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24' Electric Picnic Crusier |
Solar electric power is a practical alternative for many boaters and is ideally suited to a modern interpretation of a classic steam yacht. While limited in power, solar electric will allow you to cruise at 4-5 knots all day, the same speed you could expect from a similar sized sailing yacht and a perfect speed to take in the beautiful environment of our waterways, while imbibing a cold bottle of something nice from the fridge. This boat is not about arriving somewhere quickly but getting there in style.
Making this design work relies on matching the hull, drive motor, batteries and photovoltaic cells to the use of the boat. Many of us will use our boats on weekends, for at most, a few hours at a time. The travelling is done at slow speed with the company of good food and friends. Left alone for a day or two the solar cells will easily fully recharge the batteries.
The hull shape is optimised to operate at a speed of 4 knots, using a fraction of the power of most power boats at this speed which are designed to be operated at speeds of over 30 knots. A custom designed large diameter and slow revving propeller will be around 80% efficient rather than the 55% efficiency typical of small power boats. By carefully optimising the design of the hull, propeller and motor to a 4 knot cruising speed, it is possible to limit the amount of power required so that even in winter, the energy used travelling 100km over a weekend would be recovered in two or three days, with enough left over to run the refrigerator.
Length 7.3m
Beam 2.4m
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24' Electric Picnic Crusier 
