The future is green…

…but it is not around the corner.

Although there have been a lot of improvements, innovations and new companies over the last few years, I haven’t seen any major breakthroughs. Prices are still high, many traditional companies are trying to figure out how to do this electrical thing and charging is still a major issue.

Currently we are looking into a test with a small electrical outboard engine. How easy is it to install? What do we need? What are the costs? And not to forget, is the engine powerful enough?

Equipment

We are going to start with something like a Talamex TM66. It is rated as being to power a 2200KG boat, that is about 50% more than we need, just looking at the weight. So that should be a safe bet and is still fairly affordable. How will it compare to the existing 27pk / 27bph diesel engine? That is a good question.

Next we need a good battery. For now, it needs to be totally separate from the diesel engine. Otherwise we could theoretically empty the starter engine, which means we couldn’t start the old diesel. Therefore we choose to get a separate battery. A 105Ah semi-traction or this Talamex battery at boot4nl battery is recommended for a sail time of 1-3 hours. That is a good start for us.

Next we need some heavy duty cables, a charger and gear to install the engine.

Lets order and we will keep you posted!

It’s been a while

But we are at it again. Working on a sustainable future of our boat! The diesel engine should go out. And in comes electric. That was already the original aim when this blog was started, back in 2010

But when can I replace the (not so) old diesel? Well, there are still quite some obstacles to take. Like

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Sustainable boat building

Although sailing is probably one of the oldest ways to travel in a sustainable way, the boats currently being build are far from sustainable. With wind, solar and tides often available one would assume this can easily be changed. It is great to see the growing attention boat builders and their customers give to sustainability.

The well known Ocean Race has published a roadmap to sustainable boat building: Sustainable Boat Building: Roadmap to 2030. Good to see progress is being made!

Hoe houd jij je hoofd cool in de komende hittegolf

Wordt het weer zo warm? Hoe houd jij je hoofd cool in de komende hittegolf? Het klimaat verandert, en Nederland wordt na het weekend overspoelt door een enorme hittegolf. Temperaturen die dagen achtereen boven de 30 graden uit zullen komen. 35 graden als maximum, of zal dit uiteindelijk zelfs nog hoger uitkomen? Hier zijn wij in ons kikkerland toch niet tegen op gewassen?

Verfrissing tijdens de hittegolf

Lekker zwemmen, pootje baden in de schaduw, aan het strand zitten. Wie wil dat niet met dit weer.

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Printing a boat

We have thought about this and talked about it for quite some time. There have been some small examples where. This is one of the first, probably the first, that looks very serious!

Imagine the implication. You can plan where you want your electrical engine, or perhaps mulitple, how to store the batteries including a nice flow to cool them. Benches, or a sun bed etc.

Combi Wind and Solar power (video)

Great video about sustainability possibilities.

On a totally different note, do you already use s Simple CRM system? This is an easy way to track your contacts and notes.

Evernote

Reading Getting Things Done, I realised I have been using an important tool for a long time. Both to collect information, as well as to write down thoughts and concepts. I am talking about Evernote.

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Build a boat in seconds

Ever wanted to build a boat, but did’t have the time? You are not alone. Building a boat is a long process which you don’t want to rush (too much).

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Getting Things Done, with OmniFocus

Lately I try to get things done. Really! With the help of David Allen’s Gettings Things Done strategy, I now use OmniFocus to, well, get things done. For a start, I was really skeptical myself as well. But it works. Especially, or perhaps only, if you go all in.

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Things

Things I use. Daily. Great and easy to use To Do app.

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Ocean Cleanup

Ocean CleanupTwo words: keep dreaming! Or in this case, dream big, and follow your dreams. That is that the Ocean Cleanup initiative, by a young Dutch student from Delft is all about. Bryan Slate is only 20 years old and already working a couple years on this huge project to cleanup all the oceans.

The project turned to crowdfunding to raise the first round of cash. With succes. “After completion, US$ 2,154,282 had been raised, making it ‘the most successful non-profit crowd funding campaign in history’, according to crowd funding platform ABN AMRO’s SEEDS, who facilitated the campaign.

 

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