The kite claims a 10-35% reduction in diesel consumption, which is pretty good for a permanent and passive contribution. And you still have the reliability and speed of traditional diesel propulsion.
You know, I recently helped a friend find a large, but light and flexible, plastic fresnel lens. You can make wood char and smoke instantly and light on fire within seconds, it's really cool.
"It would be an adventure and a statement. If he could do it, he would prove to the world that there are other alternatives to powering sea travel besides fossil fuels and wind. It would also demonstrate just what solar power is capable of."
They went a sunny-route through the panama-channel and not the route trough Kap Horn and the Kap of good hope, which is normally taken by round the world sailors. These routes have a high chance of storms, which come with clouds. 3 days of clouds would have rendered the boat unmanoeuvrable.
Nice experiment but solar powered boats are absolutely useless on high seas and better, cheaper and a lot more ecological (a lot of energy goes in the production of solar panels and batteries) alternatives (sailboats) have been around for ages.
Sailing is still the best way to travel the oceans without using tons of fuel... however, if it was possible to retrofit existing diesel-powered ships with solar panels, that would be quite nice...
because centre hull isn't sitting in water, only glides over it. but you're right, it isn't a true catamaran either. can't remember what is professional jargon for such designs right now.
