Talador I'm glad you're so convinced that you know what you know. Any power cat with any kind of experience would not be going directly head on and it also happens to be one of only two or three cases where the ride may be more comfortable than on a mono. I personally don't want a boat designed completely around a 2% situation that i would spend all my cruising life trying to avoid.You may want to spend some time reading blogs of power cats that have done ocean crossings. And I know many of you think you know better than our friend over at kss. And I will again encourage you to spend some time learning from those doing electric conversions everyday. You are missing much where efficiency is concerned. There is so much being learned about prop design and how little traditional ice prop design applies to electric drive. Every element of the electric drive is being worked on for cost size and efficiency. So even if the four or five major components only see a 1 to 3 % annual improvement the cumulative gains are steady.
I'm very comfortable that time and likely in less than a decade will prove how wrong you are. I would suggest you start fresh and be open to what those being successful with both power cats and electrical drives are actually doing not what you think they are doing.
Rick, "That is why a solar boat needs to start with a clean slate. Just list the things you need, want and would like to have. Then come up with a weight estimate. Combine that with a target speed and you can come up with a basic hull design. If target speed is around 8kts the best hull configuration will be a stabilised monohull. If the target speed is 5kts then it could be a monohull or catamaran."
Ok, I think this is important and I am doing it anyway so here goes.
Essentials and apx. weights
Two People 340 lbs
Dinghy, engine, fuel and davits. 500 lbs
Watermaker and tank 100 lbs
Anchors and 200 feet of chain, windlass, 500 lbs
Galley (sink, oven, microwave, pans) 400 lbs
Fridge and Freezer 200 lbs
6 months of goodies 500 lbs
Head plus 50 gallon holding tank, shower 500 lbs
Bed and Bedding 100 lbs
Clothing 100 lbs
Air conditioner/dehumidifier/heater 100 lbs
Radar, auto pilot, radios, Nav systems 300 lbs
Tools, pumps, spare parts, tanks etc. 300 lbs
Toys, (diving, fishing, kayaks, etc.) 300 lbs
Apx 4000 lbs
Does not include engines, generators, batteries, solar panels, sails (wings), fuel, water, electrical systems. Or of course the weight of the structure itself.
Speed. The reason I am doing this is to get a faster boat.
It is critical that the boat be able to go 10+ knots into 2 meter seas and be able to reliably be able to do 200 nautical mile days. Nothing will end my days of cruising faster than subjecting the Admiral to a hurricane.
The lighter, the faster the boat needs to be to avoid bad seas. My pig of a boat is very comfortable in 6 to 9 foot seas. Nothing is funnier than passing a cat going up wind and telling them to "Ride em Cowboy!" as you just plow through.
Talador