Is the Age of Sail set for a comeback?..

[keithisco]

In what could be a return to the age of sail (unfortunately not like the "Cutty Sark") Rolls - Royce have forwarded proposals for a new Cargo vessel set

"for a design change embracing sleeker hulls and hybrid propulsion systems, according to London-based Rolls, which is helping to develop a ship featuring a 180-foot sail augmented by bio-methane engines and carrying 4,500 tons."

British ingenuity is still ahead of the game and what a ship this will be

Read More Courtesy of Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-10/rolls-royce-revives-age-of-sail-to-beat-fuel-cost-surge-freight.html

[questionmark]

Looks like the Germans been there first:

For those who understand German

[keithisco]

Looks like the Germans been there first:

For those who understand German

I dont think their plans include flying a kite But happy to be proved wrong...

[questionmark]

I dont think their plans include flying a kite But happy to be proved wrong...

The point is that they are using that kite to pull the ship with favorable winds.

And it is not just a simple kite, that is a computer controlled device flying the most favorable pattern to relay as much wind energy as it can to the ship.

[Zaphod222]

I don´t think the "age of sail" is coming back, but depending on how high the crude oil price goes, we will definitely see some kind of high-tech sailing adaptions. It is free energy after all; the question to use it simply depends on a cost comparison between engine fuel, crew salary, and sailing gear wear.

[keithisco]

I don´t think the "age of sail" is coming back, but depending on how high the crude oil price goes, we will definitely see some kind of high-tech sailing adaptions. It is free energy after all; the question to use it simply depends on a cost comparison between engine fuel, crew salary, and sailing gear wear.

RR are talking about Wing Sails

[skookum]

How many extra crew will it require?

Will x amount of extra crew @ 30,000 dollars plus a year and the obvious higher cost of the ship build equal a saving?

[questionmark]

How many extra crew will it require?

Will x amount of extra crew @ 30,000 dollars plus a year and the obvious higher cost of the ship build equal a saving?

The largest sail yacht in the world (about 50 meters) needs only 3 to operate, and that is because they work in 4 hour shifts. The electric motor has long since been invented, and it is much more efficient setting sails than any human. The solar cell to get the energy for the motors is no problem either.

Besides that, for $30,000 a year you can't even hire crew in Bangladesh nowadays (if they know what they are doing).

[keithisco]

How many extra crew will it require?

Will x amount of extra crew @ 30,000 dollars plus a year and the obvious higher cost of the ship build equal a saving?

No extra crew required, the sails are all controlled from the bridge with no crew handling. In the link I supplied it tells you that the additional cost required is recouped in 3 - 5 years (average 30 yrs life for the target Cargo Ship) so 25 to 27 yrs of increased returns, and from day 1 a huge decrease in atmospheric particulate contamination as bunkering fuel is not used

[spud the mackem]

How many extra crew will it require?

Will x amount of extra crew @ 30,000 dollars plus a year and the obvious higher cost of the ship build equal a saving?

Some crews, Indians ,Phillipino's and a few more don't earn a 1/4 of that amount.