Cosmic Muffin

Now, this has been around for a number of years even though I've only just found it. Its a boat converted from an old airliner and its called the 'Cosmic Muffin'.

Just for a bit of fun, and without cheating, who can be the first to identify the original plane?

Ah, yes. The Cosmic Muffin. A few years ago my brother bought a Hatteras Sportfisher that was down in Fort Lauderdale. It so happened that the broker shared the dock with the Cosmic Muffin. Before we transported the boat back to the Pacific Northwest, we made a couple trips to the Islands to chase fish and rum drinks.

I made friends with one of the guys who was working for the Muffin's owners, and went through it one day. The galley has been converted back to the original aircraft configuration, with all the aluminum lockers, etc. All of the flight controls are coupled to the engines, so you steer it with the yokes, and the throttles are working throttle/shifters.

The Muffin started out life as a Boeing 307 Stratoliner, and was once owned by Howard Hughes. The thing is pretty crazy looking, but the inside just oozes with old time Hollywood stuff, pictures of Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, etc..

Not exactly a boat to take out in the ocean, but very unique, to say the least.

Ah but you knew about it before, so no coconut for you my lad

Interesting that none of us plane nuts could identify the Boeing 307 fuselage, in case you think I'm being smug I have to say that when I first saw it I wondered if it was made out of a DH Comet

Originally posted by waynos
...in case you think I'm being smug I have to say that when I first saw it I wondered if it was made out of a DH Comet

That was actually the first thing I thought of too! Hah!

So what is it afloat on? Pontoons or does it have an actual hull? I can't quite tell, though I'm guessing an actual hull.

By the way, engineer, got any pictures from the inside of it?

I do have some pictures. I will have to dig them out and scan them, they were taken with a 35mm. I am not sure what interior shots I have, but you can go to their web site and see a few. There are no galley shots though, that was what I thought was the coolest part besides the cockpit.

The fuselage sits on a (sort-of) monohull, and is powered by 2 small block gasoline V-8's, one on each side. The hull is as unique as the rest of the boat, kind of a cross between a mono and a cat. Hard to describe.

The owner doesn't live on it anymore (or at least he wasn't then), it was being used for harbor tours in the ICW around Ft. Lauderdale.

I was prompted to post about it after seeing an article in the paper where they said its currently being used to promote a new film about Howard Hughes. Not sure what the link to him is though, apart from he did fly a Boeing 307.