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World’s biggest solar-powered boat unveiled


25 Feb 2010

Read More: http://www.grist.org/article/2010-02...boat-unveiled/

KIEL, Germany—A skipper hoping to become the first to sail round the world using solar power said his catamaran could carve a wake for pollution-free shipping as he unveiled the record-breaking yacht Thursday. “This is a unique feeling to see in front of me today a boat which I so often dreamed about,” said Raphael Domjan as the covers came off the $24 million boat, the world’s biggest solar-powered vessel.

PlanetSolar, a 100-by-50-foot white catamaran, has been designed to reach a top speed of around 15 knots, equivalent to 15 miles per hour, and can hold up to 50 passengers. It is topped by 5,380 square feet of black solar panels, with a bright white cockpit sticking up in the center.

Constructed at the Knierim Yacht Club in Kiel in northern Germany, its state-of-the-art design also means it will be able to slice smoothly through the waves even in choppy waters.

Domjan will launch PlanetSolar in late March before starring at Hamburg port’s 821st anniversary celebrations in May and undergoing testing between June and September. The world tour will then start in April 2011.