Stange experimental boat

[Enola_Straight]

I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of floating crane.

The struts attach to the pontoons with serious looking leaf springs

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

[QUOTE=Enola Straight]
I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of floating crane.

The struts attach to the pontoons with serious looking leaf springs
[/QUOTE]

That is why I suggested salvage as it’s purpose.

[Zebra]

Those pontoons have been scientifically designed to impress the ladies.

[Ranchoth]

[QUOTE=Finagle]
And given his other patents, there’s some support for the oil exploration /sea bottom mapping theory.
[/QUOTE]

Maybe hunting for [url=Manganese nodule - Wikipedia]Manganese Nodules[/url?

[Tuckerfan]

It reminds me of the Sea Shadow. I wondering if it’s simply a test platform for something.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

The truth–revealed!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20631051/

NEW YORK - Pity the fisherman or sailor who staggers on deck in the morning and through bleary eyes sees a giant water spider, legs akimbo and buzzing ominously, coming at him.

No cause for alarm, however. It’s just Proteus, a so-called Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel designed for everything from military uses to biological studies, ocean exploration and sea rescue.

The spindly catamaran is so efficient that it can travel 5,000 miles — farther than across the Atlantic — on one load of diesel fuel.

Daniel Basta, director of the National Marine Sanctuaries for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, said the lightweight, low-cost and modular craft is well suited to scientific and environmental purposes using technology that is itself smaller and less cumbersome.

[Whack-a-Mole]

Here ya go. All (or most anyway) questions answered:

It is called the WAM-V .

[Frank]

This is pretty much a zombie.