Exotic ships

05/05/2021

The Kettuvallam

Houseboats are not usually works of art so much as utilitarian pontoons. But in the Kerala region of India, the Kettuvallam-style houseboat drifts through the waters with ornate thatched roofing, beckoning tourists aboard. The design dates back to 3000 B.C. and was originally used to transport spices and passengers along trade routes.

05/05/2021

Duck tour boats

Duck tour boats are the worst of both amphibious worlds: bulky and slow on land, awkward and sluggish in the water. The duck tours began in the Wisconsin Dells in the 1940s, and have since spread internationally. The duck boats are often brought out when certain insufferable coastal sports teams win the Super Bowl.

05/05/2021

The Titan Mare Explorer

Some things are just too good and pure for this world. That was the case of the Titan Mare Explorer, a proposed NASA mission to explore the hydrocarbon seas on Saturn's largest moon, Titan—the only other body in our solar system besides Earth to have liquids on the surface, thanks to its dense atmosphere. After years of proposals, the craft has yet to get approved by NASA, and likely never will be. Some weird boats will never set sail.

27/04/2021

The Marjata

Bulbous radome for protecting radar dishes. Helicopter landing pad. The shape of a clothes iron. The Marjata has it all. The Norwegian spy ship wades in Arctic waters to keep tabs on the Russians. The model you see above first set sail in 1992, though subsequent variants have gotten bigger and less interesting in shape.

27/04/2021

The Plongeur
The history of submarines is surprisingly long, dating back to 415 B.C. The first submarine propelled by something other human power was the French Plongeur, which relied on compressed air to propel itself. It was first used in 1863, and was retired by 1872. The sub was the inspiration for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

27/04/2021

The Zipperboat

Yasuhiro Suzuki originally came up with the Zipper Motorboat in 2004, but it didn't shove off until 2010. Like many great and extremely weird things, it was art project and not a meant as a practical means of conveyance. No passengers were on this voyage as the vessel hadn't been tested for rollover risk. You can't exactly go skiing behind it, but maybe you can do some really slow-speed tubing.

27/04/2021

27/04/2021