Category Archives: Sailing

Energy, Sailing, Security

Cruising with diesel-hybrid boats

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While researching sailboats with the latest diesel-hybrid technology, I noticed an interesting question on a Magnet DC manufacturer’s message board:

Do you produce motors, and systems large enough to provide power for a catamaran boat of 40 X 28 foot, and what speed could this achieve.

Looking for a Diesel electric propulsion system to achive +- 12 knots to sruise the Indonesian Islands

The answer was not only yes, but they gave a suggestion to check out the current MW Line boats, which are solar-electric:

The running costs are 20 to 45 times less important than for the equivalent powered motor boat.

Add a sail and you have some incredible speed/comfort/sustainability. I suspect that these advances also make a navy nervous, given the applicability of the technology (silent, odorless, less supply required) to everything from submarines to zodiacs.

History, Poetry, Sailing, Security

Nine Million Bicycles

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I was listening to a song called Nine Million Bicycles by Katie Melua and wondering why it reminded me so much of riding in dusty old buses in the country…and then I suddenly realized the melody was a near exact match of the ballads I used to hear when travelling around asia many years ago.

The bridge of the tune, rather ironically, doesn’t fit and I am skeptical every time I hear her beckoning me to cross it with her. Warm by the fire? Just believe everything that she says? She offers hope in her words, yet her soothing voice is a haunting reminder of the lonliness that can often take a seat right next to you on a late night journey down empty roads. Have you ever leaned your head against a cold rattling window, unable to point the way home, and pulled your jacket tighter to try and shut out a chill?

And while I find myself wondering about the trust implied in her lyrics, perhaps in a similar way that Ulysses lashed himself to his mast near the Island of Sirens, others have apparently taken up a more literal issue with the lyrics of the song:

I suspect that Katie took some poetic licence in order to make her lyrics scan. She replaced the bisyllabic number “14” with the nearest monosyllabic number, namely 12″. This alteration is just about acceptable, but the next line in the song is unforgivable. To say that the age of the universe is “a guess” is an insult to a century of astronomical progress. The age of the universe is not just “a guess”, but rather it is a carefully measured number that is now known to a high degree of accuracy.

While Simon Singh is technically correct, I feel he is missing the point of her expressing a “fact” in the face of the number of bicycles in Beijing and age of the universe. Although we may feel small, and we may feel lost and insignificant, she tells us not to worry because there are boundaries in time and a real significance to our relationships. Perhaps the fire she sings of is something I was wishing for on all those long nights. A sad yet joyful ballad, about trust, love and…leaps of faith.

Now if I could just stop playing the song over and over again.

Energy, Sailing, Security

Financial impact of ethanol for boaters

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The Press of Atlantic City has some good first-person accounts in their story on the ethanol problem for motorboats. The citations are a little suspicious because they say things like “Thomas estimates” without ever identifying who Thomas might be…. Anyway, they make a good attempt at trying to quantify the per-boat damage and costs from the sudden introduction of ethanol in New Jersey:

“It’s been a nightmare,â€? said Michael Advena, owner of Newport Marine Inc. in Ventnor. “During the first week this summer, we had 11 boats towed in. Out of those 11 boats, nine of them were fuel-related (problems).â€?

[…]

Thomas estimates that a carburetor ruined by fuel residue can cost about $700, plus a few hours of labor, to replace.

“You also get into towing fees,� Thomas said. “If it actually breaks down offshore.�

Fuel tanks can be even more costly. Boaters unwilling to wait for the ethanol to wash all the residue out of the tanks may choose to remove the fuel tank completely and have it power washed. Add on the expense of tearing up the boat deck to get to the fuel tank and the price tag can add up to several thousand dollars.

It is funny how biofuels are said to “clean out” the engines. Bio-diesel in an car or truck with high mileage often scrubs out all the old dirty petroleum waste, which obviously clogs filters. It is not unusual for a biofuel distributer to recommend that users change their filters more often. This seems like a minor inconvenience to me since a cleaner-running engine is a good thing both for health and maintenance. But the problem on boats is significantly greater.

My guess is that most pleasure boats do not have very clean filters to begin with (most people change their commuting/work vehicle oil regularly, but neglect motors for hobbies and toys) and their tanks are also not kept clean so the first blend of ethanol is more likely to cause problems than in automobiles. And that is not to mention that vehicles are far less susceptible to water than boats, as discussed earlier.

Energy, Sailing

Diesel-hybrid sailboat launched

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Lagoon 420 A 42 foot luxury catamaran called the Lagoon 420, which uses an innovative diesel-electric hybrid engine, was recently launched:

The latest version of the electric motors made an impression as she left the docks in silence. The electric motors had incredible torque, smooth acceleration was provided while working the throttles. The soundproofing of the genset compartment worked extremely well.

The “Hybrid Diesel-Electric Propulsion Drives” seem pretty straightfoward and sensible:

Complete installation comprises of two standard electric motors connected to propellers by straight shaft transmissions, one generator and two set of 6 batteries.

• When batteries are 100 % charged, the boat will be able to function with both motors for approximately two hours (depending on speed).

• When batteries are 80 % charged, the generator will automatically start and charge the batteries in order to provide electricity for the motors.

• When sailing, propellers will turn freely and recharge the batteries.

They even have survey results for the question “What do you consider important about a hybrid diesel-electric multihull?” Not the most scientific-looking survey (e.g. they just added a fourth choice and are mixing results), but still interesting.