The Volitan: The Solar/Wind Powered Concept Sail-Vessel

"The objective was to create a new and alternative sailing vessel that would achieve a lightweight system, high sail performance, and all-weather navigation capacity with near zero emissions."

yes, it's called a sail boat!

Right on cas. sailboats have been accomplishing the same task in a sustainable way for thousands of years. Some times we need to take a step back and simplify. I am sure all the complex systems in this boat are prone to failure, expensive to replace, and very alien to the average sailor. not to mention all the resources lost creating such 'high-tech' materials. keep it simple.

This is awesome. For those that have not been to sea there are times when there is little to no wind. During these times sailors must rely on internal combustion engines to power their vessels. This design would eliminate that.

Please note that this is, or could be, a sail boat. Just as an aircraft's wings generate lift as they pass through the air the two solar collecting wings can also propel the boat as wind passes buy them.

This project is one of the best nautical / boat project of International Design Award 2007 and 1. winner of over all transportation group in same competition .See all other projects;
www.idesignawards.com www.idesignawards.com /winner/07

Now this is one very exciting concept! And as yazheirx points out, sails alone aren't a solution. Wind is not a consistent enough source of power and naval design has evolved in search of answers. This concept addresses the problem of depending on wind while providing a cleaner solution than combustion engines can provide.

That said, I would imagine that there are limitations to the concept if scaled down too far due to the inefficiencies of photovoltaic cells and the need for sufficient surface area. Regardless, its a fascinating idea.

X-wing, anyone?

X-wing it is and an incredible designed boat too.

a company in sweden develops a fast boat with really low emissions the "stormbird" http://www.stormfagel.se/ ..only in swedish. It can do 50knots and makes only 10 inch waves because only 1/3 of the propeller and a small wing in front touches water. cool! :)

I've studied this concept for a few years now. I agree with the first two posts. The modern sailing catamaran has several thousand years of development behind it. There are several companies making electric drive/generator systems. One is rather similar to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive. A catamaran has a lower resistance (less power to drive it faster), higher comfort level, lots of deck space for solar cells, and mast space for small wind generators. But you do need storage, and batteries aren't there yet. A breakthrough in H2 electrolysis (microwave based) will do it.
So except for the more efficient H2 technology (which is not a barrier, just an upgrade when available), this boat can be built today, with available, proven technology.
The Volitan is interesting in a Mousetrap (the game) or Rube Goldberg sort of way.

Volitan project is in my favourable ones in last ten more years. She have some brillant and resonable ideas that the sail world will push to discuss in the near future. There were also very detailed project report , placed in the IDA web site in " about the designer" section. I also meet with some creative sketches at www.designnobis.com. It's quit well done :)

How about incorporating the energy of bobbing up and down in the waves? This would be a deal closer. Probably more powerful than the solar aspect. Lets encourage all inventors, not discourage.

How about incorporating the energy of bobbing up and down in the waves? This would be a deal closer. Probably more powerful than the solar aspect. Lets encourage all inventors, not discourage.

Yeah I'm a year late, oh well...

A professor once told me to KISS design, Keep It Simple, Stupid. I'm not sure why an eco-friendly boat needs two motors, three keels (two moving on servos), and two small, hard-skin sails (themselves moving on servos), other than to get people on the eco-friendly bandwagon by making something that looks like it should be flying around asteroids instead of rocky coasts (I'll admit though, it's pretty sexy). I see drag, and some ways this thing can break down that no boat should break down from.

I'd say keep it simple: one motor, a light fabric or high-tech-fiber sail (can be made larger for less weight and be a better, more efficient airfoil), and put solar panels on every square foot of the deck that you can, then cover those panels with thick plexiglas so crew can step on them safely (not to mention, guard the panels from the salty elements). If you wanted to go a little crazy, use a folding prop, or even more crazy, make the drive system an impeller rather than a propeller with closing ducts so when it's off, there's no standing-still prop to cause drag. If flexible solar gets cheaper, put that in the sails. If you want a boat that has roll control, put a control surface on the keel that acts in the same way an alieron works for an airplane.

I'm digging the layout though, the observation pod and the glass back look awesome, sad thing is it looks like they didn't intend crew to ever step outside! Not sure why they'd bother boating in the first place, but maybe I'm old fashioned.

Anyone who has operated a a sailboat would know how hard it is to operate one, nevermind operating a catamaran of this size. Those who are afraid of technology and its advancements will always want to stay away from advanced vehicles. It's the 'classic car' syndrome. People who love classic cars, stick to them because they are easy, old, and not too complicated for one person to fix. A brand new Mercedes C class is going to be a very complicated machine for that person, thus they will find excuses to claim that it is a "bad car" because it has many parts to break........This is why your old Chevy is going out of business and Mercedes is thriving with every model every year.

Now let's bring that concept to water. This boat serves you with a twin engine, maintaining 220 hp. IF one fails you will still have the other engine to get to places. On top of that, the boats wings can be used as sails at the touch of a button. Anyone who has ever operated a sail boat, knows how it can be a major pain to operate a sail boat of this size, BY YOURSELF. On top of that, collecting wind and solar energy to store them on jell batteries that has high capacity energy conservation is another innovative solution.

Also we all love eco friendly products, but those who are complaining that its got a 220 hp twin motor, please stop. Yes we love eco friendly, but i don't want my boat to CRAWL at slug speeds. I want something that'll make it worth while and get to places faster. I don't want a Pirius, i want a Mustang that is eco friendly. :)

Now the only problem is....they need to make it already!