What is Digg?46 Comments
- FSUCHEEF, on 08/19/2008, -2/+22About once a year this article appears on Digg.
Make it happen already. - allaboutdatiki, on 08/19/2008, -1/+13At a 20% savings in fuel, the payback period might be short. The shipping lines must be licking their chops, waiting for the technology to be proven ...
- HellifIno, on 08/20/2008, -0/+7Good thing you were here to set the record straight with your opinion. We almost believed those scientific-y dudes!
- serif69, on 08/20/2008, -0/+6Efficiency and maintenance. Generally speaking, the simpler the system , the more efficient it is and easier it is to maintain. A generator powering a battery pack powering an electric motor has at minimum three points of failure which require specialized tools and/or training to replace and/or repair, whereas the sail has one point of failure that is easily replaced and/or fixed. The generator also sees losses at all four interfaces (wind-turbine, turbine-generator, generator-battery, battery-motor), whereas the sail sees losses only at its interfaces with the wind and the mast.
- p1eiades, on 08/20/2008, -0/+5I enjoyed the "professional kite flier" comment on the site.
- RadiatedAnt, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4just like you would when pirates come and rape your ship
- stan205, on 08/19/2008, -3/+7Video of SkySail in use: http://s2.streamingfarm.tv/streamingfarm/skysails/ ...
- EtherGnat, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4If you were going into the wind it would generate more drag than power. If you were going with the wind it might generate some positive power, but I can't imagine it would be more efficient than a sail with more surface area.
- breakaway, on 08/20/2008, -0/+4Agreed. I'm still waiting for:
iPod Killer
Air Car
Desktop Linux - synystar, on 08/20/2008, -1/+5Make one that I can attach to my truck already. Where I live, I should be able to sail for a few miles without having to use the gas pedal. Gas pedal - they should just call it the "income reducer".
- diggimator, on 08/20/2008, -0/+3With regard to wind direction:
"Their double-wall profile gives the SkySails towing kites aerodynamic properties similar to the wing of an aircraft. Thus, the SkySails-System can operate not just downwind, but at courses of up to 50° to the wind as well."
(PDF) http://www.skysails.info/fileadmin/user_upload/Pre ...
The key benefit of this system appears to be the ability to tap into stronger, higher altitude winds. - drplump, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2Its a retro-fit on a regular ship the maneuvering can be done by the engine.
- Bicx, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3With this sail, I might actually be able to bike to work.
- JackOpfor, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2I just mentioned it to a buddy of mine and he said the same thing. If you watch the Skysails video the ommit a good portion of the recovery. Why is this? Is it because its probably very similar to a spinnaker recovery, with bigger gear. Which on a 35' boat can be tough in adverse conditions let alone a cargo ship with a sail that generates the same traction as an airbus engine. Looks cool but when i see launch and recovery videos that aren't edited I will believe.
- RoboRay, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3I think that's his point. Unless you're running pretty close to straight downwind, that kite isn't accomplishing much.
- TheR3dMenace, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2Modern shipping lanes were developed over hundreds of years by using the trade winds. I'm guessing that ships sail downwind quite often...but you're right that they couldn't use them ALL the time.
- epadafunk, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2You'll be waiting about 23 years for desktop linux.
- cbags, on 08/20/2008, -0/+2There have been America's Cup teams that have looked into this technology...the problem...is that it's fairly difficult to launch and recover easily.
- damntourists, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3it's more likely that you'll be using a type of solar paint than a sail on your commuter car in the future.
you'll have to use 2 people to drive instead of one, because the car changes directions constantly while driving. so one would be in charge of the sail as the car or the wind switches directions. - Deathfrogg, on 08/20/2008, -1/+3Are they as controllable as traditional styles? The advantage with the traditional sail forms is you can control what they are doing relative to the hull and keel. Can you tack and jib? Really, all it looks like is a high set spinnaker which is only for running. Seems to me that its no good for real manouvering.
- CynicalTyler, on 08/20/2008, -1/+2Just a few more of these babies and we won't need a boat anymore.
- DuffyDirect, on 08/20/2008, -2/+3hey this might be a stupid question, but why couldn't a ship just have a windmill generator mounted on the forecastle to power an electric motor to assist the diesel engine?
- damntourists, on 08/21/2008, -0/+1@Sandhog: maybe you should have signified somewhere that you were actually kidding before someone calls you out.
- diggimator, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1You won't be the first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv9avH8TQJ8
- MindTrigger, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1SellOutcalypse?
- Criffer, on 09/27/2008, -0/+1I appreciate the idea, it really makes sense. The kite flyer who left a comment has a point though. The lift would work against the pull power. But if the bow is lifted out of the water that's a good thing.
Chris from http://www.boatpride.com - HallenbeckJoe, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1It has already been built and tested. You can even pre-order it.
- tomarocco, on 08/20/2008, -1/+2I'm not working bow with that sail.
- lex0nyc, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1Nice to see how it works.
- mijelh, on 08/20/2008, -0/+1Kites can tack and jibe, and have maximun performance beam reching just like any other kind of sail (look some kitesurfer videos as a reference). Of course, all sailships need something to generate lift to counter the lateral force from the sail (if they plan not to go downwind all the time), and I doubt that cargo ship they are testing the skysails with have a keel.
- thegrantman, on 08/20/2008, -3/+3If we photoshopped some whales towing oil tankers we could get an interesting fight between PETA and Exxon.
- Smwbigboss, on 08/20/2008, -2/+2Their frothing demand for this technology increases.
- zerton, on 08/20/2008, -0/+0what happens if the wind dies down / a downward gust occurs and it falls into the sea?
- Triterion, on 08/20/2008, -2/+2The key to their figures is that they must be deployed "in favorable wind conditions". I'm willing to bet that those savings are only seen while running. How often does a ship like that go directly downwind? maybe 1/10th of the time. So 1/10th of the time you can get 200% fuel savings, no thanks.
- seven07, on 08/20/2008, -0/+0does that mean the kite lifts up the ship with effect similar to hydrofoil to reduce drag in water?
- Sandhog, on 08/21/2008, -1/+1Um...hello...kidding.
- mijelh, on 08/20/2008, -1/+1The 5x efficiency claim is quite confusing.
There's no justification of that claim on the article, and on the SkySails site they only claim to have better lift-to-surface rate than normal ships (given that there's more wind at kite's height than there is on the ground), which is also confusing because kites just suck when going close hauled (at least compared to a traditional sail) - tomarocco, on 08/20/2008, -1/+1Perhaps DDW is the point of sail where it becomes "5x more efficient". There is no way it could even equal the efficiency at other points of sail, much less exceed it.
- zerries, on 08/20/2008, -3/+2The snorg tee girl who wears the "with a shirt like this" shirt is pretty hot.
- spaceshipsix, on 08/20/2008, -1/+0Good music and style but a little dramatic given the subject.
- Sandhog, on 08/20/2008, -3/+1I'm waiting for the day my electric car uses 20% less electricity with one of these babies.
- bwjacket, on 08/20/2008, -4/+2So you're saying it wouldn't be the perfect machine capable of perpetual motion? Damn, thought he was on to something.
- damntourists, on 08/20/2008, -3/+1the oil companies won't be too happy about this...
- Distraughtite, on 08/20/2008, -10/+4new metalocalypse is a half hour long for the next 3 weeks.
just putting it out there. oh and yay sails. - spyd3rweb, on 08/20/2008, -8/+2Yeah but they look 5x more stupid than traditional sails.
- ripple123, on 08/20/2008, -9/+1oh hey wow! a unstable para kite! thats so much more convenient that a normal sail. id say there claim of 5x more power per square meter is ***** too.
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