01/11/2009
Microship seeks geeky skipper
The Microship is looking for a new pilot.
The infamous amphibian pedal/solar/sail micro-trimaran created by
Nomadic Research Labs (with the help of 160 corporate sponsors, hired
consultants, and dozens of volunteers) has been lying idle in the lab
for a few years, while I have turned my attention to ships big enough
to support open-ended global voyaging. As I have come to slowly
accept that I will never launch the planned expedition that drove the
Microship project from 1993 through 2003, I have reluctantly come to
the conclusion that she should find a new skipper.
This is not a normal yacht, and finding a new home through
traditional brokerage is absurd to contemplate. The new owner of
this engineering-intensive boatlet should be someone with motivations
similar to my own... I pedaled 17,000 miles around the US on a
computerized recumbent bicycle while writing books and appearing
steadily in the media, and this was conceived as a way to take a
full-time technomadic life into the aquatic domain (complete with
layers of network and communication technology).
The Microship needs to find a pilot who is mediagenic, geeky, and
insanely adventurous. I would expect to spend at least a full-time
week with the new owner here in my lab, sharing all aspects of the
design as well as the infrastructure it represents for an overlay of
systems, and I'll also stay available for brainstorming and
consultation as the new project develops. The boat sails like a
dream (heavy-hitter marine architecture consultants were on the
design team), and is the resultant of over a dozen man-years of
focused engineering work. This is a powerful substrate for a
high-profile expedition.
She won't be cheap compared to other boats of this scale, and she's
certainly not for everyone. But for the right person, she could
represent a huge shortcut in time and money compared to the project
that would be required to replicate this range of capabilities:
pedal, electric, and sail propulsion; amphibian mode including
folding akas and retractable landing gear; 480-watt solar
integration; hydraulic controls; and much more.
For more information...
Contact: wordy@microship.com
Photo album: http://microship.com/photos
Tons of info is scattered all over http://microship.com/microship
Located on Camano Island, Washington (in my lab)
I can help you brainstorm the "business model" of a Microship
expedition to see if it might benefit from sponsorship, publishing
deals, or other spin-offs. Of course, she can just be a high-tech
nautical toy for one with deep pockets and a yen for engineering.
But personally, I would prefer to see the boat achieve her originally
intended destiny of an extended public journey through coastal and
inland waterways, and for the right person there is a good
probability of corporate and media support (given the continuity of
my work over the past 25 years). |
