Nine or 90 knots?

Boaters with bottomless pockets who want to impress their friends should head off to Meggen on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland and have a chat to the blokes at Code-X yachts.

Code-X has the ultimate pose machine on the drawing board -- a catamaran hulled power boat some 20 metres long that can glide along noiselessly at 9 knots using solar power. Or roar home at 90 knots using twin 710hp V10 motors!!

At this stage the boat is still a design exercise but Code-X says they are just waiting to hear from a prospective owner to launch into production.

The Code-X company claims to be deeply concerned about the environment and it claims the owners of most luxury boats spend most of their time pottering about showing their guests the scenery.

To enable this gentle cruise, they have designed a flexible solar hybrid drive that can be quiet and environmentally friendly when using the twin solar powered electric motors.

But, recognising that the rich also like to impress everyone, they have also designed the boat to take twin Formula 1 racing engines to give it a top speed of 90 knots.

The choice of which set of engines to use is up to the owner -- and the local speed laws.

The proposed vessel has a head and a galley in the starboard hull and a double berth in the port hull while the cockpit is fitted with four racing seats and a double sunpad.

The Code-X could be just the thing for Port Phillip Bay or Sydney Harbour.