http://www.uksailmakers.com/News/UK...408343101&mc_cid=1ce62b83d4&mc_eid=0d840684ad
Long link, and if your browser balks at it, go to the UKSails site, http://www.uksailmakers.com/Home.html , and bore inward from there.
They are demo-ing a mainsail with solar panels built it. I and my sailing buddies have speculated about when this might happen, for many years; albeit after a beer or two.
Lots of technical problems to overcome, but to have any sort of working model released into the wild is a very positive sign IMHO.
Given the niche market that we sailors comprise, I would rather imagine that it will still be a long while before we can buy this technology at an affordable price.
My only comparisons for this are the previous technical changes made to introduce roller furling and self-tailing winches in the late 70's, and that era had the advantage of a larger "base" of younger recreational sailors brought in by the fuel shortages in the 70's..... by the time recession hit in the 80's, much of the research and field testing had been done or at least well-accelerated.
Still, progress is a Good Thing!
Loren
Long link, and if your browser balks at it, go to the UKSails site, http://www.uksailmakers.com/Home.html , and bore inward from there.
They are demo-ing a mainsail with solar panels built it. I and my sailing buddies have speculated about when this might happen, for many years; albeit after a beer or two.
Lots of technical problems to overcome, but to have any sort of working model released into the wild is a very positive sign IMHO.
Given the niche market that we sailors comprise, I would rather imagine that it will still be a long while before we can buy this technology at an affordable price.
My only comparisons for this are the previous technical changes made to introduce roller furling and self-tailing winches in the late 70's, and that era had the advantage of a larger "base" of younger recreational sailors brought in by the fuel shortages in the 70's..... by the time recession hit in the 80's, much of the research and field testing had been done or at least well-accelerated.
Still, progress is a Good Thing!
Loren
