It's not the best picture in the world, it's a screenshot from a you tube video (hence the blurriness).
I'm not sure what you would call it but it is an actual thing and I've actually seen the actual thing. Not floating, obviously because it's not a working boat any more but yes, it is based on an actual prototype.
Charles (Oates) would probably know what it is, it's fairly close to where he lives.
