File these awesome boat and watercraft designs under ‘things you’ll wish you had access to this summer.’ Who wouldn’t want their very own personal submarine, or a house boat shaped like a UFO? Some of these wild-sounding creations are concepts – like automated, self-piloted cargo ships and yachts shaped like giant illuminated swans – but others are available to rent or purchase right now.

UFO Houseboat by Jet Capsule

This UFO-shaped fiberglass floating object features a main living area with kitchen, bathroom an storage in its above-water level, while the submerged level contains a bedroom and second bathroom. Or, you could commission one to hold a floating restaurant, gym or hotel reception area. They’re powered by electric engines that push them along at a speed of about nine knots, and their batteries are charged by solar panels, wind turbines and water turbines. The manufacturer, Jet Capsule, will reportedly be ready to start shipping these out via helicopter in 2018.

Quadrofoil: Electric Hydrofoiling Personal Watercraft

This thing looks like a mechanical animal galloping through the water. It also looks really fun to ride in. The Quadrofoil gets a top speed of 21 knots and features an electric engine that can be fully charged in under two hours. They’re available for order now at the company’s website, in three models.

U-Boat Worx C-Explorer 3

This ‘luxury personal submersible’ boat by U-Boat features a 360-degree acrylic pressure hull capable of containing a pilot and two passengers, zooming around underwater for up to 16 hours at a time at a maximum depth of 3,300 feet. Plus, it’s air-conditioned. That’s pretty incredible! While it’s primarily geared toward scientists and researchers rather than the general public, it looks like anyone can order one, provided you have the cash.

Hydrohouse by Max Zhivov

A houseboat, dock, garage and water parking for a hydroplane all come together in a single nautical creation called the HH Hydrohouse, with all parts made from prefab modules so it can be transported by truck. It contains a kitchen, master bedroom and two guest bedrooms and a bathroom, and its upper canopy is one big solar panel array.

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Rusted and half-sunken yet still somehow afloat on the waters of Sydney’s Homebush Bay, the remains of a century-old ship have become fertile ground for a thriving forest. Located on the south bank of the Parramatta River on the inner west side of the city, the bay was a hub for industrial activity in the mid-20th century and became a dumping ground for unwanted materials of all kinds, from busted ships to toxic waste.

The bay was ultimately rehabilitated, but many of the ships remain, lurking among a tangle of mangrove trees. Among them is the SS Ayrfield, which the mangroves clearly found quite hospitable, transforming it into a sort of artificial floating island. In its former life, the Ayrfield was used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the Pacific during World War II before operating as a collier. It was sent to Homebush for disposal in 1972 after sixty years of service.

Awash in brilliant hues of red and orange, the hull of the 1,140-ton SS Ayrfield pokes up from the surface of the water, the Sydney skyline looming in the distance. Other ghostly ships in the bay include the steam tugboat SS Heroic and the steel boom defense vessel HMAS Karangi, which helped defend Darwin Harbour from Japanese attack in 1942.

Photos: Jason Baker, gerryligon, rodney campbell / Flickr Creative Commons

File this one under ‘billionaire toys that will simultaneously make you envious and give you a rage headache:’ the J’ade by CRN is the world’s first mega-yacht featuring a floating garage, which doubles as an ‘indoor’ swimming pool when not in use.

The hydraulic-operated bay of this ‘flooded garage’ makes it easy to store and access smaller watercraft (in this case, an 8-meter Riva ISEO speedboat) without the need for a tender lift, drying out in just three minutes. The doors can also be closed with water in the bay to create a protected ocean pool, potentially making open-sea night swims feel a lot less scary.

The 60-meter J’ade has room for 13 crew members and 10 guests, with an appropriately luxurious marble and rosewood interior, four decks, an outdoor diving table for up to 14 people, an audio/video entertainment system and a marble bar in the main salon with an aquarium backdrop. There’s also a hot tub on the spacious upper deck.

“Ready for delivery to the billionaire owner,” this insane super yacht doesn’t have a public price tag, but it’s safe to say that only the wealth hoarders of the world can even afford to get a close-up look.

If you have a few hundred million in the bank (or just like to fantasize about it,) you’ll want to peruse this selection of superyachts decked out with retractible swimming pools, underwater karaoke suites, personal submarines and even supercars included as a ‘free gift.’ Or perhaps a massive yacht that doubles as a private artificial island complete with a water desalination system is more your speed.

ORSOS Island Yacht

If you’ve got $6.5 million to spare, you can have your very own floating artificial island that can be anchored anywhere in the world. The ORSOS is a superyacht with 1,000 square meters of living space, including room to sleep 12, an underwater karaoke suite, a jacuzzi, sun loungers, a dining room and an aquarium. While it has two small diesel engines for cruising short distances, it has to be towed for long journeys.

Superyacht that Comes with a Free Supercar

When you’re paying $25 million for a state-of-the-art superyacht powered by twin Rolls Royce engines, maybe it’s not so crazy to expect a free handcrafted supercar as a bonus. The Strand Craft 122 by Gray Design features an Art Deco interior, four double rooms, four large staterooms, a reception area and crew cabins and can go up to 50 knots, while the unnamed supercar achieves a top speed of 230 mph.

Submarine Yacht

The U-101 Undersea Yacht is a submarine for pleasure cruising, with two levels of sun decks and an enormous interior, not to mention both a single-person jet ski and a smaller submarine for underwater exploration.

Infinitas by Schöpfer Yachts

With its carved-out stern, the Infinitas by luxury boat designer Schöpfer Yachts looks like a bird skull skimming along the surface of the sea. The design inspiration actually comes from the symbol for infinity, which can be seen in the two large ‘eye’ openings from above. The 300-foot yacht has a pool deck, on-board elevator, helipad and glass-floored ‘sky bridge.’

Adastra Trimaran Yacht

Designed for an experienced ocean voyaging billionaire couple and their family, the Adastra Yacht uses extraordinarily small amounts of fuel for a range of 4,000 miles. The three-hulled trimaran yacht reminiscent of a spaceship can be controlled remotely at the touch of an iPad and cost $15 million.

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From the fish out of water department: Landlubbers leery of getting their feet wet can live vicariously by visiting these 10 swell ship-shaped buildings.

Wanlihao Ship Building – Chengdu, China

(image via: littledutchboy)

If the Wanlihao Ship Building was an attempt to make the Chinese city of Chengdu famous for something other than pandas and spicy food, then a hearty pat on the back goes to its designers. Ditto for Flickr user littledutchboy for capturing and posting the image above.

(images via: Kevin Fitchard and SOSO, 55tuan)

This rather large waterfront edifice houses a number of businesses and services including several seafood restaurants and the exclusive-sounding Flagship Club… sounds like the kind of place Judge Smails and Thurston Howell III might hang out at. As for being just a tad gaudy and ostentatious, well, you oughta see it at night!

Public Restroom – Chennai, India

(images via: Kevin Fitchard and Lydia Depillis)

If you were expecting a “poop deck” joke, forget abou… oh. Anyway, this public restroom in the city of Chennai, India doesn’t just look like a brick ship house, it’s built like one too. The top photo from iTravelnet dates from March of 2007 while the lower image from Lydia Depillis taken in the summer of 2012 shows significant deterioration. We’ll leave the state of the interior to your imagination.

Museum of Maritime Science – Tokyo, Japan

(images via: Funegasuki and Home Designing Weblog, Penta-Ocean)

The Museum of Maritime Science (Fune-no-Kagakukan in Japanese) in Odaiba dates from 1974 and was one of the first buildings at that location constructed on land reclaimed from Tokyo Bay… perhaps the contractors were hedging their bets a bit. The scale of the building is highlighted by the 83-meter (273ft) long Antarctic icebreaker Soya moored just offshore.

(image via: TKFuruse)

The ship-like styling is purely intentional; inside visitors will find a veritable 3D history book that takes one back to the era of the Shoguns, forward through the destructive Second World War and into the present era. Models of the Yamato – the world’s largest battleship – share space with those of civilian and military ships, submarines and seaplanes.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Building – Newport News, VA, USA

(images via: HII and The Arts Adventurer)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is America’s largest shipbuilder and the ONLY one able to design and build the nation’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The company’s headquarters building in Newport News reflects the firm’s long history (it was known until 2008 as Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding) and continuing focus on shipbuilding.

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