The Cellar Image of the Day

xoxoxoBruce sends along this series of the "Cosmic Muffin", a boat located in Ft. Lauderdale.

xoB explains, it was built from the fuselage of Pan Am's, 1940, 'Clipper Rainbow', N19902, one of their 3 Boeing 307 Stratoliners.

The 307 Stratoliner was the world's first commercial transport aircraft with a pressurized cabin, says the Wikipedia entry.

Doesn't look like there's much pressure in this cabin. Would you guess that 66 years after it was built, someone would be using it like this? I suppose it must be highly sea-worthy if it was originally air-worthy...

I want one! But I'll fit the original captain's chairs with something more comfy, thanks very much. The retro look with the metal armrest is standard pilot issue, I know, but this boat isn't built for that. It needs a drink holder at the very least.

It probably already is a hair metal band, or maybe arena rock... "NOW, PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR... BOSTON AND COSMIC MUFFIN!"

Mmm, I want one too. 'S long as I can stay in shallow water. I'm not such a big fan of the deep stuff. To me, being five miles up on top of the water is no different than being five miles up in the air. It's still a damn long way down.

This looks like something built for a James Bond movie but never used.

Would make a great pick-up line:
"Care to join me for a 7&7 in my 70-foot 707, 7-seaworthy 24/7"

I'd also much prefer to stay in shallow waters with the thing. At that height/width-ratio, it's probably not really seaworthy (although probably not much worse than any other motorboat about that size - smallish motorboats are not the place to have fun in heavy weather, as opposed to smallish sailboats which have the capability to stabilize themselves to some degree when the sea gets rough). Make that thing a submarine, and I'm all set to buy one. Umm...if somebody donates me the cash, that is.

Okay, I just googled "submarine made out of airplane fuselage" and somehow came across this:

Quote:

LOT-EK has just proposed reusing more than two hundred discarded fuselages from Boeing 727 and 737 airplanes as the major structural components for a new library in Guadalajara.
"The fuselage is the only part of a decommissioned airplane that cannot be effectively recycled," we read. "The cost of its demolition exceeds the profit of aluminum resale. A huge amount of fuselages lay in the deserts of the western states. Boeing 727 and 737 are historically the most sold commercial planes and therefore the most common in these graveyards. They are sold at very low prices completely stripped and in great structural conditions."

Wow, neat library!

Re Milkfish: of course, we'd need to know what goes on below the waterline to know for sure - however, in the first two photos, it looks very much like a standard water taxi-type hull with the aircraft fuselage stuck on, and those hulls generally extend only a couple of feet under the waterline. From the interior shots, it looks like it's used for short-distance excursions (round trips of the harbor and the like), and it would make sense to use a hull that's adapted for that need.

That is really cool, but I would rather have some sort of deck where you could go outside. Maybe hollow out the back or something. That makes me feel a little claustrophobic!

I got some bad information. According to the Boeing history site and this site, the boat was not built from one of the 3 Pan Am Clippers. It was built from the 307B that Howard Hughes bought and refused to surrender for the war effort.

It's kinda cool, however it is in dire need of a furniture re-do. Nevermind the avocado green furniture..... Check out the nasty back sweat stains on that white pillow! Eeeew!

It would be perfect if they'd take off the top half and replace it with glass. If it has to be so closed in, at least they could have made some type of outdoor area.

Cool, tho. I'm jealous coz I can't afford one.

Or even replace the BOTTOM with glass!

so you can see the fish that you're fishing for!

A guy on ebay sells used Boeings for $300,000, which isn't bad as it includes installation with all utilities. I like the way they can slowly swivel with the wind.

I think someone should challenge the Muffin man to stick some wings on a J-Class yacht and make it fly. Now that would be impressive.

Quote:

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.....
Deteriorata! Deteriorata!

Go placidly
Amid the noise and waste.
And remember what comfort there may be
In owning a piece thereof.

Avoid quiet and passive persons
Unless you are in need of sleep.

Ro-tate your tires.

Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself
And heed well their advice,
Even though they be turkeys.

Know what to kiss.....and when!

Consider that two wrongs never make a right
But that THREE.........do.

Wherever possible, put people on hold.

Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment
And despite the changing fortunes of time,
There is always a big future in computer main-te-nance.

Chorus

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Remember the Pueblo.

Strive at all times to bend, fold, spindle and mu-ti-late.

Know yourself.
If you need help, call the FBI.

Exercise caution in your daily affairs,
Especially with those persons closest to you.
That lemon on your left, for instance.

Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls
Would scarcely get your feet wet.

Fall not in love therefore;
It will stick to your face.

Gracefully surrender the things of youth:
The birds, clean air, tuna, Taiwan
And let not the sands of time
Get in your lunch.

Hire people with hooks.

For a good time call 606-4311;
Ask for "Ken."

Take heart amid the deepening gloom
That your dog is finally getting enough cheese.

And reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot
It could only be worse in Milwaukee.

Chorus

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Therefore, make peace with your god
Whatever you conceive him to be---
Hairy thunderer, or cosmic muffin.

With all its hopes, dreams, promises and urban renewal
The world continues to deteriorate.

GIVE UP!

Reprise

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Quote:

Enter Florida Folk Hero Jimmy Buffett
In his many travels, Tropical Troubadour and Florida Folk Hero Jimmy Buffett had noticed Drimmer's 'plane-boat". He was so struck by the uniqueness of this vessel that he paid it homage in his 1992 novel, "Where Is Joe Merchant?".

In this novel, Florida Keys sea boat pilot Frank Bama and his former girl friend Trevor Kane begin to search for Kane's brother, rock musician Joe Merchant, who allegedly committed suicide by throwing himself off of a cruise ship in the Black Sea. Not so! One of Merchant's former band members, Desdemona, claimed otherwise.

Desdemona "lived" on Drimmer's plane-boat on the island of Boomtown on the windward coast of Hispanola. But this was more than just a "plane-boat". You see, Desdemona was being channeled by aliens from the Plaides (or "Seven Sisters") to construct a spaceship to take her to the Plaides, and the "plane-boat" which she named "Cosmic Muffin" was to be that rocket ship! In honor of Desdemona's rocket ship to be, the boys from the Boomtown boatyard presented her with a blue jump suit that said "Build Spaceships Now".

As a token of his appreciation for Buffett's description of his plane-boat in this novel, Drimmer renamed the craft to "Cosmic Muffin", a name it retains to this day.

So K Pancake, I need to be reminded once in a while, there's people that won't, can't or don't know about, using the links.
Sometimes it isn't clear they are links, too.