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by Graham_Cracker from Plympton

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World's First Wave-Powered Boat
Feb 29, 2008 | 5:32 PM
Category: News
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World’s First Wave Powered Boat February 28th, 2008 · No Comments

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Ken-ichi Horie, a 69 year old Japanese sailor, is planning a solo 4,350 mile trip from Hawaii to Japan using an innovative wave powered boat. If successful, the trip would earn him a Guinness record while simultaneously proving the viability of wave powered propulsion.

His boat, the Suntory Mermaid II, turns wave energy into thrust using two fins mounted beneath the bow. These fins move up and down with the waves and use them to generate “kicks” that propel the boat forward. Another green element of the journey: all of the radios and electrical equipment are solar powered.

The fins will only garner a top speed of 5 knots, so his trip will take about three months.

waverunner.jpg
From the Popular Science article:

This month, 69-year-old Japanese sailor Ken-ichi Horie will attempt to captain the world’s most advanced wave-powered boat 4,350 miles from Hawaii to Japan. If all goes as planned, he’ll set the first Guinness world record for the longest distance traveled by a wave-powered boat and, along the way, show off the greenest nautical propulsion system since the sail.

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sirB read my blog
Mar 1, 2008 | 12:05 PM

Props to Ken-ichi Horie! That's gonna be one boring 3 months. I hope he doesn't run into a fierce storm. A boat loke that wouldn't last very long if he does.

Watch, 20 years from now this could be huge. 80 knots??
C_Fox read my blog view my photos
Mar 10, 2008 | 9:22 AM

This seems to run on the same priciple as fish use, or people wearing 'flippers' use. Five knots is not very fast, but how fast could the 'fin' possibly move up and down? It alsmost seems like a step backwards, when we are into a time when speed is everything in transportation.

And, btw, this is not a new idea...only its the first one to be built on a large scale. Have you ever seen those toys you can put in the tub that use the same priciple to propel it? A little wind-up boat or fish, or mermaid, etc.. So, I guess the theory has been proven before this was built. It just doesn't seem practical. Interesting, though!
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Graham_Cracker

I used to hate growing up...now I'm glad it's happening. Should I be worried about that? *IRONY*

Member Since: 2/23/2007


 

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