# Stange experimental boat **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121 "2006-10-19T17:55:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/1 "2006-10-19T17:55:41Z")
[Very strange](http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/2006/1006/Oct06/Oct6.html#anchor1085433) There are more pictures of it over on [celler.org](http://celler.org) What advantages might a 50 foot wide 100 foot long pontoon boat have? This thing has Dr. Evil written all over it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/2 "2006-10-19T17:57:55Z")
ooops. Ment to stick this in IMHO. I guess we could debate this, but I doubt it would be ‘great’ ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/3 "2006-10-19T18:06:01Z")
Stability, speed, maneuverability… for all its size, it’s probably pretty light, since the pontoons are inflatable. Since it’s a new thing, it’s probably just a test bed for some prototypical technology. A pontoon/catamaran of that size could be used as the framework for a fairly huge houseboat. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/4 "2006-10-19T18:20:57Z")
I expect that thing is ultra steady when cruising on rough water. May be quiet too, with the cabin so drastically separated from the engines and water. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/5 "2006-10-19T18:51:14Z")
Looks like it also has lots of room to mount some _frickin’ laser beams._ ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/6 "2006-10-19T18:57:12Z")
Let’s see how it holds up to force 12. Weeeeeeee! ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/7 "2006-10-19T19:34:40Z")
Interesting. Looks too utilitarian to be a yacht, and the cabin doesn’t look big enough for accomodations that would match the cost of the vessel. So it’s likely either a work boat or a prototype. It’s probably rather fast, given the long pontoons, stable, and you’ve got a good field of view from the cabin, given that it’s 20 or so feet up. The pontoons would make it a good shallow water vessel. So, I dunno, patrol boat or marine research vessel? Personnel carrier for offshore oil rigs? I’m not seeing any obvious advantage over conventional hulls, though, aside from the cool factor. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/8 "2006-10-19T19:50:40Z")
I would guess that it would be more stable in most sea conditions. But it might be absolutely terrifying on others. Big swells come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/9 "2006-10-19T19:58:41Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] I would guess that it would be more stable in most sea conditions. But it might be absolutely terrifying on others. Big swells come to mind. [/QUOTE] I can picture a big swell coming from the side, one pontoon going all the way over the other side of the swell so that the arch is straddling it, and suddenly the cabin is getting smacked by the crest. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/10 "2006-10-19T20:20:06Z")
I’m thinking it’s a salvage platform, in development. Put a winch underneath, with a grappler…you could easily salvage sailboats/motor yachts. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/11 "2006-10-19T20:28:23Z")
I’m thinking more like a travelling bungee-jumping trainer thing. They could drive up and down the west coast giving demos capitalizing on the inevitable upcoming Bungee 2.0 craze. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/12 "2006-10-19T20:35:15Z")
> [@From the Celler.org site](#): > > A friend who lives there said **it arrived out of the fog the nite before.** The crew would not say who they were or where they were from, and were not allowed to discuss the craft. :eek: How would you like to be taking a nice stroll in the fog and see that thing aproach. **FlyingDragon** My thoughts exactly. Interesting idea **bosda** ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/13 "2006-10-19T20:50:04Z")
> [@](#): > > …or marine research vessel? Seems unlikely. There don’t appear to be any provisions for putting gear in the water (hoists or A-frames), and there’s certainly insufficient room for gear or samples, not even to mention no room for lab/working space. I don’t see how it could possibly be useful as a research vessel. By way of comparison, the newest NOAA research vessel for the Gulf of the Farallones is a 67 foot catamaran, but with a 2000 lb A-frame, a 14 foot boom crane for inflatables and cargo, a range of 450 nautical miles, and capacity for 28 passengers. This photo shows a boat that would be incapable of handling equipment and passengers like that. I’m curious about what its range is like though. Servicing the engines must require going down into the pontoons, and that can’t be pleasant in high seas. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/14 "2006-10-19T21:19:16Z")
Well, if this is a prototype I can imagine what’ll happen when the real thing hits the water. M: 007, a mysterious seacraft has reportedly been seen in the vicinity of the recent disappearances of the world’s richest playboy sailors. Bond: I understand sir. I’m sure I can manage to get aboard that vessel, one way or another. M: Just try not to catch another venereal disease this time, will you Bond? Bond: In fairness sir, it was only crabs. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/15 "2006-10-19T21:21:56Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] :eek: How would you like to be taking a nice stroll in the fog and see that thing aproach. [/QUOTE] Or out at sea. You see one pontoon come alongside each side of your boat from aft… and then there a thumping noise on top of the pilothouse, and men in black jumpsuits land outside your windows, speaking an unknown language. Your lights and electronics and engine go dead, and you smell an odd smell, and the last thing you remember is falling to the floor as the leader of the team finds your logbook. Then you wake up in a small room with a view of a cavern. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/16 "2006-10-19T21:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] I’m thinking it’s a salvage platform, in development. Put a winch underneath, with a grappler…you could easily salvage sailboats/motor yachts. [/QUOTE] I’ll second this theory. Or the designer has it in for the drawbridge operator. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/17 "2006-10-19T21:35:37Z")
I’m with **Bosda** - a crane mounted near the cabin could have a ton of leverage if the legs down to the pontoons are strong enough. You could even carry extra pontoons folded up and inflate them on-site if you were lifting something especially heavy and needed the extra floating power. And don’t discount a marine research vessel; mounting something like _Alvin_ underneath might be logical. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/18 "2006-10-19T22:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] I’m with **Bosda** - a crane mounted near the cabin could have a ton of leverage if the legs down to the pontoons are strong enough. You could even carry extra pontoons folded up and inflate them on-site if you were lifting something especially heavy and needed the extra floating power. And don’t discount a marine research vessel; mounting something like _Alvin_ underneath might be logical. [/QUOTE] I was noticing the lack of crossbracing between the legs, though. That doesn’t bode well for open-ocean use. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/19 "2006-10-20T00:09:08Z")
[More pics](http://www.flickr.com/photos/acoe/sets/72157594329953686/) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121/20 "2006-10-20T00:13:20Z")
Re: The winch set up that **bosda** suggested. It looks to me that the pilot house has an area behind it for some equipment. But not people. And not much equipment. Perhaps something like this could be used to place/maintain those floating docks/slips at marinas? It sure doesn’t look like it would be good in the open ocean. or… WaterWorld II? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stange-experimental-boat/377121.md?page=2)