SunSailor.com  

Our first PV powered boat, the “Peconic Sun” is still plying the waters of the Great Peconic Bay as it has for the past 3 years. It started with an O’day Rhodes 19 sailboat hull that was donated by Strongs Marine in Flanders, NY.

We had a lot of fun with Peconic Sun, including setting the around Robins Island solar powered boat record of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 31 seconds for the 6.6 Nautical Mile run.

Always looking for a faster, more seaworthy hull, I came upon a 24’ Rainbow sloop which had all the characteristics of a future solar powered boat – long waterline, narrow beam at the waterline, long overhang on the stern, removable keel and a fiberglass hull which probably had a hundred more years left on it. To top it all off, the Rainbow was designed by internationally renowned naval architects, Sparkman and Stephens who have designed many successful America’s Cup Defenders and other racing sailboats. A boat with a pedigree – Perfect.

Another great thing was the price and condition of the hull. I stopped by the Long Island Maritime Museum in Sayville several years ago and first saw the Rainbow sloop for sale. After some negotiating for the 1966 hull, which had seen better days as a sailboat and the promise that I return someday with the reborn solar powered boat, I towed away the boat to my back yard with my wife, Sue, looking on in frustration.

Searching for the inboard electric motor and propeller system became a difficult task until I discovered an outboard motor made by some torpedo engineers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. I am confident after thorough testing that this motor will hold up to salt water and waves but I am still carrying a small electric backup motor on board just in case.

The Solar-Electric (PV) modules were originally going to be 120 watts each or 720 watts total. Kyocera Solar Inc. just introduced their new 125 watt ultra high efficiency “D-Blue” PV modules, so I now have the first 6 of these modules on my boat for a total of 750 watts of power.

The name “3rd Wave” originally was how I felt the solar industry was re-emerging into modern society. Third Wave is also the name of a novel by Alvin Toffler. The book is about the third wave of civilization, with the first wave being the appearance of man on the earth and the second wave being the industrial revolution. So the name stuck.

The Voyage: As soon as the weather becomes more summer-like, using only Solar Energy as my fuel source, I will ride this boat around Long Island (360 miles). The trip should take 11 days if the weather holds. The plan is to go clockwise around starting and ending at the Peconic River in Flanders.

Stay Tuned
Gary J. Minnick, Go Solar

Specifications: