Solar Boat - Estimated Time to Completion

Hi, Folks.

Anyone care to estimate based on this website and pictures how many hours it will take to complete this solar boat? Rough estimates welcome.

http://www.thesolarodyssey.com/category/blog/

Thanks,

Joe

 

Never...

 

How long does fiberglassing take? How about if there's a mast? How about testing on the water? How long does it take to get a boat inspected and licensed? Thanks.

 

How many men would it take to complete this boat, ready to roll in 4 weeks?

 

100-200 guys, a huge CRM and ERP system and suppliers lined up a year in advance. (not really joking here at all)

Maybe as an idea of how long the project might take, look at the dates in the blog on the link you provided?

 

Good observation. Their calendar seems off.

 

I'd say about 6 months . . .

 

Bit of an odd design for a solar powered boat, in my view.

Why the big transom? It'll create a heck of a lot of drag unless it's clear of the water all the time, and drag is the really big evil to overcome when you're working with such a low power source as solar panels.

Also, what's the roll stability like with such a low density "keel" and the relatively heavy stuff (crew, batteries etc) mounted relatively high up?

 

I'm not even sure they will be the first solar to complete the loop. There was a serious discussion of this ten years ago on yahoo's electric boat forum. A boat was under construction for 2-3 crew to make the trip in one year and they seemed to have most of their ducks in a row. I dropped out of that forum before it was launched. The craft was a monohull. They did plan to carry a small generater and were prepared to use shore power on occasion, so they weren't exactly purists. Then again, this could be the same bunch!

 

9-12 months, provided the propulsion package is well engineered, understood, specified and available.

My nickel bet is that the sun is going to provide about 15% of the power needed for 6 people, a mobile video studio and propulsion.

 

Apparently the boat will have two side "wings".

Will this aid in balance, but drag down the solar boat speed? Will it slow down the completion of the boat? Any changes in estimates for time to completion now that it has "wings"?

http://www.thesolarodyssey.com/2012/04/ra-day-21-wings/

 

Now the boat exterior is going to be fiberglassed, and it is scheduled to set sail in 22 days?