The Loon: Solar-Powered DIY Pontoon Boat
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 12. 5.05
Six-day boating cruise along Ontario's scenic Trent-Severn Waterway: "Cost of fuel for the 100-mile cruise? Zero. Amount of air and water pollution? Zero. Number of stares from other boaters? Countless." Monte Gisborne is a mechanical engineer who built The Loon, a solar-powered pontoon boat. "A guy with a 45-foot powerboat said his fuel costs were $5 a mile. I can do 10 miles a day for free with the sun [and 30 to 40 miles with batteries]," Gisborne said.
Their eight-seat pontoon boat called The Loon is solar-electric. On overcast days, eight 6-volt batteries kept them clipping along all day at 5 knots (6 mph). At night, The Loon was plugged into standard electrical outlets at local marinas to recharge its batteries. [...]According to Gisborne, the cost to recharge the batteries is about 1 to 2 cents a mile. On a full charge, the boat travels 30 to 40 miles before it needs recharging.
Gisborne's an electro-geek: He rides a self-built electric snowmobile dubbed the Sk-E-Doo in the winter and an electric lawn tractor in the summer.
He's converted all manner of cars, trucks and scooters to electric. He would love to be in the electric-car business but the red tape and other barriers made it seem impossible
The Loon is 20 feet long and is topped by a custom 738 watt solar panel. Since most recreational boating is done when the weather is nice, solar power is particularly well adapted to the task.
"All things being equal, and to avoid being around a stinky motor, most people would choose a green alternative like this," said Brad Collins of The American Solar Energy Society.
Imagine these principles applied to a hull with less drag.
Assisted sail boats with flexible solar panels as sails.
I live on a 100 acre lake in florida. The lake is in my backyard. I have a small electric paddle boat that we enjoy taking out. Although it is great fun it has a couple of drawbacks. It is small and cramped so it is difficult to get in and out of. There is no moving around of course. Some of our neighbors purchased much larger pontoon boats that are much more comfortable and you can actually walk around on the deck. The single 12V deep cell battery only lasts 3-4 hours at full speed and then has to be removed for recharging. This is quite painful since the battery is in a difficult spot and of course quite heavy. I purchased a small solar panel but only delivers about 1 amp to the battery. During the week when the boat is not in use the panel does a fair job of keeping the battery voltage up but still has to be removed occassionally for a good, solid charge from my regular battery charger. The motor only delivers 28# of thrust at maximum speed so is relatively slow compared to the bigger boats (one can make a wake, it is a SunDancer). Your boat interests me but I do not wish to remove the batteries for charging. Can the solar panels keep them fresh during the week? How fast is it? I can see by the pics it looks very comfortable.
Tx,
Dale.