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Awesome: Solar Powered Bicycle Boat Design

April 15, 2008

Solar Powered Bicycle Boat

Imagine a boat that coasts along almost silently and works completely on free energy. OK, well, almost free: when it is cloudy out you may have to pedal a bit to get it going. Still, you get to toss out the pricey gas costs associated with most water cruisers and relax in the sun when the weather is nice and pedal your way to shore when it isn’t.

Solar Powered Boat

The idea of using solar and human power to drive vehicles is nothing new but each new design that applies these principles is at least a step in the right direction – away from fossil fuels. The real key to success in these cases though is the reliability and ease of energy. Sufficient power storage is a must so that pedaling is kept to a minimum and done only in emergencies.

Human Powered Boat

Perhaps the best part about these designs is that they push the boundaries of current thinking and appropriate green technologies for seemingly everyday uses. One could envision a small fleet of these replacing rent-a-boats at various tourist destinations around the world. Also, since all fuel generation is done on-board less physical infrastructure and/or fuel transportation is needed which also makes the entire concept ultimately more sustainable.

Written by ecoble · Filed Under Design and Architecture, Energy and Power, Transport Technologies 

Related Ecoble:
5 (More) Extraordinary Examples of Eco-Friendly Watercraft8 Awesome Uses of Wind and Solar PowerAir, Land, and Sea: The Latest and Greatest Solar-Powered Creations

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Comments

  • Reboot
    Terrific find! I like the fact that it's a catamaran-style for additional stability.

    I can't help but think that if the seating area was lowered, it could be used as an aquarium (ie, encased in a plexiglass design to allow seeing underwater).

    btw, the current ad on this page ("create you pirate and play') overlaps the [Leave a Reply] form in Opera.
  • That's really an amazingly simple, yet very attractive design. It could really replace/support the fleet of rent-a-boats, which don't look so tempting as this one.
    Dry, sealed batteries as energy storage will probably support a real model.

    p.s.
    It really looks so 'nicely posh' for a rent-a-boat, though.
  • This is so cool!
    I wish I had one of those.
    However, I am not sure how practical this designs are, I mean - is the solar power is ebough to run the boat? is it now taking too much space? and what about sailing at night?
    I hope that there is a good answer to all of these questions.
  • Roger Burns
    This has quite clearly been designed by somebody who knows next to nothing about boats or about photovoltaic solar power.

    It's got paddles instead of screw propellors, which haven't been used seriously since screw propellors were developed because they're so inefficient, and with the tiny amount of power that solar panels put out you'd want your propulsion system to be as efficient as possible so you didn't waste any.

    Speaking of which, today you would coat as many of the upper surfaces of the boat as possible with flexible solar panels and not just have a couple on top of the mushroom to maximise the possible energy generation:
    http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/upl...

    If you want a clean powered boat wind is a novel idea... if you don't want sails, you can use things like this:
    http://i.treehugger.com/images/2007-2-21/Windmi...
  • I never stop being astonished at what things people come up with these days. This design seems nice, what I like most about it is energy saving, the fact that it's enviromentaly friendly and it might be faster than other ordinary bicycle boats. However, imagine that the passengers will have to paddle, which is ok but there should be some kind of a dynamo inside its skeleton for accumulating of the power, or shoudln't it? All in all, it looks promising.
  • dee
    Obviously concocted by someone who has no clue of what boater wayt or need.
  • Kerensa
    It would have been nice to have a link to the creator of this boat.
  • Barend
    I've heard of an even better green and free boat/ship propulsion. Its even cheaper and much more efficient... called sails!
  • dustinjruybal
    I’ve decribed this idea with varying degrees of detail to probably 2 or 3 dozen people over the past 2 years and no one has found a serious or obvious flaw in the logic. Then again none of them - myself included - had “done the math” nor was necessarily thrift savings plan highly fluent in the mechanics/costs of building data-centers generally.
  • weirdtop360
    I really like this idea. I've been looking into the possibility of alternative energy use on boats for a few months now. You would in a time when big automakers are looking at fuel saving options that boat manufacturers would be doing the same.

    Why can't vessels that are constantly in wind and sun be using those as forms of energy?

    Sailboats run on wind energy, but they also use gas/diesel engines. Why aren't those engines being replaced by solar panels on flat decks? Why can't turbines be used to replace sails altogether?

    And...last but not least...how long do you think it would take for someone to put a hottub in place of the seats in the solar powered boat design shown?

    lol
  • weirdtop360
    *You would think in a time...

    whoops...forgot a word or 3

    lol...don't mind the mistakes
  • maddie
    can u not get real plp in2 this video? really it would have been a lot easier. stupd plp!
  • This is awesome I think this will be very useful when me and my family will go for camping, we just love fishing. But I think this boat is really expensive.
  • notme
    What happens in heavy wind or a sudden storm ?!?!?!?!?!?!? Whoever designed this has nevr spent any time on a boat. Even a SLIGHT wind can have amazing force on a boat.......especially when it's being pedaled.
  • thanks!
  • This is realy cool! Name a place to buy this, and i will purchase it immediatly :=)
  • It would have been nice to have a link to the creator of this boat.
  • I am not sure how practical this designs are, I mean - is the solar power is ebough to run the boat? is it now taking too much space? and what about sailing at night? I hope that there is a good answer to all of these questions.
  • Did you see the newest electric bike? YikeBike.com it's pretty sweet and could have the transformative effect the Segway had.
  • Abby
    Don't forget you would charge it up before you went out as well so you could get most of your traveling done without sun or pedals. The solar and pedal option just extends the range to as far as your feet and the sun will let you!
    inchirieri masini
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