Posts Tagged ‘Boats’
Crew Uses Crazy Futuristic EarthRace Boat and Lasers to Fight Japanese Whalers [Boats]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
Regardless of your feelings about whaling, you have to admit the fight just got a whole lot more interesting. Check out this video of a Sea-Shepherd-manned (from Whale Wars) carbon-fiber, biofuel-powered EarthRace Trimaran blinding a Japanese whaling boat with lasers.
Looks to us like the laser is mostly for warning and intimidation, which probably works considering they're zooming around in a ferocious-looking 1080-horsepower, 78-foot trimaran. The crew manning the EarthRace is the Sea Shepherd society, which you might know from Whale Wars, where they're usually getting outwitted and outgunned in a boat nowhere near as cool as this one. The MV Steve Irwin, which is the ship followed by Whale Wars, travels a maximum of 16.5 knots—this EarthRace hits 50, which actually lets them chase down and intercept whalers. [StokeReport]
Anyone Have a Spare $10 Million Racing Yacht Mast Lying Around? [Sailing]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on November 8th, 2009
A quick glimpse into the life of a software billionaire: When Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle Racing yacht snapped its $10 million mast this week, the ship's helmsman (not Ellison) described the event as a "minor setback."
That's $10 million for a mast. Granted, it's part of a massive structure that's twice the size of a 747's wing, but that's still $10 million for a mast. The Ellison-owned team has two more in reserve, so it's understandable how the helmsman can call the harrowing event "minor" when speaking to we plebeians.
The cause of the mishap is unknown. Weather and stray surfing gadget blog editors have been ruled out, and the team hopes to figure out the real cause and get back to training so they can meet and defeat Alinghi of Switzerland on Feb. 8. [NBC Bay Area]
Matte Black Earthrace Power Boat Hunts Those Who Hunt Whales [Boats]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on November 8th, 2009
Last we heard from Earthrace, the super sleek 78-ft. power boat that runs on its captain's fat, it was circumnavigating the globe. Today, the ship has a new Batman paint job and a new mission: Hunting whalers.
Specifically Japanese whalers. The same Japanese whalers who were made famous by the camera-happy efforts of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. You know, the group whose anti-whaling, conservationist exploits on the high seas can be seen on a reality TV show near you, right now?
Now, the paint job and wild design aren't just for aesthetics. Nay, they also turn this sleek trimaran into a radar-deflecting stealth boat. Presumably, this will allow the Earthrace to sidle up to unsuspecting whaling ships, where it will then "protest" peaceably.
The boat leaves Perth on December 7 on a three-month journey alongside the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Steve Irwin to protest Japan's industrial whaling program. Good luck, and be careful. Stealth or not, last I checked matte black wasn't harpoon-proof. [LIFE via Boing Boing]
Matte Black Earthrace Power Boat Hunts Those Who Hunt Whales [Boats]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on November 8th, 2009
Last we heard from Earthrace, the super sleek 78-ft. power boat that runs on its captain's fat, it was circumnavigating the globe. Today, the ship has a new Batman paint job and a new mission: Hunting whalers.
Specifically Japanese whalers. The same Japanese whalers who were made famous by the camera-happy efforts of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. You know, the group whose anti-whaling, conservationist exploits on the high seas can be seen on a reality TV show near you, right now?
Now, the paint job and wild design aren't just for aesthetics. Nay, they also turn this sleek trimaran into a radar-deflecting stealth boat. Presumably, this will allow the Earthrace to sidle up to unsuspecting whaling ships, where it will then "protest" peaceably.
The boat leaves Perth on December 7 on a three-month journey alongside the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's Steve Irwin to protest Japan's industrial whaling program. Good luck, and be careful. Stealth or not, last I checked matte black wasn't harpoon-proof. [LIFE via Boing Boing]
World’s Largest Cruise Ship Sets Sail [Boats]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on October 31st, 2009
Royal Caribbean's record-setting $1.5 billion, 1200-foot-long, 16-deck-high, 220,000-ton, Tower-of-Babel-on-sea luxury cruiser has finally set sail from Finland to Miami. I hate to be the one to ask but, um, there aren't any icebergs on the way, right guys?
Royal Caribbean named this affront to god the "Oasis of the Seas," which, yeah, is a super cheesy name, but it's not like there's anything subtle about a god damn 1200-foot-long boat. It'll operate out of Miami and begin offering cruises in December. The Oasis of the Seas has a maximum capacity of around 6,000 people, which for the record is larger than the population of MY ENTIRE HOMETOWN. It's about 50% bigger than the current frontrunner in the "Titanic 2/Icarus" competition, the Queen Mary II, so now you can all feel free to hop on board that ship, since the Oasis of the Seas (really, you guys had to brag about the several seas in which this ship will be an oasis? It's really annoying, grammatically) is sure to be the one to sink in a blaze of indoor amphitheatres and miles of buffet lines. [Oasis of the Sea via BBC via The Awl]
The 27-Foot Nimbus E-Power Is The World’s First Commercially Available Electric Boat [Boats]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on October 28th, 2009
Our quest for green energy has taken to the high seas with the Nimbus E-Power. Despite being fueled by electricity, it manages a respectable top speed of 27 knots and a range of 20 nautical miles on a 4-hour charge.
Actually, that's 4-hours on a 3-phase 400V/32 source. It takes 28 hours on a standard, European 220V outlet. To put the benefits of an electric-powered boat in perspective, consider this: a full charge only runs about 5 Euros (about $7.40). The boat may be priced 30 or 40 percent higher than an equivalent diesel powered craft, but you could save money over the 10 year life of the battery on fuel costs.
If you have the means it's probably a good idea to wait a bit longer for Nimbus to improve the technology. Apparently, a new generation of batteries that can double the range will be available "soon". That would make it a serious competitor will diesel boats in terms of performance while offering you more juice to rig up a way to electrocute fish. [Nimbus via Luxist]
UPDATE: Nimbus claims that E-Power is the "world's first electrically powered boat for the commercial market", but it appears that there are other companies out there that have been selling electric boats for decades. However, the E-Power seems to be bigger than previous models.
iREV, the Bumper Boat With a Built-In Grill [Boats]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on October 16th, 2009
There's no rational reason why I should want an iREV. A real boat would be way faster and much more versatile. But the iREV is a floating picnic table with a grill. Now that's cool.
On top of the low-fire charcoal grill and Kumbaya-friendly seating arrangement, there's an optional 500 watt speaker system complete with satellite radio. I mean, if you're going to pay $24,000 for a glorified bumper boat, it had better come with satellite radio.
Every bone in my body tells me I shouldn't want one, but this picture really, really makes me want one:
Just look at how awesome that is! Get 10 of those on the same lake, slap some tires on the sides, and you've got a real party. [Product Page via Uncrate]
$1.2 Billion Russian Yacht Comes Equipped With Laser-Powered Anti-Paparazzi Shield [Yachts]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on September 22nd, 2009
Famed Russian yacht-fanatic Roman Abramovich added a new feature to his 557-foot, $1.2 billion monstrosity, Eclipse: A laser shield that sweeps the boat's surroundings for paparazzi and then fires a bolt of light at the camera to destroy any photo.
The lasers detect CCDs, or charge-coupled devices, which are used in most (but not all; CMOS chips are also around) photoelectric sensors. Guards can activate the lasers when they spot any suspicious glint of a camera's lens, which will then shoot a bright, focused light directly at the camera, ruining any photography.
Predictably, paparazzi (the only Italian plural I know, embarrassingly Looks like I don't know any Italian, and will never pretend to know even a single word again) are angry about the laser shield, whining that:
Intermeddling with goods belonging to someone else, or altering their condition, is a trespass to goods and will entitle the photographer to claim compensation without having to prove loss.
It might be kind of a lost cause, since it's awfully hard to hide a 557-foot boat at all times without, like, sinking it, but anything that involves lasers shooting at paparazzi sounds pretty good to me. [Wired]
Inspired By Cars, the 125m 7Cs Superyacht Is Another Boat You’ll Never Own [Yachts]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on August 30th, 2009
A couple of uber rich playboys from DriveDesign, not content with their dominance over the land, have taken to the high seas with this slick, modern take on the yacht—complete with pool, double staircase and borderline offensive opulence, standard.
But don't get too jealous just yet; or, if you're filthy rich like I am, put away the plastic. This fit for a Russian oil magnate superyacht is concept only for now as the designers seek out an investor. Start saving. [DriveDesign via Born Rich]
What Is This? [Image Cache]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News on August 21st, 2009
An escaped amusement park water ride boat? A crashed, insectoid UFO that's stuck struggling on its back, turtle-style? A conveniently all-powerful plot device in a Hollywood summer action movie? A Roomba grain harvester?
This 15-foot-wide, solar-panel-adorned disc is a floating water purifier, to be plopped into the canals in the Japanese city of Osaka, and into the moat around the city's centerpiece castle. Designed by NTT, these "floating UFOs" can filter about 2400 gallons of water in the 6 hours a day they'll be operational, all the while spewing the newly cleaned and oxygenated water out of a little spout in its back, presumably because these things have the potential to be kind of unsettling, and everything with a blowhole is automatically charming. It's true! Check!
At night they'll just sort of float along, creepily. They've got batteries for when the sun hides out, but only to power a rack of glowing LED lights. [Asahi via Pink Tentacle—Second image from Mainichi Daily]
