As a minor sponsor we were at the launch on Thursday of Clenergy Team Arrow’s commercial solar car and we’re impressed by its credentials. The launch was held at QUT and they showed us a 280 kg vehicle designed for two passengers and running on the same power as our…
We’ve put together a powerful solar panel kit that allows you to run your dinghy or kayak from solar without draining the battery. By combining two 50 watt panels from Shine Solar we’ve made a powerful folding solar panel that will work with any of the grey 1003 batteries and…
Since launch three years ago, our solar boat, Stillness, has never been plugged in to the grid and has easily got all the power she needs from the solar panels on the roof. She quite regularly does the trip to Lake Cootharaba and typically at the end of the day…
Seems like I have been banging on about stock shortage for too long now and so its time to talk about batteries instead. Steve Williams has just installed an Electroprop 5kw motor powered by a pair of Torqeedo Power 26-104 batteries on Echo, and Endeavour 26. Steve sails out of…
[updated to include latest battery info] I’m often asked about range extension for a 1003, and occasionally for an Ultralight. Of course it would be great if we could connect these motors to the large Torqeedo battery—the 26-104. Alas, the voltage is different and it does not have a GPS…
Its been a while since I wrote about the solar boat… it has been with the builder since October and has recently been delivered with its survey papers, which means it will be available for hire fairly soon. The boat is currently at Monty’s boatyard for some modifications to include…
In just a few days a Torqeedo powered solar canoe will embark on a trip down the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. If the weather is right they plan to leave on 16th June to journey from Chicago to New Orleans in a trimaran canoe of 22ft.
What do you do when you’ve got mixed voltage loads in your system? Such as a main drive battery of 48v and smaller loads such as radio, chart plotter and so on at 12 volts? The usual solution is to use a dc-dc converter to step down the voltage from…
This is a followup to the story about the solar powered zodiac trip Claude and I did from Pittwater to Sydney a while back… I’ve now prepared a video of that trip for your enjoyment. Its posted on youtube and and available here on this page. The trip was an…
I’m now back at Mt Tamborine to finish the electrical installation. I know, I know! Its taking longer than expected to complete this boat. On the back of an envelope I estimated another 16 days to finish the electrical work and get her launched. Allowing for weekends and other projects…