Give 4 to the Marines

... and see what they can do with it.

The Proteus is 100 feet long, 50 feet between the outsides of the twin hulls, and is powered by two 355 horsepower Cummins marine diesels. It displaces 12 tons fully loaded. Fuel is stored in the flexible pontoons, and the vessel, Conti says, has a range of thousands of miles.

It can carry 2 tons of cargo, and can be operated by a crew of two.

The cabin, which sleeps four, can be lowered into the water -- "like a helicopter landing," Conti said -- and sail off on its own.

Don't laugh. It may look funny, but it has some characteristics that may be of use. Twin Cummins - that is reliablity and affordability. I wonder what the max range, max endurance and max sustainable speeds are? Mine Hunter capabilities? SPECOPS? Mind boggles. Might be useless - but it is worth the look, a close look if there is a way to engineer a method of folding in the "legs" so that it was somewhat air transportable.

Anyway, I love this stuff - and I'm kind of strange in that way. I also think we should have few USMC C-130 floatplanes in the mix...but that is just me.

Hat tip; reader Andrew.