So I got this email about something called the Strand Craft V8 Wet Rod Super Yacht Watercraft and now we’re going to have to talk about it.
Blogging about the Yamaha SuperJet last week must have put me on a new list because I got quite a few notes about how much fun this type of ’ski is to ride (right on) and now I’ve been blessed with one of my favorite press releases in some time from an ultra-lux nautical design outfit called Strand Craft.
The company seems to have made quite a few visually impressive waterborne vehicle concepts, though I’m not quite interested enough to figure out if it’s actually built anything that made it from rendering to reality. About 60 seconds of cursory research clicks suggest it has not, and illustrations of the illustrious Wet Rod have been floating around (boat pun!) since at least 2015.
So maybe you’ve already seen it and are ready to roll your eyes at Strand Craft’s new proclamation that it will be ready to be prototyped “later this year” and finalized before the next Miami Boat Show.
Come to think of it, there was no date on the press release...
To hell with it, I’m not sacrificing this headline or my hilarious boat pun from a few paragraphs ago just because the Wet Rod might remain a dream forever. It does make me less inclined to share the promised specs or reach out to the company for details, though. You can peek at the official Wet Rod website (it’s safe for work, I promise) (OK there’s one mildly creepy animated bikini woman, FYI, if you’re offended by such things) if you’re curious about the claims though.
OK fine, two “specs:” 6.2-liter supercharged V8, $79,000 list price. And it’s “Wet Rod” because “Hot Rod” but water. I guess “Cold Rod,” “Slippery Rod,” nor “Hydrodynamic Rod” were deemed sexy-sounding enough.
And I have to say, and I mean this earnestly or else I wouldn’t have bothered blogging about this even with the funny name, I think it looks pretty cool. Not in a “hell yeah I’m about to save up 80 grand for one” kind of way, but like, it’s original. It’s interesting. And looks fast? Come on, let’s all whip out our Wet Rods and go for a ride!