Off-Topic but Interesting Ship

[Chip Hindes]

As you say, interesting. Cynic that I am, I'm about 99.9% sure it's a CAD rendering and not a photo; if it is a photo it's been surgically enhanced with CAD and/ or Photoshop. Note there are no cleats or any other visible capability for tieing up, line handling or anchoring. There are a couple of fairleads to the interior, but those look like they're "for show" kind of like fake hood scoops on a car.

They're saying the crew is Navy/Coast Guard, but the emblems are Navy and Marine.

What do you suppose the real thing looks like?

[Tom Root]

Yes, I have seen her being built actually, not up close mind you! Homeland Security won't let ya!

There is another craft that has been in the bay for years. The 1st time I saw it as when I was in a 'Beer Can' race on a Tuesday night, on a 33' Morgan I crewed on. I was retired from the 'Corps, so being the only military type aboard, they asked me what it was. I swear, I said, that thing looks like a Movie prop, I see no use for it in our Navy.

I have since seen it many times, and we have seen it go into it's 'Secret' Hangar on several occasions. Reminds ya of the old 'Batman' series, I swear! It actually looks like a 'Steath Fighter' minus it's landing gear. Painted flat black and ALL!

I still know little about it, but that's OK, also, as it has it's purpose I suppose?

[Andy26M]

I believe the experimental craft in San Diego is Sea Shadow.

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/fac ... p-sea.html

She's been around for a good while, so not that big a secret any more.

If you're interested in this sort of stuff, do a Google for "Littoral Combat Ship" - 400+ foot high-speed trimaran warship! This is a real, serious program, too. The 2 big contractors are building their prototypes for final evaluation by the Navy. Purely for the coolness factor, I hope the trimaran wins.

- AndyS

[Tom Root]

Thanks Andy....yep that's her! Doesn't say a whole lot about it either....we'll leave it that way!

[Terry Chiccino]

Moe, that's quite an interesting photo. Let me tell you my sister was visiting from Florida and we were sitting on my deck one afternoon (I think it was the thursday before Easter Sunday 2004). My sister noticed a ship on the Pacific Ocean and commented that she had never seen a ship from our deck before. I live about 15 miles from the shore at elevation 1900 and have a peak-a-boo view of the ocean.
We both noted how fast the object was traveling as it traversed back and forth into view. I got my binoculars out as the vessel appeared to be a submarine. Looking at the picture of the ship you posted it would look like a sub in a side profile. I think it was this craft, I've been scratching my head all last year tring to figure out what we saw that day. The thing moved so dammed fast! Good site! Terry

[waternwaves]

Moe...
when it was first touted.....it was claimed that it would be another replacement for the guard for the High Endurance cutters....Monroe/Boutwell class.....which offered good station keeping and a similiar propulsion combintation...... Diesels.....and gas turbines..

However..... chopper crews are P/O'd since there is no hanger deck to keep their birds covered when not aloft.....

and the station keeping abilities....slow speed, towing, standby rescue.. is yet to be evaluated..... the big deck for helo ops is nice tho....

Since cats are known for their smooth ride in rough seas.......

but ya gotta wonder what the ride would be like trying to take that thing at 70 KPH through the north pacific in the winter with 20 to 30 ft seas.....

punishing at best....and very hard on equipment......

looks like a fast when the weather is good boat to me...

darren

[tidalwave]

The odd looking black catamaran sighted in San Francisco Bay was the Navy's attempt to build the nautical version of the F117 stealth fighter.
The Navy needs to cut the radar reflection of its ships in the same way the Air Force reduced the radar cross-section of the B-2 bomber to that of a bird.
The odd facet look to the black catamaran was the result of using the same slower computer calculations as the F117 by Lockheed. As newer and faster computers came on line, they were able build an even better stealth shape and that is why the B-2 has smooth flowing lines rather than the flat facets that the F117 had to have (it simplified the calculations).
An interesting aside is the 'hanger-barge' that is the mother vessel for the cat...it was originally the support barge for Howard Hughes-CIA Glomar Challenger ship which tried to recover-lift a diesel powered soviet missile sub which sank north of Hawaii. When the black cat was first launched the Navy used to tow the barge-hanger out of the Bay toward the Farallons and then let the cat 'out of the bag' for secret runs. But soon they decided that so many people had seen it offshore...that it was cheaper and easier to just motor the cat out and test it. The $1 billion Challenger can be seen in the Naval 'Mothball' fleet on the north end of the Bay. After the sub recovery attempt...everyone knew that the Challenger was a CIA-spy ship and even the National Science Foundation couldn't afford to run her as a research vessel.
The new Navy cat uses some of the technology developed by the 'black cat', but looking at the super structure it appears that for this vessel they are not too worried about stealth. The railing and stairs on the hull are going to reflect a lot of radar.
The newest Navy stealth technology has very smooth lines ala the B-2 bomber and all normal outside fittings are placed either behind panels which open when needed or have very complicated surfaces to keep the radar signal from bouncing directly back. The new Joint Strike Fighter Plane to be used by all three Services has no exposed rockets, tanks, etc. Everything is buried within its structure. The Navy has plans for the first such true stealth ships to displace about as much as an old cruiser.
I was told that the first hull using the new stealth lines is supposed to be started in the next few years (if it hasn't already been started in some black ops ship yard already).
I would be interested to know if any Mac owners near one of the Navy shipyards see a very sleek slippery looking warship in the next couple of years. Some present 'new' Navy ships look slippery but the flat facets along the superstructure tell you that such a ship is a 'first generation' stealth...not the newest second generation.

[Chip Hindes]

There are more photo links at the bottom of the page.

Ah! A couple more partials and photos of it under construction/ incomplete, plus three more CAD renderings.

Looks like we don't get to see the real thing, so I still wonder what it looks like really.

The boat Tom and Andy are talking about is the fairly well known "stealth" boat. It's designed to be invisible to radar just like the B1 and F117, to which I believe it bears a striking resemblance. Don't know if it works or not.

[wayfarer]

Here is something similar from Incat Autstralia



http://www.incat.com.au/defence_fs.html

They also make a ferry currently in use between Maine and Nova Scotia



http://www.catferry.com/onboard/catfacts.html

Can you say 55 mph wave slicer?

[Jack O'Brien]

http://www.bahamasferry.com/

http://www.swath.com/index.html

http://www.keywesttravelguide.com/dry-t ... ferry.html