Despite all appearances, those little boats up above aren't toys or some ride at an amusement park. They're actually used by the Warsash Maritime Academy in the UK to train tanker captains, who are at the helm of some of the most unwieldy ships in the world.

The $245,000 boats are powered by electric motors, seat two and, interestingly enough, are a pretty accurate representation of their hulking, sluggish counterparts. "The boats might look like the sort of things your kids play with in the bath, but they are very hard to control," Canadian trainee pilot Matt Sicard told Mail Online, "They realistically mimic the movements of a supertanker but on a gentler scale, which makes them ideal for learning on."

Just like airplane simulators, certain conditions can be remotely triggered — such as the failing of an engine, for instance — to see how the pilots deal with adverse conditions. Important stuff, to be sure, but I can't stop chuckling at how goofy it all looks. That said, I wanna drive next!

DailyMail, via OhGizmo!, via LikeCool