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writing:nautical_solarpunk [2025/11/11 02:04] – JacobCoffinWriteswriting:nautical_solarpunk [2025/12/04 14:58] (current) – [Other Wind-Based Propulsion Technologies:] JacobCoffinWrites
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 To allow them to enter these ports, modern sail ships might use lifting keels or have a flatter bottom, no keel fin, with daggerboards to provide that control while being able to lift up and cross into shallower water. To allow them to enter these ports, modern sail ships might use lifting keels or have a flatter bottom, no keel fin, with daggerboards to provide that control while being able to lift up and cross into shallower water.
  
-=== How tippy is it? ===+== How tippy is it? ==
  
 Motor vessels can make do with a higher center of gravity and much lower angle of vanishing stability (AVS). This is the point at which the vessel will capsize and stay inverted, thus sinking it. That’s because they don’t have sails making it easy for the wind to tip them. Sailing ships tend to lean more while underway, so they can’t pile containers as high. Motor vessels can make do with a higher center of gravity and much lower angle of vanishing stability (AVS). This is the point at which the vessel will capsize and stay inverted, thus sinking it. That’s because they don’t have sails making it easy for the wind to tip them. Sailing ships tend to lean more while underway, so they can’t pile containers as high.
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 https://en.rochefortenterre-tourisme.bzh/offers/iliens-la-navette-qui-met-les-voiles-quiberon-en-4652240/ https://en.rochefortenterre-tourisme.bzh/offers/iliens-la-navette-qui-met-les-voiles-quiberon-en-4652240/
  
-**[[https://www.bairdmaritime.com/shipping/dry-cargo/vessel-review-grain-de-sail-ii-french-transport-companys-cargo-sailship-built-for-trans-atlantic-crossings||Grain de Sail II]]**, a 24-meter, metal-hulled clipper ship with a 350 ton capacity, transporting wines, raw coffee and cocao following the trade winds. It looks somewhat more traditional in the rigging to me. https://graindesail-overseas.com/grain-de-sail-ii+**[[https://www.bairdmaritime.com/shipping/dry-cargo/vessel-review-grain-de-sail-ii-french-transport-companys-cargo-sailship-built-for-trans-atlantic-crossings|Grain de Sail II]]**, a 24-meter, metal-hulled clipper ship with a 350 ton capacity, transporting wines, raw coffee and cocao following the trade winds. It looks somewhat more traditional in the rigging to me. https://graindesail-overseas.com/grain-de-sail-ii
  
 **https://gosailcargo.com/ships.html** A list of designs for somewhat traditional (I think) sailboats designed to transport shipping containers, starting with a clipper and working down to small boats. I really appreciate the diagrams they provide with each ship description and feature list. I don’t think any of these have been built yet but they’re based on historical designs. I didn’t notice any mention of being able to lower the masts, but some other tall ships, like the USCG training vessel Eagle (a three-masted barque), have upper mast sections that can be lowered to squeeze under modern bridges so that might be an option. **https://gosailcargo.com/ships.html** A list of designs for somewhat traditional (I think) sailboats designed to transport shipping containers, starting with a clipper and working down to small boats. I really appreciate the diagrams they provide with each ship description and feature list. I don’t think any of these have been built yet but they’re based on historical designs. I didn’t notice any mention of being able to lower the masts, but some other tall ships, like the USCG training vessel Eagle (a three-masted barque), have upper mast sections that can be lowered to squeeze under modern bridges so that might be an option.
  
-**[[https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/sail-freighter-friday-sv-kwai-2006-present||The SV Kwai]]** for an example of a motor vessel retrofitted with fairly traditional sails. This allowed it to visit ports that weren’t considered profitable for motor vessels. A reuse-focused solarpunk society might make a lot of similar retrofits.+**[[https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/sail-freighter-friday-sv-kwai-2006-present|The SV Kwai]]** for an example of a motor vessel retrofitted with fairly traditional sails. This allowed it to visit ports that weren’t considered profitable for motor vessels. A reuse-focused solarpunk society might make a lot of similar retrofits.
  
-**[[https://www.sailcargo.inc/||Sailcargo]]** – a company operating a small fleet of wood-hulled schooners. They have a fair number of photos to use as references, including some clever solar panel placement.+**[[https://www.sailcargo.inc/|Sailcargo]]** – a company operating a small fleet of wood-hulled schooners. They have a fair number of photos to use as references, including some clever solar panel placement. 
 + 
 +**[[https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-polynesian-canoe-hokulea-50th-anniversary-5bd2ce68d790c81a3af43a42bffcc980|The Hokulea]]** - a performance-accurate waʻa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe launched in 1975, best known for its 1976 Hawaiʻi to Tahiti voyage completed with exclusively traditional navigation techniques. Its twin wood masts are rigged either crab claw or Marconi style with a small jib and it's steered with a long paddle. It has no auxiliary motor. There are concessions to modernity though - elements of its construction involve modern materials such as  plywood, fiberglass and resin and it operates with a motorized escort vessel which tows it into harbor when necessary.
  
 **[[https://fairtransport.eu/en/onze-vloot/tres-hombres/|Tres Hombres]]** – about as traditional-looking as it gets – an engineless, wood-hulled brigantine made in the 1940s transporting rum, cocoa, coffee and olive oil. **[[https://fairtransport.eu/en/onze-vloot/tres-hombres/|Tres Hombres]]** – about as traditional-looking as it gets – an engineless, wood-hulled brigantine made in the 1940s transporting rum, cocoa, coffee and olive oil.
  
 **[[https://vega1892.com/historic-vessel-vega-about-the-boat/|Vega]]** – (a looks like either a galleass or a cutter?) built in 1892 and formerly used to transport limestone, bricks, pig iron and cement, it is still in use today, transporting free school and health supplies to remote islands in eastern Indonesia and to East Timor. More info here: https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/sail-freighter-friday-galleass-vega-1892-present **[[https://vega1892.com/historic-vessel-vega-about-the-boat/|Vega]]** – (a looks like either a galleass or a cutter?) built in 1892 and formerly used to transport limestone, bricks, pig iron and cement, it is still in use today, transporting free school and health supplies to remote islands in eastern Indonesia and to East Timor. More info here: https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/sail-freighter-friday-galleass-vega-1892-present
 +
  
 This is far from an exhaustive list, if you know of a cool ship or design I should include by all means let me know and I’ll add it! This is far from an exhaustive list, if you know of a cool ship or design I should include by all means let me know and I’ll add it!
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 Current kite rigs can be sailed within 50 degrees of the wind, meaning they tack to go upwind, like a ship with sails. Kites can be adjusted manually or by an automated system.  Current kite rigs can be sailed within 50 degrees of the wind, meaning they tack to go upwind, like a ship with sails. Kites can be adjusted manually or by an automated system. 
  
-==== Battery ships? ====+=== Battery ships? ===
  
 Electric ships are looking much more practical than I would have expected – getting there seems to involve reexamining how we use ships, as well as adjusting to use battery tech that makes sense for ships (as opposed to cars) https://austinvernon.site/blog/batteryships.html Electric ships are looking much more practical than I would have expected – getting there seems to involve reexamining how we use ships, as well as adjusting to use battery tech that makes sense for ships (as opposed to cars) https://austinvernon.site/blog/batteryships.html
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 For river boats, there’s a very cool project trying to convert the fleet of diesel motor canoes used in the Ecuadorian Amazon to solar/battery driven electric systems: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/world/americas/electric-boats-ecuadorian-amazon.html (sorry I don’t have a guest link). For river boats, there’s a very cool project trying to convert the fleet of diesel motor canoes used in the Ecuadorian Amazon to solar/battery driven electric systems: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/world/americas/electric-boats-ecuadorian-amazon.html (sorry I don’t have a guest link).
 +
 +The [[https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringPorn/comments/1pcawqb/blue_marlin_becomes_worlds_first_solarpowered/|Blue Marlin]] is a partially solar powered inland cargo vessel which is covered in solar panels which help with directly powering propulsion. However it appears to be relying mainly on diesel generators. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a battery ship but that seems to be the closest category at the moment.
 ==== Other Solarpunk Ship Stuff: ==== ==== Other Solarpunk Ship Stuff: ====
  
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 There’s also the scaled-up version of those ([[https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-03-17/ocean-cleanup-plastic-pollution-great-pacific-garbage-patch/102075810|though stopping plastic in the rivers appear to still be the critical part]]) There’s also the scaled-up version of those ([[https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-03-17/ocean-cleanup-plastic-pollution-great-pacific-garbage-patch/102075810|though stopping plastic in the rivers appear to still be the critical part]])
  
-==== Magazines and publications with lots of good info: ====+=== Magazines and publications with lots of good info: ===
  
 **[[https://issuu.com/international_windship_association/docs/iwsa_-_small_vessel_publication|The IWSA Small Windships Publication]]** has tons of info on the sub-500GT range of smaller vessels including more info on most of the ships from the examples section (so it would have been really convenient if that was the first thing I found!). You can get a downloadable version here. Developments of Note lists a bunch of goo ships starting on page 10 and Sources for Vessel Plans on page 71 are especially useful but it’s all cool stuff. **[[https://issuu.com/international_windship_association/docs/iwsa_-_small_vessel_publication|The IWSA Small Windships Publication]]** has tons of info on the sub-500GT range of smaller vessels including more info on most of the ships from the examples section (so it would have been really convenient if that was the first thing I found!). You can get a downloadable version here. Developments of Note lists a bunch of goo ships starting on page 10 and Sources for Vessel Plans on page 71 are especially useful but it’s all cool stuff.
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 **[[https://books.google.com/books?id=QxVUAAAAMAAJ|Wind Propulsion for Ships of the American Merchant Marine]]** (an older resource I haven’t read yet but am including for completeness). **[[https://books.google.com/books?id=QxVUAAAAMAAJ|Wind Propulsion for Ships of the American Merchant Marine]]** (an older resource I haven’t read yet but am including for completeness).
  
-==== Cool sails!: ====+=== Cool sails!: ===
  
 https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/the-design-of-soft-wing-sails-for-cruising.49425/ https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/the-design-of-soft-wing-sails-for-cruising.49425/
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 https://www.junkrigassociation.org/photo_gallery https://www.junkrigassociation.org/photo_gallery
  
-==== Whale Safety ====+=== Whale Safety ===
  
 Whales are sometimes hit by ships (they sleep just below the surface and don’t know where human shipping lanes are). Some hulls are more dangerous to them than others. Ships with steep, sharp prows and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbous_bow|bulbous bows]] are especially dangerous for whales. If you search for ship hulls and whale safety, you’ll find an unfortunate number of photographs of dead whales draped over those bulbs. Whales are sometimes hit by ships (they sleep just below the surface and don’t know where human shipping lanes are). Some hulls are more dangerous to them than others. Ships with steep, sharp prows and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbous_bow|bulbous bows]] are especially dangerous for whales. If you search for ship hulls and whale safety, you’ll find an unfortunate number of photographs of dead whales draped over those bulbs.
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 There are also ongoing attempts to map our whale activity and to ensure that human crews are both aware of their presence and actually making efforts to avoid them, but if you’re looking for visuals this might be worth considering. There are also ongoing attempts to map our whale activity and to ensure that human crews are both aware of their presence and actually making efforts to avoid them, but if you’re looking for visuals this might be worth considering.
  
-==== Lists of current projects: ====+=== Lists of current projects: ===
  
 [[https://www.windforgoods.fr/en/page/exhibitors|This event]] has a decent list of current modern sail ships, from basically-modern-cargo-ships-with-sails-bolted-on to completely modernized 90-100% wind driven ships, to largely historical designs still in use. [[https://www.windforgoods.fr/en/page/exhibitors|This event]] has a decent list of current modern sail ships, from basically-modern-cargo-ships-with-sails-bolted-on to completely modernized 90-100% wind driven ships, to largely historical designs still in use.