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Holiday 2018
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Disponible en línea en español.
Solar Sal 44
is the first continuously and
exclusively solar powered commercial tour boat
being inspected by the US Coast Guard. With the
concept and general design by David Borton of
Sustainable Energy Systems, this 44-foot passenger
vessel was built in Kingston, NY by the Riverport
Wooden Boat School which is under the auspices
of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. She, with
Coast Guard inspectors on board, recently passed
a speed/range endurance test on the Hudson River
using only reserve battery power – enough for fifty
miles at night with no solar input.
There are no Federal Regulations for the new
concept of solar electric boats. Therefore, the
Coast Guard is in the process of certifying her
as an electric boat. This process started with the
boat wood even before construction started and
followed her construction from framing, stripping,
waterproofing and outfitting to meet all the
requirement of a “Section T” boat (approved for
carrying paying passengers).
Solar panel technology has increased the efficiency
of solar electrical output to over 22% providing
more power on the roof area of boats. Note that cars
and airplanes do not have enough area for practical
solar only transportation. Efficiency improvements
in electronics and electric motors also contribute to
practical solar electric marine propulsion.
Most boats these days are planing boats that have
enough combustion engine power to lift these boats
to planing speeds. Solar Sal boats are displacement
boats, as are most sailboats, and limited by the
wavelength of the boat moving through the water.
Historic hull designs from before steam and
combustion engines are best suited to solar electric
designs.
David Borton’s previous boats using this Patent
Pending technology include Sol, a 25 foot launch
operating on an Adirondack lake where there is
no road and no electricity, and the 40 foot Solar
Sal. Solar Sal went from the Hudson River out to
the Niagara River and picked up 4 tons of baled
cardboard from Cascades Recovery at Lockport for
USCG Inspection
Photo by P. Kricker
by
David Borton