A Sustainable Boat?

I was reading an article about an electrically powered boat. Although the main aim of this boat is not to be purely powered by renewable energy, it could be. It is a sailing boat with an electrical engine. The idea is that the two Mastervolt batteries are charged by mains power when the boat is not used.

But what really makes it interesting, is that the batteries can be charged by putting the propellor in reversed gear when sailing. This will charge the batteries. So in effect, this boat can be used as 100% renewably powered. Sailing on the wind, and at the same time charging your batteries, how cool is that?

The only real question is how long it takes to charge the batteries this way. And what do you do when there is no wind? It is good to see initiatives like these. I will continue to follow them to see how well these systems work, how efficiently they operate and how reliable they are. And of course share these findings with our many readers from all over the world.

When I talk to people, and tell them about sustainability on boats, I often get the remark, that sustainability was invented many thousands of years ago with the introduction of sailing boats! Which is very true. We have drifted away from just using the wind, but luckily, that is slowly coming back with many different smart inventions.

The Future of Sustainable Boating

The regenerative sailing boat is just one example of the many innovative ideas that are being developed for sustainable boating. As technology improves and the costs come down, we will see more and more boats using renewable energy.

The key is to start somewhere. Even small steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all. Whether it's installing a small solar panel to charge your batteries, or using an electric outboard motor for short trips, every bit helps.