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The Mistake that Made my Electric-Solar Boat NOT Reach 9 KTS (Just 7)

True North Yachts ⟡

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I'm overtaking a sailing boat 3 times my size currently cruising at above 7 knots on my solar yacht prototype using no fuel at all. I'm wondering how fast my boat would go if I'd stuck to my original plan of a narrow low profile catamaran design instead. Up to 9 knots would be possible on solar on that model of higher efficiency at high speeds.

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Music: "I'm Not Crying, You're Crying" by Alexander Nakarada
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Music: "No Copyright Relaxing Fantasy Music Forest Walk" by Alexander Nakarada
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"Fimbulwinter, winter following winter" by Vindsvept – released under CC-BY 4.0. vindsvept

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20 Comments

@EdToml 5 months ago

The trimaran idea makes the most sense to me.

@FelixLlevada-u6l 5 months ago

Your best bet is a Trimaran.
For solar boats, a well designed and simple Trimaran should be the best all around cheap boat for traveling the oceans, efficiently.

@kekenooutthere3095 5 months ago

Your solar engineering proof of concept for motor plus minimal sail assistance is perfect

@richardbrice6535 5 months ago

A silent boat that can travel up river, or through canals when you arrive at a country sounds more appealing than a small boat trying to compete with large ocean going ships.

@coreKORD 5 months ago

You should run CFD simulation for monohull, catamaran and trimaran to measure estimated drag on speed range and decide the best option.

@danielnicholls6868 5 months ago

sunny low wind days are the better days to be out. not the windy rough days win win in my books

@merendell 5 months ago

On the other hand one advantage of a very large battery bank and economy cruise range is if you are doing a crossing and get cought in bad weather you can maintain motor power and control. Even if you have to keep your speed to 4-5 kts you can still keep your ship pointed in the ideal direction to ride out the winds and waves. Risks get much higher if your drifting and being thrown too and fro.

@krusefiction 5 months ago

Another thought: instead of the small static sail you could consider deploying a large kite instead. It will take up very little space on deck. I have seen large cargo-ships starting to use that kind of “ekstra” propulsion

@johnbullers8647 5 months ago

Love your ideas! Solar Powercat is the way to go. Have you considered adding a kite as another form of propulsion?

@nuorigin 5 months ago

I don't miss any of your videos. I believe the market needs for ocean homes like the one you are building. I've designed one using Claude Design and would like to send you what I have so far

@laurentp1089 5 months ago

That catamaran design looks stunning, I hope it will be build one day.

@MicahSays 5 months ago

Invest in a battery powered salt water pump and sprayer to clean off those panels regularly. Your panels produce a lot of extra energy when they are clean.

@michaeljohnson3383 5 months ago

If you go for a cat, make sure that the clearance between the hulls is high enough that waves don't slap into the floor - that gets pretty noisy and tiring on a long crossing. Plus it massively slows you down. That's why most cruising cats are above a certain size.

@thomasschmitzer_at 5 months ago (edited)

Personally, I would prefer a trimaran because it has three hulls that can be filled with different things: a larger quantity of batteries, spare parts, food, drinks, and so on. With a catamaran, the only possibility is that it will capsize, for example during a rough start, but with a trimaran it would be more difficult for large waves to overturn it, especially if, for example, there are battery banks in the middle.

@alw7315 5 months ago

finland down to spain is a journey i'd love to do

@davidbell5691 5 months ago

outstand job my friend i love what you have done very smart

@T2-gugenka 5 months ago

My previous comment was filtered out by the AI, so I’m posting this again.
What about a trimaran with retractable outriggers?
When the wind is strong or while at anchor, the outriggers can be lowered to reduce rolling. During high-speed cruising, the outriggers can be raised to reduce water resistance.
It might also be possible to adjust the angle of the solar panels on the outriggers to maximize power generation.
The downsides are that the design would obviously become more complex and the boat would become heavier.

@rvhoegen 5 months ago

I would suggest using a lightweight Wharram catamaran as a base. It's a proven seaworthy design.

@mrrestell 5 months ago

When designing the catamaran
Have you thought about making each hull a completely independent electrical system? For example: – Separate solar panels
– Separate charge controllers
– Separate battery banks
– Separate motors
Then add an emergency cross-link between the two sides (with a switch), so one side can support the other if something fails.
That way you get proper redundancy — if one system goes down, you’re not stranded — but still have the option to share power if needed.
Might add a bit of complexity, but seems like a safer setup, especially offshore.