Japanese Man to “Hang 10″ in Pacific Journey with Wave-Powered Boat
There are various ways to travel the sea in style. One of the most environmentally friendly ones would certainly be using sails alone. I mean, wind is free, right?
Well, a Japanese man named Kenichi Horie is attempting to be just as environmentally friendly but without the sails.
How does he do it? With a wave-powered boat. Wave power has been discussed quite a bit recently, with a lot of applications including traditional grid energy generation. However, Kenichi is taking things to the next level by powering his ocean going vehicle with the very thing it bobs atop.
As you can see in the photo (click for larger view), the boat is powered by two fins that raise and lower with the tide, which drive the propellers. On board energy is provided by solar panels and the boat is primarily made out of recycled aluminum.
By sailing from Japan to Hawai’i, Kenichi and his Suntory Mermaid II hope to set a Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled in this type of wave-powered ocean goer. To be sure, this boat doesn’t go very fast (it’s got about half of the speed potential of a diesel powered craft), but this type of innovation is certainly interesting to see. As long as recreational sailing exists, why not try to minimize environmental impact as much as possible, right?
In fact, if you visit the sailor’s page you can track his progress as he crosses the wide Pacific. As of writing he looks to be almost there!
Source: EcoFuss and Kenichi Horie’s page
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KOREA NUMBER 1!! JAPANESE NEVER SAY SORRY!!
actually it looks like he’s just starting his journey - he’s going from hawaii to japan.
Hmmm, you said sailing from Japan to Hawaii? Don’t you mean Hawaii to Japan? Looking at his previous posts it shows he departed from Hawaii. Which I guess means that he’s not almost there quite yet.
Obviously, it is moved by the waves, not the tide as stated.
“the boat is powered by two fins that raise and lower with the tide” Are you sure you don’t mean “waves” here?
Hmmm, Benjamin Jones, your credibility is slipping!
He is not going from Japan to Hawaii, so is not nearly finished. He is going from Hawaii to Japan, so has only just started.
The boat is not powered by fins that ‘raise and lower with the tide’. It is powered by the energy of the waves, not the tide.
“half of the speed potential of a diesel powered craft” - can you be any more vague?
Do you mean with a 1 bhp diesel or a 100 bhp diesel?
That’s a big trial to go green, he really needs a pat on the back
Amazing… it’s always great to see applied innovation, when can I get one?
Yes, because we all know sails produce too much pollution.