Unusual Catamaran with Wind Turbine Propulsion in Guernsey

[adamcturnbull]

what strikes me is if it wasnt done just as a joke, by, as many have claimed, propping up a turbine as it sailed, why didnt he properly video it? I mean you'd think with such a feat you'd at the very least get someone to take video ON the boat or next to the boat. Hence attract a lot less skeptics. 

[adamcturnbull]

very interesting idea. I give him kudos for actually making one and not just arting it up as a concept as so many do.

[enliltheone]

@adamcturnbull , i agree, but would it be better if he'd installed a vertical axis windmill instead.. it would've spared him a lot of trouble adjusting the mill towards the wind...

[alphasxsignal]

Dam keep that away from my boat.

[Dan221075]

You have additional seats that mount onto blades. You can then charge $5 per ride. The Carni comes to the marina, yippee.

[nickolastd21]

i know the hull design is a heavenly twins made locally here in Plymouth UK

and the engine would e running because you would be stupid to sail in a marina, and the marina would require you move under power

[1crazyfocker]

it nice to see these being made. its all ready been proven that a cart wind powered drive can go 2 times plus faster then the wind heading straight into the wind. but the issue is that they keep useing the HAWT which is just stupid IMHO, they have to be huge and high, but if they would just use the more efficient VAWT they could go fast and not be so tall and unstable. but it has to start some where.

[Dustylaign]

keep it up guys like you bring cool things to the table

[catmistake]

conservation of energy if of douse still intact, distance traveled by turbines far greater than distance traveled by rotors, 2

[m1leswilliams]

You can't go straight into the wind. It is impossible that would require making more energy than you are getting from the wind. Also using that would mean that you could get faster and faster, the faster you went the more wind you had, the more wind you had, the faster you went. They should attach these things to cars, planes and all sorts.

[1crazyfocker]

@m1leswilliams yes you can. that debate was proven wrong over a year ago. the biggest thing is looking at it wrong. its not drag like how a sail works, its lift. and a cart has been built and managed to travel straight into the wind and go over 2 time fast then the wind was going. and no it dont just keep going faster and faster. its been published try looking it up. this is one of those physics mind benders, like can a plane take off on a tread mill (yes it can). both have been proven, facts

[PlanetGreat]

@m1leswilliams I think that you can travel against the wind, ofcourse at a lower speed than the wind, but you will still move towars it.

[undry11]

I didn't have time to read all the info about it. But now I get it. the wind turbine is hooked up to the propeller by mechanical means (gears and such).

I was under the impression that the turbine generates electrical power to run an electrical motor and to charge the batteries, so it can be used when docking for example. My apologies.

[rlb96]

re: undry11; Some high current electric motors use a water cooling jacket when mounted in a space that doesn't provide sufficient air circulation for cooling. Overclocked microprocessors do this in some high powered computers.

[robertjohndeere1]

This looks like it's from the movie, Waterworld! Well, in a manner of speaking, the one on the movie is a vertical version, instead of a fan, like this.

[robertjohndeere1]

This looks like it's from the movie, Waterworld!

[undry11]

excuse me, what is the exhaust smoke and the cooling water doing coming out of the exhaust pipe on the transom. I didn't know that electric motors need cooling water or that they produce so much fumes...

[MrBooojangles]

@undry11 Don't know, you got me there, I never noticed it before.

[matttucker77]

Ha thats dodgy as! its got a combustion engine running!

[WaterFall1973]

@undry11 Just like almost any other sail boat this will have an engine for when the winds die down. And for inside the port. You don't want your turbine to hack up other people's boats.

[srimesinar]

@undry11 He's using the motor in the marina, just like a regular sailboat.

[hallo1521]

@undry11

Maybe it is a hybrid-use the turbine power the ship at sea

and in the harbor use the diesel for manouvering into the box.

It seems to me there is no wind when the ship is come into the

harbor.

[kenfo0]

@undry11 how about a genset, genius?

[m1leswilliams]

@undry11 Also why would a wind powered turbine need a wind turbine on the back too ?!?

[hckie]

@undry11 its been motored to the marina like normal sailboats. The windmill blades are at low angle to the wind so I think its running free and not generating any propulsion/electricity there. My guess is that the inertia of the rotor would make handling a bit more difficult in such a small space so they just motor in.

[tinmanrobby]

So this isn't a sailboat. It is not 'wind propelled'. It is motorized by turbine power, and propelled by motorized propeller. Heck, hook up some solar around the deck (that can't be traversed for the reason of decapitation, lol) and have a total 'green' ship for all the environmentalists. Nifty idea, but not refined quite yet.

[apocalypticftw]

no responce just a whaaa hoooooooooo you suck

[stinkingdog101]

@apocalypticftw and your spelling sucks....Hater !

[dietermarco]

container ships?

[iam4godru2]

Forget the danger of getting hit in the head by a sail, watch out for the giant blade cutting you in half!

[pyroboy08]

@iam4godru2 you should try and grab the blade as it goes by and ride it as it spins.

[R5H4D0W]

center of gravity must be nuts

[jyandow]

@Kalit he is able to sail linearly in direct opposition to the wind propelling him, and the rotor can adjust itself to the wind while the craft maintains the shorter distance of a straight line. If you think you can do that with a sailboat, you're completely missing the significance of this. No rockets required.

Doubt he's using it while parking.

[kalit8001]

Sailing isnt rocket science. I bet with the money he spent on the turbine set up, he could have outfitted the entire boat with electric winches and would be able to operate the boat without getting up from his seat. Cool that he made it work nonetheless. I guess we all need a hobby to throw our money at, right?

[kalit8001]

I dont see how this would be practical...ever

[yakyakyak69]

Pretty much makes your deckspace useless.

[themanyone]

@yakyakyak69 I read the design specs and subtracted the length of the blade from the top of the mast =10' deck clearance. Now the cabin is another matter, but I don't think he lets people walk around up there...

[UnowMe00]

@yakyakyak69 but no, experienced sailors are trained to expect hard-hitting booms at any time!

[joni9780]

wow, we could use this to decapitate Jeremy clarkson:) & save energy

[theislandpackrat]

looks like water coming out the right exhaust when he's backing into the slip ?

[Keveeee2000]

I'm pretty sure I've spoken to the builder/designer myself several times. This is a wind generator powering an electric motor through a battery bank. You can tell that he has some other form of propulsion to maneuver in the harbor ... as mentined earlier, hence the electric motor.

[conspiracy777]

How many people have been decapitated by this thing so far?

[joni9780]

@conspiracy777 we could use this to decapitate Jeremy clarkson:)

[deezynar]

I'm guessing that the propeller is turned by an electric motor that's powered by batteries that are charged by the wind turbine. Having shafts and bevel gears seems a bit cumbersome to me. And going electric means you can still move w/ the turbine stopped, as we saw in the video.

[ZKMX7]

The designer who had it built is rather a recluse, and seems to want to keep this boat as much of a secret as possible. I have heard a rumour that this is because, in truth, it does not work very well, especially in light winds and requires a "good blow" to be effective. There is certainly no regard given in the design to minimise frontal drag, which you would think would be done to maximise performance directly against the wind.

[Tinder11]

The bloke thats owns it deigned it and built it himself

[wolfie672]

pretty fantastic thanks for posting

[enicao]

what kind of speed do you get (down wind, cross wind and upwind)

[MrBooojangles]

Not my boat, but on the sign that is by it it says it can do a constant maximum speed of 7 knots in any direction regardless of the wind direction.

[heinrich97]

Finally a solution for the permanent electric power shortage on board! ^^

[dayingyang0]

The name of the boat is the Revelation II. The windmill rotates on a 30 foot mast with 20 foot carbine fiber propellers.

[MrBooojangles]

Other then the wind turbine rotates the propellers underwater and that it can go forward in any direction, unlike a normal yacht. I have not found out anything else about it anywhere, but if I do I will let you know.