What is this thing?

--Hey that's neat! Looks to me like maybe it takes a bunch out to open waters then lowers the people compartment below the waves. Just a guess..

I would think it's some sort of open water working platform. It would be pretty stable in some pretty rough seas with those pontoons so far out, and the aft end of them really come up out of the water.. I can't see any propulsion of any kind, so I imagine it holding something from the middle.

Let me know when you find out.

Maybe tow it into position, and then lift something out of the water, like maybe a small sunken boat?

Landing gear for a large helicopter? :-)

This page has more info, but nothing definitive.

Seagoing mechanical feeder for white sharks?

Len

Coincidentally, I know the designer. His brother is one of my oldest friends and taught me to sail. There's another guy who pops into RCM from time to time who's also a friend of the family.

--I take it back; no way would that thing withstand presssure. Still it'd be an interesting place to call home, eh? ;-)

--Oh yeah; has *lots* to say. That thing's designed to rapidly transport something smaller with a presumably limited range (probably lurking in the flimsy compartment behind the bridge) across rough seas and to drop it off withing striking diatance of a target (probably a coastline or a capital ship). Not sure if it's fulfilling a mission requirement or a tax dollar whim tho.. Think about location: what does the Navy keep in Washington state? That sort of payload probably has a lot to do with the carrier's current location.

Looks like a sea-going lumber carrier.