Marine

March 28, 2005 One of the most radical water toys ever invented, the PowerSkiJetBoard is an engineering masterpiece - the inventors have taken the form factor of a surfboard and built in an ingenuously small and flat 45 horsepower motor capable of propelling it to 40 mph. With the rear thrust, rail and the three fins beneath, the JetBoard carves better than anything else on water, tarmac or snow, generating G-forces up to 6G and enabling the rider to get almost horizontal (check the pics inside). The JetBoard never cavitates or slides out, enabling a standing rider to perform continuous, stable, high speed turns with slight shifts in weight.  Read More

March 8, 2005 American company Johnson Outdoors has launched a significant new line of electric boats that creates a new category of watercraft – whisper quiet, pollution free and very easy-to-use. Designed to be used by boaters and non-boaters alike, the new Escape brand Electric Touring Boat, Electric Chaise Lounger and Electric Fun Boat all feature a simple “flip-the-switch-and-go” electric propulsion system, intuitive steering and lots of comfort features.  Read More

March 6, 2005 The CHARC is designed to provide a lethal response for some of the emerging littoral threats facing large Navy vessels including suicide speedboats packed with explosives, small high-speed boat "swarm attacks" and diesel-electric submarines. With similar offensive capabilities to that of an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter crammed onto a high-speed surface platform, the CHARC is small, fast and stealthy and can attack on a moment's notice using an array of Hellfire missiles, 20-millimeter guns, 40-millimeter grenade launchers and torpedoes. Like the AH-1W Super Cobra, a crew of two control the craft from a forward cockpit.  Read More

It's the ultimate party machine. Designed as a floating beach party, the Hammer is a 90 metre superyacht designed to hold stylish social events for several thousand people. It also has large reconfigurable decks, creating oodles of party space with lots of terraces over the sea, and an underwater salon with windows that start above the waterline and extend way beneath it. There are also underwater cameras that can broadcast to the many large LCD monitors throughout the vessel. A floating beach party also has lots of toys for people to play with - like the multiple submarines that dock inside the vessel from underneath, and the helicopter can also be lowered into its garage for more party space on the landing pad. And the the swimming pools can be decked to increase the floor space too. The price? ....  Read More

February 14, 2005 The brand new 60-foot carbon race yacht Fortuna III has won line honours in the Rolex Buenos Aires - Rio de Janeiro Race, taking the winner's gun in Rio at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning. Skipper Cesar Recalde and his team shook off extreme fatigue after a gruelling week's racing to celebrate their arrival in Rio with the popping of champagne corks and the firing of red flares, just as the sun was rising over Sugar Loaf Mountain. The almost windless conditions at the finish could not have been more different from the past seven days, which have seen Fortuna III and the rest of the fleet pounding into high winds and big seas. This was Recalde's fifth time competing in the event, and he described it as the toughest 1,200 miles of his career.  Read More

February 14, 2005 A Hamburg-based company has developed a sailing propulsion system that can be retrofitted to almost all large ships, enabling us to reharness the enormous energy potential of the wind! With minimal operating costs, the wind-power ed system could make shipping more profitable, safer and more independent of declining oil reserves. It's ironic that the motive force that enabled the Spanish, English, Dutch, Portugeuse and Chinese to explore the world 500 years ago might have a second golden age thanks to a German company but the technology is sound and the prize for success will be immense. World trade is conducted principally by ships. Ships carry 98.2% of intercontinental goods, and 98% of all cargo vessels are powered by diesel engines. In 2002, ships used 25 billion Euros worth of fuel. The Skysails system is expected to more than halve fuel costs.  Read More

February 12, 2005 The winner of the 2004 Concept Boat of the Year competition is 'Dynaplane', a futuristic powerboat, an extremely energy-efficient design that offers significant potential to reduce emissions, yet maintains the ability to achieve high speeds. The design offers reduced fuel consumption and the possibility of using alternative fuel sources such as a fuel cell.  Read More

February 7, 2005 In recent weeks we've written about several of the world's largest megayachts: the 118 metre Phillipe Starck-designed Sigma, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Octopus and the 138 metre Rising Sun owned by Oracle Software founder Larry Ellison. Now there's a new megayacht on the drawing boards that will be bigger than all of them if it gets built - a 147 metre palace on water which sets new standards for design and functionality including its own cinema, disco, swimming pool, helicopter, integrated tender vessel and, would you believe, an integrated submarine.  Read More

February 2, 2005 Man has been sailing for thousands of years and the anchor has been around just as long - like the wheel, history failed to record its inventor. The concept of the anchor is simple and has changed little in recent times, which makes a significant design development an important event. The unique patented HydroBubble anchor uses a buoyancy device to position it so it "sets first time" and has been highly acclaimed by the US boating industry in the short time it has been on the market. Not surprisingly, the inventor of the HydroBubble is a keen boatie. "I saw a need for an anchor that worked, first time, every time," says inventor John Willis.  Read More