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wind electric pedal powered boat

 combo power boat
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i was inspired by a few projects i'm working on the biuld this fun and cost efective meens of water recreation. i wish to biuld a 1 to 2 person catamaran that will use an electic motor in combination with pedal power to turn an air propelar. wile resting on a small island and eating your picnic but best if your camping, the wind that may be blowing will be turning the propelar and charging what electicity you have used. the batery can also be used to power running lights or fish finder or what ever else you think you may need. can also provide you with electirc power for your campsite. what we realy have hear is a windmill generator and a small human powered boat all in one. and the best of all it dose not use fuel!
—zioth, Jul 04 2002

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       I think the propulsion comes from a propeller (mast-mounted) that doubles as a windmill.
—phoenix, Jul 04 2002
   

       That's going to have to be one wiiide catamaran if a single power generating windmill/propellor is up top. Have you thought about mounting 1000 tiny multicoloured pinwheels to the mast instead?
—calum, Jul 04 2002
   

       Re-categorize, please.   

       Typically, windmills make lousy propellers, and propellers make lousy windmills. I'd use a water-propeller instead to move the thing for efficiency reasons, but keep the wind generator. Perhaps it could be one of those vertical wind turbine deals that rotate around a shaft.   

       The trick with little catamarans is that you have to be able to switch sides in a hurry when you tack, so you can't afford to get tied down in alot of human- powered mechanics. Weight distribution is critical to speed and stability.   

       Let's see, start with an old catamaran like my dad's, say a 16 foot Hobie. They're easily handled with 1 person if the wind isn't too stiff. But if you want human-powered, you'll need a partner, since minding the rigging and tiller can keep you pretty busy.   

       I'm trying to envision the cockpit for the human-powered section of the boat and not coming up with anything good so far. Since you need to adjust your body position to the wind all the time, the human-powered mechanism will need to float on a track of some sort; perhaps a wing seat with pedals that pivots and travels as needed. A typical catamaran's hulls are too narrow and to sit down into any hollow part into them, so you'd need to make your own hulls from scratch.   

       Actually, your best bet might be a tri-hull so that you could run a central propellor and have sufficient stowage.
—RayfordSteele, Jul 04 2002
   

       [RayfordSteele], if the boat's human-powered (or anything else-powered), why would you need rigging? (Probably a dumb question; excuse my non-nauticality.)
—angel, Jul 05 2002
   

       Could you in addition create a sunshade out of photoelectric material to suppliment the charge?
—peterpeter, Nov 06 2002
   

       This is amusing. I was working on this idea back in 2002. Here's a thread I started on an online forum for boat designers and builders: <http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=813>   

       If I had the bucks I would have had the prototype built by now...   

       Cheers Lock
—lock, Sep 14 2003
   

       To product: vehicle: water ?
—kropotkin, Mar 10 2004
   


 

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