Solar-powered boats?

Boreades

Boreades

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Seeing the headline on YBW about a solar-powered circumnavigation got me wondering. Imagine you took out that nasty old diesel engine, and replaced it with a bank of batteries, and a high-torque electric motor.

I know there's a lot of guesswork & assumptions, but for starters...

  • How much do we need a diesel engine?
  • How much solar panel would a "typical" sailing boat need to charge that bank of batteries?
  • What kind of electric motor would we need?
  • Can we DIY and buy the bits on eBay?

:)
 
No need. We already have the "sailing boat" or "yacht", which utilises the "wind" caused by air pressure differentials caused by sunlight, heating air, directly and indirectly, thus converting sunlight into a powerful motive force. The air pressure differentials being created by differing sunlight energy absorbtion and release characteristics on land and water due to differing physical characteristics of the land and water at different locations.
 
elton said:
No need. We already have the "sailing boat" or "yacht", which utilises the "wind" caused by air pressure differentials caused by sunlight, heating air, directly and indirectly, thus converting sunlight into a powerful motive force. The air pressure differentials being created by differing sunlight energy absorbtion and release characteristics on land and water due to differing physical characteristics of the land and water at different locations.
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You've not got a diesel engine then? :eek:

When the wind didn't blow,
and the ship didn't go,
it was Carter the farter to start her.
 
You cannot be serious? round the world in HOW long!

Yacht 50 days ish

electric solar powered motor boat 585 days

I wondered how long it would take it to drift round, if you took out out all the batteries and motors.

There's a solar powered CAT in the med, spends most of its time stopped unable to move waiting for the sun to charge it up, its a brave project but I cant help thinking a mast with a sail would be more environmentally responsible - all those batteries with a very short life span too. lets not even begin to compare costs over say 10 years.
 
Nicki Perryman, who writes regularly in a number of magazines and lives and cruises permanently on board replaced the engine with a custom made solar/regenerative electric motor system on the basis they sail just about everywhere so just need power in and out of harbours etc. After a couple of years chucked it out and fitted a new Yanmar. Wrote up the "experience" in Classic Boat.

Main problems are inefficient charging and storage of power. Motor is efficient at propulsion, but no good if you don't have the energy generation and storage capacity.

Hybrids have potential but mainly in 45'+ size which can cope with the weight and space requirements of two propulsion/energy generation systems.
 
Marsupial said:
There's a solar powered CAT in the med, spends most of its time stopped unable to move waiting for the sun to charge it up, its a brave project but I cant help thinking a mast with a sail would be more environmentally responsible - all those batteries with a very short life span too. lets not even begin to compare costs over say 10 years.
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I was invited to look over it last month in Preveza yard. A 46' cat with 1/2 a tennis court of solar panels on the roof.

€350 000 - 9 knots and not even the option to put up some sails and go faster!

Not impressed!
 
Gorf said:
It would never work at night!
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off course it will, you just need to connect a large search light to the battery and shine it on the solar panel - simples, the same as telling the time at night with a sundial - shine a torch on it.
 
This has been done to death in another thread - I think started by DanCrane. Basically the conclusion is that battery technology isn't up to the job (at reasonable cost, that is), and solar panels haven't a high enough efficiency yet.
 
elton said:
No need. We already have the "sailing boat" or "yacht", which utilises the "wind" caused by air pressure differentials caused by sunlight, heating air, directly and indirectly, thus converting sunlight into a powerful motive force. The air pressure differentials being created by differing sunlight energy absorbtion and release characteristics on land and water due to differing physical characteristics of the land and water at different locations.
Click to expand...

Close.

*My* boat is powered by a hybrid nuclear/gyroscopic drive...

The nuclear bit runs at a safe distance of 93 million miles away (no problems with nuclear waste for me!), and delivers it's energy via the aforementioned "solar" technology; the gyroscopic part prevents winds from being incredibly boring, predictable, due north/due south, and adds variety 'cos of the different absorption/release characteristics ;->

<tongue in cheek>
Coal-fired steam ships were, of course, also solar powered - about 300 million years after the solar-grown forests were buried and squashed - we've got to keep releasing CO2 or the rainforests will starve!
</tic>
 
VicMallows said:
Chichester Harbour operate a 'Solar Powered Catamaran' which does a good trade as a tourist attraction. It plugs into a high capacity shore connection every night to charge the batteries.
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20 years ago, a friend used to have an electric motorcycle - at least, he used to have to plug it in to charge it every night....
 
Marsupial said:
Yacht 50 days ish

electric solar powered motor boat 585 days

I wondered how long it would take it to drift round, if you took out out all the batteries and motors.

There's a solar powered CAT in the med, spends most of its time stopped unable to move waiting for the sun to charge it up, its a brave project but I cant help thinking a mast with a sail would be more environmentally responsible - all those batteries with a very short life span too. lets not even begin to compare costs over say 10 years.
Click to expand...
It's just left Fiskardo. Very slowly as there's quite an overcast.
 
Boreades said:
Seeing the headline on YBW about a solar-powered circumnavigation got me wondering. Imagine you took out that nasty old diesel engine, and replaced it with a bank of batteries, and a high-torque electric motor.

I know there's a lot of guesswork & assumptions, but for starters...

  • How much do we need a diesel engine?
  • How much solar panel would a "typical" sailing boat need to charge that bank of batteries?
  • What kind of electric motor would we need?
  • Can we DIY and buy the bits on eBay?

:)
Click to expand...

I can't remember the details but three or four years ago I read about an Algarvian boatbuilder who had produced what was claimed to be Europe's first solar powered boat.Not having heard anything since prompts the thought that there must have been problems - perhaps uneconomical batteries.
 
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