Spoilers On My Concept Boats.

[Questor]

I love anything that pertains to wings on a boat. I'm wondering if spoilers mounted over the cockpit and halfway between the cockpit and the front of the boat would generate any useful lift at comfortable speeds of between 4 and 6 knots. If the spoilers were inclined downwards at an angle of 10 degrees towards the front of the boat they would add a racey feel to the boats design.

Racy looking spoilers mounted at 10 degree angles with solar panels on top would allow better capture of solar energy than flush mounted ones on deck areas during the morning and evening. You'd also be able to capture more sunlight via the double decking of solar panels.

Another possibility to consider is to hinge the spoilers wings upon automated motorized angle adjusters that respond to the direction of sunlight when the boat is at rest. Automated adjustment of the solar wings angle towards the sun would vastly improve their efficiency. The operator of the boat could override the automated system to set the wings at his desired preferences whether for fashion, lift, adjustable cockpit shade or solar energy capture.

[gonzo]

If you want lift, the front has to be up and not down. At 4 to 6 knots you will need some huge wings for enough lifts. That will basically be a sail with all the windage and other complications they cause.

[latestarter]

Originally Posted by Questor

I'm wondering if spoilers mounted over the cockpit and halfway between the cockpit and the front of the boat would generate any useful lift at comfortable speeds of between 4 and 6 knots.

No. The wing will weigh more than the lift. Even a light tail wind will reverse the effect.

Originally Posted by Questor

If the spoilers were inclined downwards at an angle of 10 degrees towards the front of the boat they would add a racey feel to the boats design.

Why do you want a boat doing 4 to 6 knots to look racy?
In the UK many years ago boy racers used to add "go faster stripes" to the sides of the car to try to make bog standard cars look racy.

Originally Posted by Questor

Racy looking spoilers mounted at 10 degree angles with solar panels on top would allow better capture of solar energy than flush mounted ones on deck areas during the morning and evening.

Depends which direction you are pointing.

Originally Posted by Questor

Another possibility to consider is to hinge the spoilers wings upon automated motorized angle adjusters that respond to the direction of sunlight when the boat is at rest. Automated adjustment of the solar wings angle towards the sun would vastly improve their efficiency. The operator of the boat could override the automated system to set the wings at his desired preferences whether for fashion, lift, adjustable cockpit shade or solar energy capture.

In the past I have thought of something similar for a solar panel mounted on a pivot parallel to the earth's axis and use a clockwork mechanism to turn it to keep facing the sun. There would be an adjuster to allow for the change in the elevation of the sun with the seasons. Each morning you would move it back to the East and wind up the clockwork.

I have just realized that I am now suffering from what is afflicting Questor. Does anyone know of a cure?

[Questor]

Originally Posted by gonzo

If you want lift, the front has to be up and not down. At 4 to 6 knots you will need some huge wings for enough lifts. That will basically be a sail with all the windage and other complications they cause.

I felt that with a 10 degree default setting for looks that once you got under power the planing hull would result in a lift angle of 5 to 10 degrees on the solar wings. I was also wondering if you would get any lift at all at a speed of 4 to 6 knots.I am envisioning an automated at rest wing at least 4 feet wide over the cockpit. That would give at least 3 square meters of solar panel optimally aimed at the sun while the boat is at rest.

[Questor]

Originally Posted by latestarter

In the past I have thought of something similar for a solar panel mounted on a pivot parallel to the earth's axis and use a clockwork mechanism to turn it to keep facing the sun. There would be an adjuster to allow for the change in the elevation of the sun with the seasons. Each morning you would move it back to the East and wind up the clockwork.

I have just realized that I am now suffering from what is afflicting Questor. Does anyone know of a cure?

We have solar arrays locally that automatically adjust towards the sun.I've been told the motorized adjuster technology is relatively cheap to acquire.

Questor's Syndrome is reputed to be highly contagious.There is only one known cure. The cure is obtained by constructing real world prototypes of Questor's designs. Once you begin to reap the rewards of verified results you realize that Questor's Syndrome is not a disease of the mind . It is a path to enlightenment.

[gonzo]

The solar panels would have to be attached to a three axis mechanism run by a gyroscope and an electronic compass to follow the sun as the boat changes courses. That is too complicated and expansive.

[Questor]

Originally Posted by gonzo

The solar panels would have to be attached to a three axis mechanism run by a gyroscope and an electronic compass to follow the sun as the boat changes courses. That is too complicated and expansive.

That is getting too complex. The solar arrays I have seen only pivot on one axis.In the case of the boat I wouldn't activate the system unless the boat was unattended. Depending on how much dock area you have, the I Spot Electronic Anchor ( by Minnkota I think) might be able to be utilised to move the hull a bit to maintain optimal angle.

Behavioral Symptoms of Questor's Syndrome.

The Unknown Variable is ever present thereby justifying faith in the impossible.

Common sense must be questioned because so much of it is based upon wishful thinking and erroneous assumption.

It is reasonable to invest a few of your resources in futile technological pursuits because you just might succeed in achieving the impossible. Even if you fail in what appears to be a futile quest you will at least learn something along the way and improve your skills while failing.

If you fail to demonstrate any discretion in exhibiting the first three symptoms then you are the fortunate benefactor of a full blown case of Questor's Syndrome.

[gonzo]

I you have only one axis movement, you have to dock the boat with the bow pointing South. That is a hard thing to accomplish at all times. If you are on a mooring it will only happen occassionally.

[Questor]

Originally Posted by gonzo

I you have only one axis movement, you have to dock the boat with the bow pointing South. That is a hard thing to accomplish at all times. If you are on a mooring it will only happen occassionally.

A pivoting solar wing could tilt equally towards either the front or the back, depending upon how you mount it. On other threads I have read that boat flush- mounted solar panels have efficiency rates as low as 6 %. That is so low that it seems senseless to even think of doing it. Four square meters of solar panels mounted on a pivoting cockpit canopy seems to me to be the most practical way of obtaining useful sun exposure. This week I hope to find an affordable means of automating the adjustment of this type of solar application.

[gonzo]

The sun moves from East to West. The only way you can align the panel is with the bow aligned North-South.

[Questor]

Originally Posted by gonzo

The sun moves from East to West. The only way you can align the panel is with the bow aligned North-South.

It depends on how perfect an energy capture you want to achieve.

With all the negative comments I've read about solar power failures I wonder if it might be more viable to keep 12 hamsters in the boat. Micro generators installed on 12 exercise roll cages would probably capture more energy than most solar projects do.

[daiquiri]

Originally Posted by Questor

With all the negative comments I've read about solar power failures I wonder if it might be more viable to keep 12 hamsters in the boat. Micro generators installed on 12 exercise roll cages would probably capture more energy than most solar projects do.

I believe hamsters are the right way to go. You can find some useful guidelines here:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Science-K...ster-Power.htm
Good luck and please keep us informed! Oh, and - don't forget some photos of the boat, please!

[Questor]

Originally Posted by daiquiri

I believe hamsters are the right way to go. You can find some useful guidelines here:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Science-K...ster-Power.htm
Good luck and please keep us informed! Oh, and - don't forget some photos of the boat, please!

I think the investigator may have had better results with a younger hamster in better health. Plus there is no mention of the efficiency of the running wheel or generator. If you multiple his results by 12 hamsters the total wattage is about equal to what I measured on a $200 80 watt solar panel my father bought as a present for me. That panel only produced between 2 and 3 watts on a midsummer afternoon.

Today I will be starting serious work on a book I hope to write.It will be a mixture of Penguins and viable small scale proven alternative energy projects that can be implemented for under $1,000. I feel that most people have been scammed so often on alternative energy gimmicks that no one would take a new alternative energy book seriously enough to buy it.Hopefully the wide array of fantastic Penguin photos will be enough to provoke interest in the book.

If aspiring alternative energy users had the stamina and determination of Penguins they would have no trouble facing and overcoming the obstacles to implementing effective alternative energy projects.

Originally Posted by daiquiri

I believe hamsters are the right way to go. You can find some useful guidelines here:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Science-K...ster-Power.htm
Good luck and please keep us informed! Oh, and - don't forget some photos of the boat, please!

Concur,

Hamsters are the future!

Questionor!

When you train them to eat fish and human excrements, then use the Hamster excrements as fish bait, you have developed a perpetuum mobile!
All excrement though......

[Questor]

I had a wonderful day on the research side of things today.I asked a number of people today what was the best way to spend $1000 or less on solar applications for both home and marine use. The best answers I received came from a major wholesale solar supplier.

His suggestions for stand alone projects under $1000 were to set up for either a cordless lawnmower-yard care kit or charging maintenance of cordless tool sets.I was pretty excited about the cordless tool program because I have probably thrown out $1,000 worth of cordless tool batteries during the past 10 to 15 years. I use the tools intermittently so that has resulted in many batteries being either permanently or temporarily dead when I need them. Right now I have about 12 different cordless tools that share 4 identical batteries. He said they have on the shelf electronic panels to match solar panels to all the popular cordless tool batteries. The prospect of never having to charge a cordless tool battery before using it is quite exciting to me. Apparently they sell a lot of solar configurations for cordless lawn care packages. A lot of beginners choose that as a first package because it eliminates the horrible pollution caused by lawn mowers as well as the regular handling of gas for fill ups.

There was also a dark side to the interview.He claimed that in our local climate a 100 watt solar panel tied into a battery bank will only net 24 watts for 1 hour per day or 1 watt continuous output over a 24 hour day. The dismal return is due to all the losses in managing current and transforming it between voltages.I'm hoping that he was being overly pessimistic.