<![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays - Gizmodo Comments]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> @Navin R Johnson: But Landor's calculation shows that you'll have to leave the solar cells out in the sun for 25 hours to recharge the battery enough for 1 hour of motorized enjoyment.

Sunlight is free and plentiful, but very spread out. Curse you, physics!

skierpage

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> @schrosa: No, no it is most definitely not cool.

GOKOR

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> @Navin R Johnson: Whoops! You are correct.

Bos'un's Mate

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> @ANoel: Oh, so now you're against my Solar AssHat[tm]?

ideaman2020

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> @Landor: You missed the part about "12V deep cycle marine battery" The panel are to increase run time I believe, not as only source of power.

Navin R Johnson

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> 1 sq. meter of solar cells
x
125 to 375 watts per sq. meter of solar power available (source)
x
15% solar panel efficiency
/
746 watts per horsepower
=
0.025 to 0.075 horsepower available

Let's assume the gross displacement is 300 lbs and the waterline is 12 ft. A displacement hull needs about 4 hp per ton to reach hull speed. This outrigger kayak would need 0.6 hp to reach a hull speed of 4.5 knots.

Looks underpowered for any real traveling by a factor of 8 to 25, depending on the weather, time of year, etc.

Bos'un's Mate

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> Huh, how do you paddle the darn thing when the energy is gone?

Zardmou

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> Now we just sit back and let the current take us to land.

OMG! Ponies!

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> Cool I guess. Not sure I'd want to pay that much for solar panels and the motor just to put it on a kayak. I think I'd rather have one of those small motorized fishing boats instead. It seems to me that this defeats the purpose of a kayak altogether, that of being somewhat portable enough to hike it in and out of areas, along with the enjoyment and healthy exercise that one can get out of using it properly.

yougottabekidding

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> I'm not against people putting motors on things, especially when they're quiet and pollution-free. But the biggest problem I see with this is that it interferes with regular paddling. When it runs out of juice, it's going to be hard to paddle back.

weatherman

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> as retarded as a solar asshat powering a motorized skateboard.

ANoel

]]> <![CDATA[Effortless Kayaking, Motorized by the Sun's Rays]]> Cool.

schrosa

]]>