but is in fact an extraordinary development of the principle."

Edit add:
They were slow, poorly maneuverable, and vulnerable to plunging fire. Worst though, was that the off-axis recoil of the guns would impart a centrifugal rotation to the ship

Displacement: 2,491 tons
2,671 tons at full load
Length: 30.8 m
Beam: 30.8 m
Draught: 3.75 m
Propulsion: 8 coal-fired boilers, 6 screws, 2,000 ihp
Speed: 7 knots

 

That cracked me up. Can you imagine the "Oh, crap!" forehead slap when they first discovered this?

 

I have a feeling this was one of those ships on which each sailor assigned said "WTF!" when he first saw it, and "I could have told those stupid grand admirals this would happen!" when the first gun was fired and it began to spin ...

 

Amaryllis by Herreshoff

Probably not weirder but this design deserves a look in, she'd have been a very odd sight in her day!

 

I think this one ranks well in the weird category.

Rick W.

 

Yep, it is weird Rick, but I see no use for it, all that work for little play.....have you any idea what it is supposed to be used for , or is it just a pic. There is a lot of time and effort gone into this mess, wonder why.

 

“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.” Leon J. Suenes

 

It was my second attempt to test submerged buoyancy as a means of reducing wave drag. It predated my use of Michlet and was modelled on an efficient submarine hull with enough outrigger buoyancy to stay stable.

It proved very difficult to mount and if you accelerated fast the front outrigger would lift about 2m out of the water and stay in that attitude until speed dropped below 5kph.

I later analysed the design with Michlet and I realised the wave drag did not become insignificant until the submerged part was more then 3ft below the surface. This would have made it even more difficult to use.

Just part of an interesting education on boats with the objective of lowering drag.

It rode very smoothly as it was unaffected by small chop - like SWATH vessel. I imagine it was quite a sight but could not convince any of my sons to photograph me on it. It is now in many pieces - some reused.

Rick W.

 

Well you deserve congratulations on putting your money where your mouth is mate. Life is one long learning experience, Australia is certainly one country of invention, my grandfather was a member of the Inventors Society, unfortunately I can make one for you, but cannot invent much at all, must be the right and the left side of the brain business.

I am working in China, boatbuilding, at present, they seem to be great copiers of inventions, but i have seen NOTHING original here, other than Game Boy tech nonsence.

 

Is that an electrically operated rudder up front? or are they just loose ropes?

Edit: Nah they are just ropes... no?

 

I bet that is a rudder, connected to "strings?" he he (sorry Rick, could not resist the cheekiness......)

 

Kudos to you, Rick! Think outside the box and then build the sucker.Maybe it works, maybe not. If not, you learned a few things and the next project may be a little closer to the ideal.

Not a bad way to spend a part of your life.

 

Thank you, Rick, then I've learnt something today!

Deeper than I had imagined then...