Energy-Friendly Cruising

Here is a sailing catamarran that has a very interesting energy concept. This is like what I want to have, though the main restriction is having a boat that could be single-handed if necessary.

Largyalo

Here are some vendors of electric marine propulsion solutions.

Re-e-power

SolidNav

Here is BoatDesign.net forum thread on these technologies

Electricity Generation

Wind-Water Eco Energy for PassagemakersWith the price of fuels being as volatile as they are and the need to "go green" in order to combat climate change becoming ever more apparent, the attraction of all-natural generating systems for our boats has never been more real. For cruisers who will be sitting at anchor a lot, fixed solar panels and a wind generator will satisfy almost all of their needs. This dual approach is probably the most popular among the cruising fleet.But if you are going to be traveling a lot, making passages and spending a lot of time sailing, then the dual system loses a lot of its efficiency. Solar panels are prone to being shaded by the sails and operating a wind generator at sea can be both noisy and dangerous; if you have ever seen a wind generator devour a spinnaker or be blown apart by a tangle with a toping lift, you will know what we mean.For blue water sailors, the better approach may be to generate electricity with a dual wind-water system. The wind generator can be an efficient, large diameter unit that hangs in the fore triangle while at anchor and will swivel neatly with wind shifts. This works best if the fore triangle is large enough to hang the generator well above head height. In practice it takes about five minutes to mount or demount the generator and when it is not in use it can be stored in a sail locker. Wind-water generators use the same generator for both purposes so when you head to sea, you unfasten the blades and reconfigure the generators with a rail mount and a towing propeller that trails off the stern. Once you are sailing on your course, you deploy the propeller and start generating. At six knots you will generate more power than you could ever need. Hamilton Ferris is one of the suppliers of wind-water systems who has done more testing and has placed more systems with cruisers than anyone else in North America. His 20-amp generator on the WP-200 system is one of the most efficient in the business and will serve up more than 400 amp-hours of energy at sea. The whole system costs less than $3,000. Check it out at www.hamiltonferris.com.