Converting a small sailing yacht into a formidable pure solar powered boat. March 2020.

You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.

''Joseph Campbell''

D.I.Y. often refers to

 "Do It Yourself " projects. Here, however, in my opinion, is the true meaning of D.I.Y.

Dynamic Ingenuity Yield. 

Solar Electric  Powered Boats are one step ahead. 

🌬Wind is the "fuel" for sailing boats. The sun🌞 or visible light is the "fuel" for solar powered boats. 

Wind is die aandryfmiddel vir Seilbote en die son of sigbare lig is die aamdryfmiddel vir Sonbote. 

Die son se energie is die oorsaak van alle wind en weerkondisies op aarde. Sonbote gebruik dus die sonkrag direk vir aandrywing.

🌏 The earth's main energy sourse is the sun, and the sun's heat causes all wind and weather conditions.⛈️🌤⚡️🌞

Some benefits of the Solar Powered Boat.  A comparison between sailing boats and solar powered boats were made as both types use clean renewable energy for propulsion.

Solar Powered Boats are thus one step ahead and utilize the sun's energy directly. For night cruising excess energy is stored in batteries  and used at night for propulsion. The sunrays or visible light is turned into electrical power through the solar panels and electrical motors propells the boat. Wind gusts and high winds with resulting drag and rough water  conditions can slow the boat down, but does not impose a danger or impair the handling of the boat. In Zero wind conditions the boat can mantain it's normal cruising speed. Also, cruising direcrion is not dependent on the wind direction, thus navigation is done in the true straight line direction of the destination or where the pilot wishes to go.  It is a misconception that solar power is only generated in direct sunlight. In cloudy conditions the boat can still mantain a steady pace.

The small yacht was converted into a trimaran and is now solar powered.
Mid mounted solar panels are shown folded up for road transportation.

                                                                                      

The rear solar panels forms a roof over the wet deck area
and the mid mounted solar panels are shown here
 folded down in their power production positions.

The MPPT charge controller is fitted into the grey container
and controls the roof mounted solar panels. 
The mid mounted solar panels each has it's own
 PWM Charge controller and are mounted in the transparent container.
There are thus three independent power systems on board.

March 2020

We bought a small sailing yacht and began the process of  restoring  and converting it into a solar powered boat. 

Ons het n  klein (6m) seilboot/jag gekoop en begin restoreer, ombou en aanpas na n solar elekrtiese aangedrewe boot.

Main modifications were:

Hoof veranderinge was soos volg.

1) Two removable pontoons were added to the sides of the boat. This  stabilizes the rolling motion and improved total buoyancy and safety.

  Twee verwyderbare Halcat pontoon rompe is aan weerskante van die boot gemonteer om n Trimaran te vorm. Dit demp hewige kante toe rol van die hoofromp en gee ook extra drakrag aan die boot.

2) Above the rear wet deck area we constructed a frame to house two large solar panels. This also forms the roof to protect the occupants against the harsh South African sun.

Bokant die agter buitenste  sitplekke het ons n afdak konstruksie gebou. Twee groot sonpanele vorm die dak en beskerm ook die mense aanboord teen die kwaai Suid Afrikaanse son.

3) Another two large solar panels were fitted with hinges  near the center of the boat. Placement was done so that when on road transport they fold up towards each other to the center to form a triangle where they are secured. On the water they are folded out flat, but each one can be adjusted at an angle for best efficiency. With this set up we have a potential of 1kw. of solar power. Cruising  speed will increase, penetration into strong wind will be possible and we will also be able to begin cruising earlier in the morning and until later in the afternoon. Bad weather can be waited out on the water on anchor or buoy. Sleeping can be done in the boat on the water on anchor.

Nog twee sonpanele wat op skarniere gemonteer is, is sentraal voor op die boot aangebring. Die sonpanele vou boontoe na mekaartoe op om n driehoek te vorm waar hulle so vasgebout word wanneer die boot op die pad vervoer word. Op die water word elkeen plat gevou en kan teen die beste grade hoek teenoor die son geplaas word vir beste effektiviteit. n Potensiale sonkrag van een kilowatt is nou beskikbaar en stel die boot in staat om vroer in die oggend te begin vaar en ook eers later in die namiddag op te hou, 

This is a huge challenge for us and by using the largest inland mass of water in the country makes the challenge more demanding and interesting.

Hierdie is vir ons n groot uitdaging en ons het juis die Gariepdam gekies omdat dit so enorm groot is. Dit maak die uitdaging net baie meer ingewikeld en interessant.

Those who have been following this blog might have asked the question, '' but why? '' 

 Waarom doen ons dit?

Surely there are solar powered yachts that have already cruised around the world setting records such as PlanetSolar. 

Cruising with a solar powered boat is very special. The workload is minimal in most all types of weather conditions and it is very relaxing. It has a small visual footprint and cruises in total silence. Because it is not fuel dependent long trips into remote areas can be done. Once on the water the cruising energy is unlimited and free. This opens the possibility of exploring hundreds of large inland dams, lakes and lagoons per country and the sea.

Om met n sonboot te vaar is baie spesiaal. Die hanteering daarvan is baie eenvoudig en het n  kalmerende effek op almal aan boord. Die boot is nie vinnig nie wat veroorsaak dat daar geen windgeraas of rowwe gestamp oor golwe is nie. Daar kan tog tot 50km per dag gevaar word. Dit vaar in totale stilte, mense gesels normaal en die natuurgeluide is hoorbaar. Op die water in die daglig is die energie om mee te vaar onbeperk en kos natuurlik niks nie!. 

My goal is to prove that practical solar boating is possible by using existing boats and converting them to solar powered propulsion, using readily available industrial equipment. 

Sailing boats are designed to have very low drag and are thus the ideal candidate for a low powered solar setup. There are hundreds if not thousands of abandoned small sailing boats and yachts at marinas and clubs. . This is so sad and unknown to the owners new life can be injected into the boats and their owners boating experience by converting them into solar powered boats, without costing an arm and leg. Solar electric power is fairly new and is n modern approach to powering boats. There are, however, many benefits of using solar power as propulsion.

Ek wil bewys dat solar elektriese  aandrywing  n praktiese en haalbare manier is om bote aan te dryf deur bekosbare maklik beskombare industrieele onderdele te gebruik. Seiljagte en seilbote is uniek ontwerp om min sleur deur die water te ervaar en is dus die ideale platvorm om te gebruik vir n lae krag solar elektriese sisteem. Dit is ironies dat daar honderde seiljagte en bote oral by seiljagklubs le en vergaan. Minwetende deur die eienaars kan nuwe lewe in sulke bote geblaas word deur dit in solar elektries aangedrewe bote te verander. Solar elektries vir boot aandrywing is redelik onbekend, maar is n moderne konsep wat oorweeg kan word.  Daar is baie voordele om n boot so aan te dryf.

Safety and survival equipment. 

Veiligheid & Oorlewing

Life Jackets. Life buoy ring and rope. Oars, long stick/pole.👍

Electric Bilge pump.👍

Anchor, chain and line.👍

Two independent solar power systems. Three electric motors.👍

Warm clothes, including rain jackets, sun hats walking shoes/boots/water boots.👍

First aid kit, including sunblock spray, insect repellent and water purifying tablets.👍

Food and drinking water to last 15 Days +. Small gas stove, small charcoal braai, fire lighter/matches. 

Basic kitchen crockery and cutlery.👍

Bathing water. Bucket, toiletries. 👍

Cellphones, GPS, Camera, torches, spare batteries, Cellphone chargers.👍

Multi-tool Victorinox/Leatherman,small Axe. 👍

All Tools and spares as required for this boat's setup and maintenance.👍

 Below is the charts of the Gariep Dam. This gives a perspective of the enormity of the area we want to explore.

Next trip: Conquering the Gariep Dam

Planned date: The 20th of December 2020

Mission: To cruise through the entire dam, from the dam wall, following the original river flow in the dam up to Bethulie. Our turn around point will be the 👉 Hennie Steyn bridge, longest bridge in South Africa, near Bethulie. With the return trip we plan to visit each known and unknown bay and island in each of the different Basins that the Gariep Dam's water formed. A ravine, Broekspruit, is also on the list to be explored. We want to log as many km's as possible with this trip to prove that our solar boat is practical and have endurance. 

Die plan is om deur die hele dam te vaar, vanaf die damwal, die oorspronklike rivierloop in die dam te volg tot onderdeur die Hennie Steyn brug naby Bethulie. Met die terug vaart wil ons by elke bekende en onbekende eiland en baai wat die dam se waters vorm, aangaan en verken. Broekspruit, wat aan die oostekant in die dam invloei, kan ook verken word. Ons wil soveel as moontlik vaar in die beperkte tyd wat ons daar is om n punt te bewys dat ons sonboot prakties is en stamina het.

Next:👉 Broekspruit, Gariepdam.

Die uitdaging om die hele Gariepdam deur te vaar het toe nie gerialiseer nie! Maar, met ons "nuwe Sonboot" het ons werklik n unieke ervaring op Gariepdam ervaar.  Hierbo ☝️is die link daarvoor.