Ok the fact that this tech is being used to shovel piles of new cars around is not that solarpunk, but the technology itself certainly is.
Very interesting. So no more canvas. Instead sails of the future will be like tall blinds that rotate and tilt.
I misread the title as Cat Carrier. I’m so disappointed 😞
Tall ships <3
This and solar zepplins please
I’ve idly wondered what a modern tall ship would look like. Forget timber, canvas and hemp, imagine the clipper we could build out of fiberglass, dacron and amsteel
You don’t have to imagine it, three already exist and no these aren’t yachts, they are cargo vessels for tea and wine!
The introduction of this new fleet of sailing cargo ships is in line with TOWT’s aim of creating lower-emission alternatives to conventional container vessels powered by internal combustion engines. The ships and their equipment will also comply with regulations that cover cargo vessels sailing on international routes and with gross tonnages greater than 500 UMS. The advanced sail technology was inspired by that used by vessels built for ocean racing.
The TOWT vessels each have a length of 81 metres (270 feet), a beam of 15 metres (49 feet), a height of 63 metres (210 feet), and a cargo hold for transporting palletised goods totalling 1,100 tonnes. The sails will provide all of the propulsive power needed by each vessel with a sail rigging of 2,200 square metres (24,000 square feet) spread over two masts, while navigation will be aided by an autonomous routing system that utilises artificial intelligence and meteorological data. Using the sails alone, the vessels can already achieve a top speed of 10 knots.
A rare glimpse of an exciting future-past synchronicity, almost every other tall ship on this list is not actually used for shipping.
This is a billionaires superyacht. So about the least solarpunk thing possible. But it honestly kind of looks cool.
As of 2018 when designed, it was expected that Black Pearl could cross the Atlantic using only 20 litres (4.4 imp gal; 5.3 US gal) of fuel, aided by regenerative technologies.[8][needs update] One key technology to support this is to use the speed of the vessel through the water under sail to generate electricity with a variable pitch propeller.[8] The yacht also features heat capture technologies and large scale storage batteries to capture energy generated but not immediately used.
Holy shit that is cool (and equally concerning and inspiring).
Under sea trials, Black Pearl achieved 20 knots of speed on the water, and its developers expected as of 2018 that it might one day be able to transit the Atlantic using no fuel.[8] In its first crossing, 5,600 nm from Montenegro to St. Barths in 2023, Black Pearl sailed approximately 80% of the distance and consumed 32,000 liters of fuel.
Well, that’s disappointing.
A traditional similar-sized yacht would have consumed 200,000 liters for the same passage.[19]
Oh, I guess it’s still a huge improvement, but what the fuck.
Also, how does it only have a capacity of 12? Does it only have sleeping capacity for 12 or can it somehow really not hold more people than that while on the water at over 100m in length?
Is that twelve occupants, or twelve passengers? Does that figure include the crew?
The ship has masts and square rigged sails on yards, but no stays. She’s got no jibs, staysails or spanker. A lot of potential sail power has been left behind.
Rich people man spreading.
Also, how does it only have a capacity of 12?
It is a floating palace and the family is probably no larger then 12. There will be a lot of crew on board. Also everything else you would expect on a place like Epstein Island.
As for the fuel, this could probably be done using batteries nowadays. Those have gotten pretty light.
Is it common to not include crew in the capacity for a ship? That feels incredibly fucked up.
It’d be triangular rigged if not better anyway. Square rigging is and was rubbish.
If you were to give someone from the 1800s a newspaper clipping from modern day, I feel like this might be the one to give. They’d understand maybe just enough of the words to be thoroughly perplexed.
Obviously, they’d be confused by cars and everything, but they could probably be told, “like a carriage but futuristic.” I just don’t think they could understand, “we are trying to put sails on boats to cross the ocean”
Really cool, what’s old is new again.
It is also cool how practical and actionable this tech seems to be, implementation is moving fast now in this area.
One might even say it is amusing how much this technology both is and isn’t a pipe dream.
I like it, but honestly I’m skeptical. I mean we’re talking a couple of wings moving metric tons! I’m guessing the ship starts of on engines and once it reaches the speed, the sails take over? I mean competition sails push really light crafts…not heavy ass bricks like this.
Nah it isn’t the main propulsion, it is opportunistic and reduces fuel costs, the efficiency gains add up very quickly however.
