Several people have done the Vendee Globe now and also RTW circumnavigations without any diesel. The hydrogenerators are very efficient and allow them to carry less or no fuel to run water and coms gear, which makes boats lighter and faster.
Cargo could all go back to sail. Speed is the cost. Some cargo ships are trialling wingsails as supplemental power. Just about all cargo ships cut their speed during the recent fuel spike to save money, so it isn't a purely abstract discussion. On Aug 3, 2017 3:36 PM, "OK Don via Mercedes" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > Haven't sailboats been circumnavigating the globe for hundreds of years > without benefit of solar and electrolysis? > Granted, solar to power the GPS navigation and radio equipment would be a > help for modern sailing ( I am dependent on Aviation GPS for navigation > now, though I did use compass and charts ion the past). > > On Thu, Aug 3, 2017 at 4:36 PM, fmiser via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com > > > wrote: > > > A racing catamaran, after a $5 million conversion has left France > > on a circumnavigation voyage. It is Solar and wind powered, with > > electrolysis for energy storage. It is expected to take 6 years > > and cost $4 million/year. > > > > Whew! That makes the Magellan voyage look cheap and fast! > > > > Personally, I would _not_ consider it "self fueling" because it > > needs the sun or the wind - energy transfer. > > > > Here is an article with engineering type comments that I found > > useful. > > http://insights.globalspec.com/article/5872/self-fueling- > > boat-to-circumnavigate-the-globe > > > > This article has more details on the vessel. > > http://www.sciencealert.com/this-self-fuelling-boat-just- > > embarked-on-an-epic-6-year-global-voyage > > > > Anyway, I thought some of you might also find it interesting. > > > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > > > -- > OK Don > > *“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of > our people need it sorely on these accounts.”* – Mark Twain > > "There are three kinds of men: The ones that learns by reading. The few who > learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence > for themselves." > > WILL ROGERS, *The Manly Wisdom of Will Rogers* > 2013 F150, 18 mpg > 2017 Subaru Legacy, 30 mpg > 1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
