Strange Spider Boat “The Proteus” in San Francisco.

Photo: Chronicle/Paul Chinn

Eagle-eyed Neato readers probably remember last year’s post on this strange spider ship. Turns out, it’s a Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel designed by Ugo Conti called "Proteus". It premiered yesterday on San Francisco Bay:

It is named the Proteus, after a Greek god of the sea, and is the first of what might be a long line of wave adaptive modular vessels — WAM-V for short — developed by Ugo Conti, an engineer and inventor. Conti calls it "the prototype of a new class of vessel."

Using technology developed by Conti’s El Cerrito Marine Advanced Research Inc., the WAM-V is "a new class of watercraft … that delivers a radically new seagoing experience." It has twin hulls, like a catamaran, connected to each other and a control cabin by four metal legs. The legs ride on titanium springs — like shock absorbers — that allow the WAM-V to adjust to the surface of the water — to flex like knees.

Link – Thanks Rosalia!