SeaPhantom

Batman's boat.

Fast boats have their appeal, but hard pounding and massive fuel consumption would leave them useless as practical maritime surface transport - nor much fun for our landlubber friends. Maritime Flight Dynamics' solution is to fly just above the wave crests, on proprietary shock dampened 'foils'. Literally, a boat with a full-functioning suspension system, similar in capability to Baja desert racers. A lifting-body airfoil design carries the craft above the sea surface in ground effect, radically reducing hydrodynamic drag. This requires less power and uses a fraction of the fuel consumption.

Many of the new breed of high-performance boats can travel at triple-digit speeds over the water. Our objective is to make this kind of speed practical, safe, comfortable and efficient - ultimately to make maritime transport a viable alternative to our crowded skies and highways. Imagine: direct travel, city centre to city centre, directly from one waterfront downtown to another; faster than the taxi ride to and from your local airport.

There are military applications, too, they claim. To wit: If you're in the military, and you're driving one of these, you're definitely getting laid.

Thanks to OgreGunner.

posted by Ace at 06:55 PM

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