User:Vincecate

Home Page and floatingislands.com and blog.floatingislands.com

There are several main ideas for bringing seasteads to real life. I have written up something on my views about seasteading which has been called the "Single Family Seasteading Manifesto".

I have made proposals for:

• Tension Circle House - House in middle of floating circle
• Tension Circle Marina - Marina made from big floating circle
• Multifamily Tension Circle where each family has their own building.
• Pipe Spar - Seastead made from commercial pipe
• Geodesic Vessel - Roundish vessel with stability from hull shape
• Ball House - Ball with stability from hanging ballast
• WaterWalker - Tripod with balls for floats on legs

I am interested in scale models and have made and tested a group of models. I am willing to test any seastead models that anyone sends me, no charge. I have easy access to a variety of natural waves and a Casio EX-FH20 that can make really nice slow motion video.

I am interested in possible ideas for Seastead ventures. I like these:

• Owner Charter Business - sell seasteads but manage the charter/rental of them as well
• Floating Villas for tourist rentals off the coast of Anguilla.
• Medical Business possibilities for seasteads.
• Survivalist market for seasteads set up to be self sufficient
• Refugee market for low cost seasteads for people who want to leave where they are
• Reality TV Show about seasteading could work.

I have started a page on big wave videos and some platform videos.

I think each seastead could use a kite and sea anchor to control movement on an annual migration.

I think Convoy Communications would avoid expensive satellite communications costs.

I think a good way to move people or cargo between seasteads is with a SkyWay.

Looks like there are hurricane resistant Life rafts.

I think Cost estimation is important.

Started pages on IP and Patents.

I have updated the HangingBallast using video from some of my experiments.

I found some online charts of the San Fransisco Bay.

I think we need to understand what is Acceptable Motion for seasteads.

I think we need to use some type of Low Cost Wave Tank so we can afford to do lots of experiments. This is a new design space that needs to be explored, so there are many possible things to try.

I would like to thank those that have helped fund my experiments.

I think efficient Thrusters are key for seastead operation. The Propeller Efficiency issues mean we need large propellers for slow seasteads.

Trying to put together a single family seastead budget estimate.

I think Prizes are the most efficient way to get something new like a seastead developed. The trick is designing the prize. I have posted a Ephemerisle_Contest prize idea.

I think UAVs will be important for seasteading.

I have built a 1:5 scale prototype large enough for 3 people. I am getting ready to take it on a second experimental voyage.

Thinking a bit about a WaterWalker3 idea where opposite buoys are connected together by a rope on pulleys.

I have a new baby coming soon and am trying to finish off and release some software for a startup this year. So I won't be spending nearly as much time or dream-cycles on seasteading stuff in 2009 as I did in 2008. But seasteading has been a passion of mine for more than 20 years and I will be back at it in the future.

Some things I am thinking about doing next.

Organized links to different strategies to bring about Seasteads.

"You can't possibly get a good technology going without an enormous number of failures. It's a universal rule. If you look at bicycles, there were thousands of weird models built and tried before they found the one that really worked. You could never design a bicycle theoretically. Even now, after we've been building them for 100 years, it's very difficult to understand just why a bicycle works - it's even difficult to formulate it as a mathematical problem. But just by trial and error, we found out how to do it, and the error was essential. The same is true of airplanes. " Freeman Dyson

"Art without engineering is dreaming; engineering without art is calculating." Steven K Roberts. I think Seasteading needs to be careful to have both the imagination and engineering. I think just designing an oil platform but removing the tension legs is not enough imagination and not good engineering. Drawing pretty pictures of floating cities without engineering behind them is just art. Only with both imagination and engineering can seasteading be made to work.

"Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi