Fasten your seat belts and get ready for the boatride of your life. The Sea Phantom prototype looks fast, even as it cruises at ordinary speeds along the surface of the water in the video you can see here.

And it's inventor, David Borman, has plenty of enthusiasm as he ticks off the reasons why it will not only look fast, but run fast when it finally reaches commercial production, probably within a couple of years:

- First, the boat itself is an enclosed shell that incorporates NASA-inspired "lifting body" technology -- the faster the Sea Phantom goes, the more it actually lifts itself out of the water!

- Second, the Sea Phantom basically "flies" above the surface of the water on its proprietary shock absorbing hydro-foil system, providing an inherently smoother ride and using far less fuel than more conventional boat designs, which have their hulls carving their way through the heavy water and fighting the power of each wave.

- Third, because it's moving through the air instead of the water, the Sea Phantom encounters much less resistance and friction, so fewer horsepower can easily drive this vehicle faster than any conventional water-bound design.

Recently featured in Popular Science and Europe's Intersection magazine, Borman and his advanced Sea Phantom water craft are rapidly gaining credibility from the same nay-sayers who dismissed his ideas as idle fantasy for so many years. So far, Borman has demonstrated only a 30 foot prototype with a standard outboard motor inelegantly fastened on its tail. But the next time you see the prototype Sea Phantom it will be propeled by a more powerful inboard engine and will be capable of significantly more spectacular performance.

The visionary boat designer makes clear that since today's most advanced boats are already capable of triple digit speeds, it's only a small step forward to provide the same level of performance in a cost-effective, safe, and fun package that has great looks to match its capabilities.

Borman talks of convenient and inexpensive city-to-city transport service with "Blue Highway" terminals right downtown on the local waterfronts. He has plans for a $2.5 million 50-foot commerical version that will carry two dozen passengers from Key West to Cuba, for example, in 20 minutes, cruising at speeds up to 150 miles per hour, and for a civilian pleasure version priced around half a million dollars capable of similar speeds, but in a more manageable size and weight.

A PimpWiz Exclusive By; Robert Moskowitz

Labels: Gear, RobertMoskowitz