Wave Runner

Wow. Ok so I get how this works but it still seems super pointless if you can go way faster than that with sails. Is it really going to scale up to commercial size any better than sails have? In fact it's the scale of the thing itself that's the biggest problem. Sure 5 foot waves will work for a cute little thing like that, but if you plan to put it on a gigantic ship you're going to need gigantic waves all the time to get the same thrust/weight ratio. It seems like there are much more compelling concepts for "Kite" powered commercial freighters. Sorry but I actually work in international sourcing and even if the cost went way way down, It's just not practical at all to triple shipping timeframes. Oh and why does it need a mast and rigging like that? I'll be he puts up sails when no one is looking...

Of course, this is nothing short of brilliant. I don't believe that the authors of this article or the owners of this boat claim that this is anything more than a prototype. It's pretty kludgey.

Later generations will no doubt improve on this both in efficiency, power and elegance. Will it ever be commercially viable for international freight shipping? Maybe not, but amazing technology approaches to shipping will surface as the price of bunker fuel continues to rise, carbon taxes are implemented and stack emission requirements are tightened by ports.

I look forward to seeing how this wave powered boat turns out and hope that the owners are collecting lots of performance and operation data.

Is probably there as an emergency backup in the event of a failure of the wave propulsion system. It will also be the mount for the mast head light and would be required to hoist day shapes and flags.

I agree with previous comments. It would take some doing to get this to work on a 157,000 DWT, 400 meter long, 56 meter wide container ship with a 15.5 meter draft. There is no way that 90% of the world's non-bulk cargo (26% from China) is going to be delayed by two months. The latest cargo ships can move at about 25kts (47 kph) and they are surely not going to crawl across the Pacific or Atlantic ocean at 5kts. There is already a backlog demand for container shipments in both China and Europe.

How would this system even work in a harbor, canal, etc? Not to mention there are patches of ocean that at times are as flat as a board, not even a ripple from the wind distubs the glass like surface.

If you can design this system to work a ship as big as the one listed above and go from Hong Kong to the Suez Canal in 14 days and from the Suez Canal to Rotterdam in 8 days then you've got something viable. Until then it's just a neat invention.

what id like to know is if he did put the sail up will that hinder or help the performance of the boat and if it helped what speed could he achieve.

Give the bloke a chance, its the first of its kind, I am sure things will improve in time.

I doubt the first boats with sails could match the speed of a super cat.

Just like the gigantic sale that is being tested to lessen the amount of fuel a super tanker needs to use on ocean crossings, this technology could also help lessen the burden on the diesel engines.Once it is perfected. Even if lowered consumption by only Five percent, for a super tanker that uses hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel, that could be quite a savings. Couple that with savings the big sales are suppose to help out with (20-25 percent) I think, and it adds up very quickly. In my personal opinion, getting huge sea going vessels and airplanes more efficient is more important than personal vehicles.

Brilliant article! And bravo to this eco-sailor/inventor for his dedication to the vital, yet under-appreciated field of exploring alternative energy. Who knows what marvelous potential lies ahead, and in what application (hybrid, lowering fuel consumption, etc.). Where would science be without this sort of pioneering spirit?

Brilliant article! And bravo to this eco-sailor/inventor for his dedication to the vital, yet under-appreciated field of exploring alternative energy. Who knows what marvelous potential lies ahead, and in what application (hybrid, lowering fuel consumption, etc.). Where would science be without this sort of pioneering spirit?

I used to be lost in the shuffle, now I just shuffle along with the lost.

At the very least this should be a requirement for all ocean going vessels. This technology would undoubtedly save immense amounts of fuel worldwide. We need to make wave power a reality, not just with boats, but with buoy type generators, and floating platforms akin to offshore drilling rigs.
The answers to our energy problems are all out there people, we just need to sweep away the opposition first. Vote.

A brilliant idea, hope it works out well.,

I think everyone who has posted has missed the point, if you have ever sailed anywhere before you will know that the wind does not always blow, so you can be stuck in the middle of the ocean with no wind, whereas waves are always there, so in combination with sails, you can effectively have a boat that is all green and un hindered by no wind. Good job I say, it doesn't look like technology to be used with tankers, but then who thought sails could be used with them(due to stability reasons) and now a dutch tanker company is using a kite, so never say never! :D

I wonder if a smaller version could be implemented for use in a dingy or life raft. I have heard stories of people lost a drift at sea for months and I could see how this propulsion could be a life saver.

you must not understand how it works because the difference is you can't sail into the wind and with this you can go directly were you need to go so the difference is this boat can go in the direction you need to go the whole time no matter where the wind is

Well for now it is not viable. However if the propulsion of current mass-movers was all of a sudden removed, necessity would be the mother of this invention. Couple this with wind power, and you definitely have an alternative for the would-be oil crises on the horizon.

Also I don't think it is time wasted; there are BILLIONS of people on this earth, if this guys hobby is fun for him, good for him. Maybe it will prove useful in the future. Maybe it will save %10+ of the energy of a current sea ferrying vehicle of today. Like if we had pedals in our cars would could save %10+ on our cars gasoline. It would add up.

Two thumbs up for the man, getting out there and doing it. I have been treatning to build this for 25 years. Ever since I saw an articale in Mechanix Ilustrated Oct. 1972. A man named Gause built and tested a wave powered boat back then. He got a patent, US PAT, 3453891. The patent contains a lot of good information. The article in MI has some pictures as well. It's a great idea and with fuel getting out of hand I may build my next boat with wave power in mind. Building a test boat now, will post the results soon. riverbill

prisoner42,
Setting sail increases your speed, in return you travel faster across the wave aiding the force of porpultion from the wave.

The two should be connected in their use. A kite at 900' gets all the wind you want, even when there is no wind at the surface. Dont throw the sail away! Kites dont work well at port. Unless you want the cruise ship to drag you where its going!
My idea is much better, the vessel doesnt bob up and down or list. There are many great ideas out there, but no one puts them on the same ship.
He has a great idea, but the wave power trip is just a stunt. Throw the sails up and lets get some where faster than the norm sail boat.

prisoner42,
Setting sail increases your speed, in return you travel faster across the wave aiding the force of porpultion from the wave.

The two should be connected in their use. A kite at 900' gets all the wind you want, even when there is no wind at the surface. Dont throw the sail away! Kites dont work well at port. Unless you want the cruise ship to drag you where its going!
My idea is much better, the vessel doesnt bob up and down or list. There are many great ideas out there, but no one puts them on the same ship.
He has a great idea, but the wave power trip is just a stunt. Throw the sails up and lets get some where faster than the norm sail boat.

Sorry about the double post.
After all the thought in his design you would think he would install the springs parallel to each other and have them in a horizonal posision with the aid of simple levers to do the same work. They are exposed to the elemnts, and salt isnt nice to things like that. But its not my design. Cover the springs! The rest of the design is sleak. How about throw the springs away and install some "Energy-Harvesting Shock Absorbers", then he could have some power, and still have the same response from the fins.

I want to cruise the whole Asia, and so if you want to go on a cheap cruise, and don't want to be tooling around in a dinghy, why don't you try freighter world cruises. Freighter world cruises are starting as a cruise ship alternative, with a cargo ship vacation. How it works is that you book a room on a cargo ship that offers the service, and you get three square meals a day, and go to exotic ports of call – just like a regular cruise. It might also a little less cash now than going to the normal route for ocean travel. The space is limited and so are amenities, so bear that in mind if you decide to plunk down cash loans for freighter world cruises.
Read more:
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/08/21/freighter-world-cruises-adventurer/