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posted by CoolHand on Wednesday September 19 2018, @07:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the slow-n-easy dept.

New Atlas:

It's quick, it's quiet, and it's covered in 300 square meters (3,229 sq ft) of solar panels. The 78-ft (24-m) electric SolarImpact yacht is a concept designed as the first of its kind – an ocean-going solar-powered yacht. An 800-kWh battery on board gives it 10 hours of cruising capability, which can be extended by topping up the battery when the Sun's shining.

The yacht's giant solar array, which covers the vast majority of its upward-facing surfaces, can generate up to 320 kWh a day if they're getting lots of sun. They can serve as the vessel's sole power source if conditions allow, and you're prepared to take your time.

Although this 70-ton aluminum-hulled beast boasts 1,000 kW (1,341 hp) of all-electric power and has an impressive maximum speed of 22 knots, if you're running all the regular systems solely on solar, you will be able to cruise indefinitely, but only at a slow 5 knots – which would take you around the world in about six months if there wasn't a whole lot of land in the way.

Sea-steaders, rejoice!


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 19 2018, @09:48PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday September 19 2018, @09:48PM (#737250)

    If you commissioned such a thing to be built, I believe you'd be keeping in touch with the anti-pirate forces long before venturing anywhere near pirate infested waters.

    I'm not sure where the limit is, the article said this design is inches short of requiring full time crew in many jurisdictions - there's also a size around there somewhere that you are required to continuously report your vessel position to a satellite network, the treasure hunters were really pissed about that law. So, if there be solar cell pirates anywhere, they can track you continuously and plan their heist accordingly...

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