Ever seen what happens to a sail with a heavy sunbrella UV strip in
light wind? Just the wight of that 8" strip of sunbrella along the foot
and leach of my jib causes the sail to sag in winds under 5kts. To make
the solar panel in a sail idea viable, wait until the technology
produces a complete panel that weighs less than the same area of
sunbrella. I won't hold my breath, though. If they can come close to
that weight, it may be interesting to see UV sail covers that are
actually generating a few watts to maintain the house bank while the
sail is rolled up and the boat is sitting at anchor. Perhaps a "solar
sock" or something. Of course, half the panels you pay for would not be
in the sun at any given time, which effectively doubles your $/watt cost.
/Jason
G T wrote:
> Hi every one thanks for the responses. I get the impression that no has as
> yet has designed and built a 35-45 foot sailboat from the "keel up" as an
> electric boat. It would be a daunting and expensive project. You would have to
> design the keel around accepting a specific battery dimension (like computer
> "blade" servers in a rack) and hope like hell they don't change the dimensions
> 10-15 years down the road when you need to replace them.
>
> The other technology I find intresting are the flexable solar panels that are
> being developed. If they could be incorporated into the sails they would
> provide a huge area for solar collection, they could be put on both sides of the
> sail and give you double the surface area. Are any of the sail manufacturers
> working on this? A roller furling main that stows in the mast seems like the
> most logical way to do this. I imagine the sail would cost almost as much as
> the boat though..
>
> Geff
>
> --- On *Mon, 12/21/09, Chip G /<chipg_98@yahoo.
>
>
> From: Chip G <chipg_98@yahoo.
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Re:Batteries as ballast
> To: electricboats@
> Date: Monday, December 21, 2009, 5:55 AM
>
> Interesting observation about submarines Stephen. Is your signature "SSK" a
> conincidence? You know they use SSK to refer to some types of
> diesel/electric submarines?
>
> Merry Christmas,
> Chip
>
> ------------
> *From:* Stephen <machinist@coastalno
> *To:* electricboats@
> *Sent:* Mon, December 21, 2009 4:50:33 AM
> *Subject:* [Electric Boats] Re:Batteries as ballast
>
>
>
> *Batteries as ballast works in some designs. They are used that way in old
> diesel/electric submarines. Of more interest for people here would be some
> of the late Phil Bolger designs. He used a lot of "box" keel structures in
> some of his later designs and specified that the box could be used for
> battery storage/ballast. His wife, Susan Altenburg (sp?) is still in
> business in MA and could probably point you to just the design, or even
> design a custom hull for you. Regards, SSK*
>
>
>
>
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