by Wind Howler » 04/04/08, 21:37
There is no stupidity on the forums: only phases of reflection. In a way, "Brainstorming".
After years of sailing on boats of different sizes, of different types, with one or more hulls, and all kinds of rigs on half the seas of the globe,: I defined "mine":
- drift monohull, not too big: above 12 meters overall, we go to the "big" boat, with the problems of congestion, access to shelters and the exciting "inland waterways", and budget which follow,
- flexible rotating masts without shrouds with reduction of sail by winding around the mast, for performance, efficiency and maneuverability, if possible designed and built by the American architect Sponberg (not given, mainly because of the price of masts in carbon and bearing which allows rotation, but at the current rate of the dollar this should be possible, especially as the economy achieved on the standing rigging and its accessories is appreciable), I admit that I cultivate the vice of maneuvering to sailing, at worst by scull, even where it is not frankly authorized, only as a last resort to the engine. The long Chinese scull is a marvel of ingenuity and efficiency.
- not a riot of electricity: before Ohm's law, it is that of the maximum emm ... that applies. High beams and LED lights, a reasonable GPS for when the weather is not very clear (don't be sectarian, many valuable sailors are lost due to poor visibility conditions), a the same sounder (oh yes!) and perhaps a minimum radar. But I don't see myself, lazily, depriving myself of the pleasure of sailing sextant or "piloting" near the coast.
therefore an alternator coupled to the propeller shaft in "freewheel" mode, it works very well, a Rutland "aerogen 4" wind turbine for anchorages - powerful, robust, efficient and not very noisy - and removable because of the windage on the way , flexible solar panels on the roof (I hate aft gantries: - dunnage and weight on the stern - but after all, everyone is free to sail like a pig: all you need is a big diesel at the bottom - and "that keeps the business going ", as our" old "GPThierry said), a very small engine well installed, insulated and soundproofed, operating at constant speed, recharging the batteries if the wind is too low and, when necessary, supplying an engine electric propulsion.
for the anecdote: the "Snark", sailboat of Jack London - about 15 meters overall - carried 1000 US gallons (approximately 4,40 cubic meters) of GASOLINE. Jack London had learned to sail on sailboats without an engine. Jacques-Yves Le Toumelin, and, before him of course Joshua Slocum, made a complete tour of the world on non-motorized sailboats. After his round-the-world tour, Le Toumelin had a Diesel engine installed on "Kurun": son of a long-haul captain, a former merchant navy sailor, we can estimate that he had some reasons for doing so. Jean Gau, whom I knew well, saved his life and his boat three times thanks to his engine - gasoline, but he did not store a tank on board -. To each his own adaptations and solutions. All learning, and the sea is one of the greatest and most complete, is made of trial and error. The latter are expensive - more and more: any material - including sails - and any accessory directly or indirectly includes a cost related to oil. Learning the sea is a limitless enrichment: you only stop doing it when you swap your boat for a garden, for lack of being able to do otherwise: then you have to start all over again, and learn the land.
Speaking of hybrid propulsion at sea, the extreme case: the Normandie. 29.420 Kw on the propeller shafts! (details on "Wikipedia": it is marginal compared to the subject). The ship was not particularly ecological: it had to be produced, the electric current !.
Another anecdote: on the liner "Pasteur" (connection with Indochina after 1945), part of the heat from the engine exhaust gases was recovered at the level of the chimney, and used in a generator producing 37 Kw. electricity.
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