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Solar Cruising at 7.5 kts to Test my 30 kWh Battery Upgrade

True North Yachts ⟡

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This is the 6000 W top speed test of my solar boat after the battery upgrade where I present realistic range scenarios in cloudy and sunny conditions and highlight how these results carry over to the development of fast infinite range solar yachts.

MUSIC CREDITS

Music: "I'm Not Crying, You're Crying" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Forest Walk" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Frozen Mountains" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Colorful Keys" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Musical Medicine" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

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Music: "No Copyright Relaxing Fantasy Music Forest Walk" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Frozen Mountains Royalty Free Relaxing Piano Music" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Colorful Keys - Royalty Free Uplifting Piano Music" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Musical Medicine Soothing Piano Pieces for Deep Relaxation & Meditation" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "No Copyright Relaxing Fantasy Music Forest Walk " by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: Blue Hour by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: Hymn of the Mountain by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: Kind Celtic Loop by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: Pirates of the Quarantine by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: Soft Interlude by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: Tam Lin by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: "Nightfall" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Forest Walk" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Dream of a Dream" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution
Music Attribution and Credits

"Fimbulwinter, winter following winter" by Vindsvept – released under CC-BY 4.0. vindsvept

Music: "Forest Walk" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Shelter Song" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Vivid Dreams 🌌 | Royalty Free Rock / Drum & Bass Fusion" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Vivid Dreams" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: Tam Lin by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: Kind Celtic Loop by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Music: "Musical Medicine Soothing Piano Pieces for Deep Relaxation & Meditation" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Musical Medicine" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Leaving for Valhalla" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Royalty Free // Epic Fantasy Music "Leaving for Valhalla"" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: "Vopna" by Alexander Nakarada
www.creatorchords.com
Licensed under CC4 - Attribution

Music: Soft Interlude by Alexander Nakarada (https://www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

20 Comments

@michaellukaniuk5074 5 months ago (edited)

It is a complete accident that I am here. At first, before you fully explained your development program, I thought to myself, "It's a roughly built disposable boat."Now I think I am addicted to the most innovative, thought-provoking channel on YouTube. Looking forward to more.

@leonardkjellberg729 4 months ago

As a boat builder of both single and catamaran hulls, my favorite was always the catamaran hulls for stability and comfort. Your design looks one of the best I have seen as shown in this video. It will always be the challenge of getting loaded weight vs buoyancy worked out, for estimated waterline.

@bdmenne 5 months ago (edited)

OOOOhhhhhhhh a Trimaran design would give you superior efficiency. Edit: btw, as an empath, zoologist enthusiast, I just want to say that your QUIET ENGINE IS A GIFT TO WILDLIFE.

@triomach3362 5 months ago

Great job Lucas. Thank you.

@JerryHall-d8l 4 months ago

Props brother. Looking forward to seeing your next build .

@TheFlyinCanadian 5 months ago

Great experimental summary Lukas ! Now we're talking real-world comparisons and numbers.

Cheers !

@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461 5 months ago

👋🙏FOR SHARING YOUR JOURNEY 🧐💚💚💚

@stephentomlin1204 5 months ago

Interesting real world figures. Well done.

@John-fv3pt 5 months ago

Many thanks for all your numbers and technical info ! Fascinating ! Your boat looks good and tough. It is beautiful in its own way. Surprised that you need another 2000 watts to increase speed from 7kts to 7.5kts.

@anything.with.motors 4 months ago

8:17 i mean, if you want todo this in winter, this maybe more for you
Because you can go south an get out of the snow an cold 😂

@JamesBriggs-u2e 4 months ago

I am truly impressed with your knowledge and numbers compared to sailing shops. You would most likely make the girl really strive and she'll plane a but on her own if you gave the stern the true owner of a printed name.

@worskaas 5 months ago

Imagine, ground effect and livable space? Sounds like mind blowing craftsmanship and exotic materials that will have to be used. Trimaran seems to be the way for now.

@joeclutchless1944 5 months ago

I repeat, you need two motors with two controllers for safety. If something goes wrong you have a spare. In good weather you have the option to go faster at lower watts.

@luckybeanzphoto 5 months ago (edited)

Really interesting project. I have been living aboard my electric sailboat for 6 years now. I cruised the med for 2 years before converting to electric and for 2 years with electric. I came away from that experience saying that nobody sails the med, they motor it. I found that I used the electric motor much more than the diesel due to comfort and confidence in its capabilities.

All that said, you do comment a lot on there not being many sailors out there, like in this video with 15 to 20knts, for a sailor that is almost perfect wind. One of the reasons you are not seeing many out there now is because you are in the wrong season and in one of the quieter areas of the med. Wait until July and August and then you will see a lot more boats in a lot more conditions.

A thing on weight. What I have noticed is, as you have discovered, the weight is not an issue with maintaining speed, it just takes a bit longer/more energy to get up to speed the heavier it is but once there it seems to take similar energy to maintain that speed.

@scottp7937 5 months ago

One large problem you'll find in summer (as you've only experienced winter and spring) is the heat your boat will attract from being completely black. There is good reason almost all pleasure vessels are white.

@Junkboy888 5 months ago

such a cool project.

@obeOG-c7t 5 months ago

this time of the year I would sail to the Baltic sea, spend the summer in Sweden, sail back to the Mediteraneean in september/october.

@taleg1 5 months ago (edited)

A few of the glimpses of your solar setup, makes it look like they might need a bit of cleaning as they look dirty enough to limit the gained power. But it could also be a trick of the light as it would be a issue of efficiency. It would certainly drop the more dusty or salt cover they gain. As for the pontoons, you should not use a wood core, instead create a strong frame and fill it with floating foam to make it solid and to had a lot of boyancy.

If I was doing something like that, I would use a lot of the same ideas, but some of the design thoughts would be different, maybe because I have helped to build a big sailboat many years ago and picked up a lot of ideas as a result. I can almost see the design I would have used as it would remove a bunch of usability issues you will notice during use. But your ideas are at their cores good, so be proud of that. :D

@robfel68 5 months ago

This is the future as Batteries and motors getting more advance every 12 month.
State of 2026 newest batteries.
CATL Unveils Next Generation Fast Charging Batteries at 2026 Tech Day: 3,000kW Output and 350Wh/kg Condensed Battery.
Yes, 350Wh/kg and finished to massproduce by biggest battery maker in the world. I can only dream what future Helios with next gen tech will be, since you already have a working proof of concept. Thanks for the videos. Greetings from Sweden