Question!? need a large flat horizontal surface area for solar panels

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Val567, Aug 26, 2012.

  1. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    Read an article on this years ago-IIRC the solar panels take care of hotel loads-looked it up "Up to 7 knots using only her 6.6 kW Solar Array• Up to 2 hours running using her battery bank.
    So 14 nm on electric.

    IIRC the electric stuff cost an extra $100k.

    In running the DE drive and with all the losses,I'd bet you'd burn less fuel just being straight diesel powered,in longer than 14 mile runs.

    I guess if you're Island hopping the Florida keys it's OK but a $1200 -3.5 kw diesel Kubota will do your hotel loads for the next 100-300 years with that $100k.
     
    Last edited: Aug 27, 2012
  2. Val567
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    Val567 Junior Member

    Wow. Some of these people... so discouraged. So unhappy. So negative. Let's not have unhappy lives.

    Here are some happy pills! Let's all smile! Yay!

    People keep telling me to run the numbers on this project, and I will realize it isn't cost effective.

    Believe me I have. Also, those people are right! It's not cost effective. The batteries are too expensive. The batteries energy storage density is not enough.

    If you convert gas prices vs the amount of energy you get from burning it into thrust, and then compare that to the solar panels, it takes somewhere around 40 years to get your money back from the solar panels.

    The engines drink the batteries dry in a matter of hours even if you have a lot of them.

    The difference is that when I hit a wall like that, I don't just shrug and give up. I looked for other options, and found them. I'm going to do it a different way that is much more affordable. Tip: Don't assume that the newest, most technologically advanced answer is always the best given the scenario. There are a lot of legacy tech inventions out there that were great ideas, but they were only made by 1 person, and when that person died, that was it. They quit making them. If you are willing to do some serious digging, you can often find some crazy good inventions that have proven themselves for years, but barely anyone remembers them. Resurrect those, and it is amazing what you can do.

    You just have to get creative, and keep your eyes open for work-arounds my friends!
     
  3. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    Sounds like Tesla is in the works.

    I don't know. You were so far off on the boat itself...Are you going to reveal any of these crazy good inventions? Open them up to the light of day and peer review? If not, if it's just you saying you have found the answer, but it's a secret...well, that's not much.
     
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  4. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    Not at all- I bet I'm 1000 times happier and positive than you.
    I got to where I am (and I'm sure the others have too) by being realistic,and not prancing about high on Ecstacy with a basket full of rainbows and my unicorn friends..

    Newsflash- you can't beat reality.

    BTW you sound like Michael Jackson.

    Can't wait to hear what this is....:rolleyes:
     
  5. Val567
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    Val567 Junior Member

    Very well! I can see the only way to do this is to just make it happen and then post pictures / videos / stats. I hope that in a few years I can post a successful project for you gentlemen.

    I was just hoping to get a few more suggestions on the base boat type that is flat on top. I know about machines, and electricity, not all the different types of boats.
     
  6. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Obviously you don't know about electricity or you'd have done a watt count and worked out storage allocation tables by now and found just what everyone else has.
     
  7. Grey Ghost
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    Grey Ghost Senior Member

    Planet Solar exists to prove they could do it. There are many compromises made to achieve this at all. For everyday usability, it wouldn't rank well. For budget to get to a destination, it wouldn't rank well. What's your objective in duplicating it? I could understand if you were the owner of a battery or solar panel company.
     
  8. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    The only thing going for all this foolishness is the Chinese have been over producing solar,market's dropped and now almost all of their factories are bankrupt and getting help to stay open.

    Since maybe 18 months ago the price has dropped by 50%,before that it dropped 30%,and will continue to drop for 2 more years to 50% of what it is now.

    Now-assume other costs being equal- the Solar planet will only cost $15.8 mill instead of $16 mill. to reproduce.
     
  9. Val567
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    Val567 Junior Member

    (sigh) rather than take the opportunity to give me another boat type you just took the opportunity to throw another pointless insult my way. Real productive there...

    I have done a detailed watt count and even being pessimistic about it's actual output, I am quite pleased actually. Same goes for the storage, course, as I said, I'm going at the set up a different way.
     
  10. Ad Hoc
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    Ad Hoc Naval Architect

    So, prove everyone wrong and show us ...
     
  11. pdwiley
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    pdwiley Senior Member

    It'll never happen and anyway I already know what his secret technology is.

    Unfortunately I simply can't tell anyone as I'm afraid that the bzzzkr.....

    [this post has been redacted in the interests of pubic safety]

    PDW
     
  12. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    Take another smiley pill and buck up, man! I threw another pointless insult your way AND ALSO SUGGESTED A BOAT TYPE on the other thread!
     
  13. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Val, it's not that we don't doubt your desire, but that we've also run the numbers and even with current PV panel pricing having dropped so much, there are still the remaining issues. Maybe we're wrong, but you've provided very little substance, which is just fuel the cat calling. Layout what you've figured and turn on a light for us.
     
  14. WestVanHan
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    WestVanHan Not a Senior Member

    PAR and others design yachts.
    You should be flattered he's spent time on you.

    Really?? I call BS.

    Take any production cat,go length and width,build a platform on top,and take 10 to 15 watts (being generous-likely be half that as it's flat and gets hot) per square foot and you'll come up with maybe 1/4 -1/3 the power needed to even move the thing at any rate of speed,much less make excess for night travel.

    Or spend $16 million and build a carbon cat.
     

  15. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    The weight of storage is hard to overcome.
     
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