Float (nautical) marine salvage, often deployed uninflated then pressurized to raise a sunken object. In popular usage, the term "pontoon" can refer to any of several of the following objects that make use of nautical floats. A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on nautical floats for buoyancy. Common boat designs are a catamaran with two pontoons, or a trimaran with three. In many parts of the world, pontoon boats are used as small vehicle ferries to cross rivers and lakes. In Australia and New Zealand, the term "pontoon" often refers to an anchored raft-like platform used for diving from.
Trimaran by Austal. The DARPA is experimenting with the trimaran design, and in 2012 awarded SAIC a contract to perform Phases 2 through 4 of the ACTUV Program. The contract is expected to be completed by August 2015. According to American usage, there are three terms that describe the main components of catamarans and trimarans, namely: “vaka”, “aka” and “ama”. These terms come from the Malay and Polynesian language group terms for parts of the outrigger canoe (The above terminologies reflects only American usage. In the UK the main hull of a trimaran is called simply the "main hull" or "centre