Solar boat crew heading out on a fantastic voyage around the world
By Laura June 
posted Apr 11th 2009 10:50PM
posted Apr 11th 2009 10:50PM
A group of engineers, scientists and sailors have banded together to form a team they call Solar Planet. The group are now building a 98-foot-long solar-powered boat, for the express purpose of sailing all the way around the world using nothing but the delicious power of the sun. The $13 million dollar vessel -- which is currently in construction in Kiel, Germany -- will have 5,059 square feet of photovoltaic cells, and should be able to circumnavigate the earth in about 120 days, at a rate of about 10 knots. The project is being funded by Swiss company Rivendell Holding AG, that has committed to investing in green technology. The group hopes to set sail sometime next year from Marseilles, France, with various stops off along the way. They will undoubtedly tire of hearing that Daft Punk song long before they ever leave the shore. Check out a sweet render of the boat after the break.
8 feet long?
that thing looks way longer than 8 feet
It must be bigger on the inside
that's what she said.
yeah, like the guy below me said..
try 98 feet
It appears that the comment section isn't the only thing that can't be edited!
or else those are really tiny scientists...
yeah the original article says 98 feet. typo. :-)
98tf...!!!!
and very badass looking indeed.
uh where did the render go?
Anyone know if this thing is gonna be manned?
It'll be manned. Hit the switches, Coolio will be the Captain!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNWhmkNIIwk
For a second I thought that was one of them big inflatable things that you put in pools and lakes. Y'know, the ones that fat kids jump on and they send the skinny kid flying?
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8-foot-long should read: 98-foot-long
If it was 8 ft long and had 5,059 sq ft of PV, that would make it 632 ft wide.
yea i think it's 98ft too, that picture looks like they were working on one of the bottom part of the boat, you could see more construction on the left of that picture.
Since when was the formula for the area of a two-dimensional rectangle applicable to the volume of an three-dimensional irregularly shaped boat?
@john girgis: PV Panels are flat in case you hadn't noticed. Even if this thing had a giant sail made of PV, it would still be over 300 ft tall. Get a life Mr Wizard
The measurement is in square feet. Forgive me for my ignorance when it comes to wrapping my mind around how 5059 SQUARE FEET could possibly be planar. It's like telling me that a bottle that fits a liter of water is 20cm tall, therefore it has to be 50cm wide. No. There's length to it, too. So it can be 20cm tall, 10cm wide, 5cm long.
This boat has 5059 square feet of area. EVEN IF it was 8 feet long, there's still two additional measurements to be taken into account, not one as you have stated earlier on.
See where I am going with this? Your comment was completely out of place, and you just have to admit that much, instead of calling me lifeless.
John, you're an idiot.
he's an idiot alright....minus the fact that he's right?
squared ft. not cubic ft.
John, how about the fact that it doesn't make much sense to lay the PV cells in anything too far from from a non-overlapping planar shape? You may be right mathematically, not physically. What you think they're going to make a cyclinder of PV cells. Yah, focus on the water, great source of light in comparison with a direct angle to sun. No, better yet, stack them on top of each other. The new leaning tower of solar cells. Manages to cut efficiency by 95%.
John...
um...square feet, by definition, are planar...
L x W = area. 2 dimensions, 2 measurements. That's how dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far.
(hint: it was always easy solving my rubik's square...teh cube on teh other hand, not so much)
john, are you serious? solar panels are flat and probably wont be overlapping. So it is a 2d measurment unlike your 3d example. We all get where you are going with this and it doesnt really apply. Unless you think some of those panels will be lining the inside of the boat or they will be stacked inside the hull.
@john
"Forgive me for my ignorance when it comes to wrapping my mind around how 5059 SQUARE FEET could possibly be planar."
Because it has the word square in it.
Maths war!
John's point is, tada.... logical.
When calculating how to fit something in, If you know one dimension, length, that does not mean the other dimension must be width. John is right, the other dimension could be height. That's it, end of mystery.
It's not practical to go to too high on an 8 foot long boat, but there is no way to assert that the boat would have to be 632 feet wide unless you assume a single layer in height, which is an error. It's a possibility but not a given or known.
5059 / 8 = +/- 632. But if you quadruple the panels in each location (stack them vertically like a sail but not overlapping), then the boat could be 5059 / 32 = 632 / 4 = 158.
Thankfully, they will have stacked panels and a longer boat, so they can have a much much narrower boat. 5059 / 98 = 52.
although 10-knots is pretty weaksauce.
Its silent. It can sneak up on other boats.
Yeah. Hmm, a silent boat that doesn't have to carry its fuel. What a brilliant idea, a true revolution in maritime history.
10knots is about the speed of the oil tankers. You're not going to ski behind this, but it's not slow. It may not be fast if you compare it to powerboats (which eat gas like there's no tomorrow), but in non-extreme marine speeds it's not slow.
@Lazarpandar: The wired link says it's 98 feet - just a missed digit by ljune. The mockup pics are pretty sweet - go check it out!
Rivendell? So THIS is how the elves get to the gray havens....
Hope they have a few assorted anti-pirate artillery.
I think that's just one part of the bottom of the boat. Not really the whole boat.
looks kinda like a dolphin
don't think you can get tired of daft punk. gods among techno artists. :-D
word.
At first I was like "huh, what does this have to do with a boat"
then i was like "oooooh around the world"
Perhaps T-Pain and The Lonely Island can be featured at the boat's opening? ;)
man, they are fine
there are so many techno artists out there that are just as good if not better.
Daft Punk is like... Metallica of rock n roll. Its good, but thats about it.
alot of their songs are very simple and rather crappy, they have beats in them that seem as if they would have been gone like 15 years ago, as if they are new.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4275660658800832791
daft punk, wisconsin, 1996.
Easily one of the best live techno sets of all time. ;-)
Daft Punk is so good because they paved the way for our current gen of electro. Just like Nirvana for our current gen of rock. You have to appreciate them.
Around the world Around the worrrld
Very cool idea! Its cool when people can get together and do something that hasn't been done before. However I'm no scientist (watch a lot of science channel) but how could that thing be only 8 ft. Thats way to small to hold all of those solar cells. I think (hope) its a typo. Regardless its a cool concept. I wonder what Jules Verne would think?
I hope they have some good solar powered defense systems to fend off pirates.
Holy crap that may be the sexiest thing I have ever seen. Come on now, power along at a constant 10 knots around the world on just sunpower. Crazy. If anyone else gets off on this shit, check out a ridiculous 83 foot, long-range ocean cruiser. http://www.setsail.com/dashew/dashoff.html
Wow, a solar powered boat. What will they come up with next a boat powered by the wind?
Ever heard of a sailboat?
WOOSH!
We should call it a Windboat!
I am a GENIUS! I'm patenting the word, so that when a company tries to use the word "Wind" in their name (ex. Wind Transmissions), I can sue them!
I see what you did there.