May 27, 2007
Circle Line Wants to Go Solar
Municipal maritime mainstay Circle Line wants to update its fleet with the addition of a state-of-the-art solar-powered ship that will use both wind and the sun to power it between Manhattan and Liberty Island. The 115-foot trimaran will be a watergoing hybrid vehicle that holds 600 passengers and use a combination of solar, wind, and diesel power to achieve speeds up to 14 knots. Its manufacturer is an Australian company called Solar Sailor, and there's already a similar ship that ferries people around Sydney's harbor. The New York Post has a more detailed graphic that points out all the cool features the proposed solar boat will contain. Some of them are:
- Seven electric min-propellers to stabilize the boat while it's docking or maneuvering in close quarters.
- A 50 foot-by 23-foot sail made of plastic and fiberglass that captures both the sun and the wind and is computer controlled.
- Three large hulls that stabilize the boat, minimizing the craft's wake and resultant shore erosion.
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As somebody who's sailed quite a bit, I've got to say that I'm a bit skeptical of how that "sail" is going to work.
The amount of material that's going to be required to keep the sail structurally stable in high winds has got to weigh a ton, and I can't help but think that that sail design is only going to push the boat off course, and not do much to actually propel it.
In addition, I tend to doubt that on a typical overcast NYC day, those solar panels are going to collect remotely enough energy to propel the boat.
The one cool bit is that it looks like the sail can be folded down in incliment weather.
That all being said, I think a much more viable alternative would be to build ferries out of lighter materials, and add a mast/sail to help propel the boat when the weather permits. Ditch the whole solar panel idea, and use a "traditional" diesel enginee to propel the boat when there's no wind, or use them to help out when there's not enough wind.
Sure, it's not carbon-neutral, but it'd be more likely to actually work. The whole solar sail thing seems gimmicky and impractical to me.
That's very "Green" of them . Cheaper to !
right - what about those 7 low harlem river bridges - should be interesting!
Sorry, but there are two different companies known as "Circle Line." Circle Line Tours runs the all-around Manhattan tours from West 43rd Street. Cicle Line Downtown runs the Statue of Liberty Ferry and harbor tours from lower Manhattan.
The latter company is facing the need to renew its National Park Service concession this year, and therefore suggests additional ferry services to curry favor with City officials.
Harry
Sail will weigh 2.5 tonnes on a 160 tonne lightship vessel. It is designed/engineered for up to 40knots plus 300% margin of safety. It will fold down automatically on hydraulics when winds gust over 33knots, into headwind, at wharf, or not needed etc.
See www.solarsailor.com for more info.
I know that similar concepts have been tried before - there was a wing sail company operating on the south coast of the UK about 25 years ago. I also believe that solar panels work best when the sky is slightly overcast. I think projects like these must be the future, but it will take time for them to be perfected and accepted as a reliable alternative to existing vessels.
Ian
www.cheaperferries.com