January 15th, 2021 by Jo Borrás
Genius is a difficult thing to understand. To those of us who, like me, are on the outside of it, genius can sometimes seem like madness, and it’s the sort of blurry area where an idea is actually so stupid that it loops back around into genius that we’re going to be looking into today. That’s because today is the day that we meet the Pagurus, an 82-ft. solar-powered amphibious catamaran that’s designed, for some reason, to operate on land.
No, you haven’t wandered into The Onion. This is CleanTechnica, and this is a real design put forward by an Italian design house, Lazzarini, which has a history of … let’s go with “re-thinking” conventional naval architecture in its designs. Which, fair enough — design firms are supposed to be forward-looking, and Elon probably needs something new to spend his $190-billion fortune on. So, why not, right?
For those of you with the kind of money something like this would require, you can rest easy knowing that this “crabmaran,” as Lazzarini calls it, has been thoroughly considered and is a production-ready design. In fact, it was originally designed for military use, and seems to have been taken seriously enough for cost analyses to be made. “We decided later to call it ‘Pagurus’, the Latin word for crab,” Lazzarini told New Atlas architectural writer Bridget Borgobello. “Pagurus is our third project inspired by the crab, highlighted not only in its catamaran forms but also in its functions; the fact it can move on the sand just like the crab.”
And, in case you’re wondering if they’re serious …
Pagurus on land, courtesy Lazzarini Design.
… the Pagurus design uses twin steel hulls. Living spaces for crew and guests are split across the two hulls, which are connected via a steel bridge and tower deck. The steel bridge is designed to strengthen and reinforce the main, composite body of the vessel, while the solar panels are used to power the ship’s batteries and internal electronics.
The steel bridge/main deck is not only strong, it’s big! Big enough to carry what looks like a Tesla Cybertruck in its onboard garage. That space could, alternatively, house a small tender or sand-ready ATVs and motorcycles. It really all depends on what you want to do with your Pagurus, you know?
Lazzarini Design Pagurus Crabmaran
Plan drawings, courtesy Lazzarini Design..
Drive for the Pagurus is accomplished via dual-propeller stern drives, coupled to twin 890-hp diesel engines good for an estimated top speed of 24 knots, while a set of massive steel screw cylinders, housed in the immersed part of the twin hulls, provide motivation on land. If you can’t quite picture that, it looks like this:
Pagurus twin screw drive, courtesy Lazzarini Design.
Pretty nuts, right? But, to be fair, at an estimated €24 million ($29 million) cost, it’s not that pricey. An 85′ Aeroyacht sailing catamaran will set you back about $10.5 million, for example, and you can’t even drive that thing to Wal-Mart. So, let that marinate a bit, then let us know what you think of this bonkers/genius crabmaran in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Source | Lots More Pictures: Lazzarini Design, via New Atlas.
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About the Author
Jo Borrás I’ve been involved in motorsports and tuning since 1997, and have been a part of the Important Media Network since 2008. You can find me here, working on my Volvo fansite, riding a motorcycle around Chicago, or chasing my kids around Oak Park.