3 ms·

From the article : "Ships can easily be retrofitted, literally overnight, with rotors activated by an on/off switch." I think kite systems require more work, e

From the article : "Ships can easily be retrofitted, literally overnight, with rotors activated by an on/off switch." I think kite systems require more work, e.g. for launching & landing. When it gets taken down, you probably need to dry it, fold it, stow it, etc. So even if they are more efficient, lighter & cheaper, doesn't mean they're necessarily the preferred solution.

studius 6y ago
With the technology we have today, why couldn't self-drying, self-folding, self-stowing sails be used to make ships even more efficient? Edit: there actually is a ship called the Oceanbird[1] with telescopic metal sails. [1]- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZVDs4n_a0M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZVDs4n_a0M
- Tade0 6y ago
  Because that's a fairly hard problem comparing to just tacking two rotating columns.
  - studius 6y ago
    There's a patent for a memory metal sail[1], telescopic sail mast[2], automatic retractable sail[3], and many others[4]. Also, there's the Oceanbird[5], a modern car-carrying ship with telescopically retractable metal sails. [1]- https://patents.google.com/patent/US9481432B2/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US9481432B2/en [2]- https://patents.google.com/patent/DE202011101489U1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/DE202011101489U1/en [3]- https://patents.google.com/patent/CN103086280B/en https://patents.google.com/patent/CN103086280B/en [4]- https://www.google.com/search?q=telescopic+sail+patents https://www.google.com/search?q=telescopic+sail+patents [5]- https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/swedish-collaboration-unveils-world-s-largest-sail-powered-car-carrier https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/swedish-collabora...
    - curtainsforus 6y ago
      All this complicated, fiddly tech, vs. two spinning bits of metal. I know which one I'd be more confident in...
- frederikvs 6y ago
  Perhaps they could, assuming somebody is willing to make the necessary investment to develop what you describe. However, it will probably be a complex system, and like most complex systems, it will be fairly fragile. Compare that to these Flettner rotors, which are essentially "a tube and a motor".
mhb 6y ago
Ships can easily be retrofitted, literally overnight, with rotors activated by an on/off switch. Kite systems seem far less practical but this can't possibly be true unless they're talking about a Sunfish. And even then, I'm skeptical. Or maybe they're using literally, as is the fashion, to mean figuratively.
- jcims 6y ago
  Yeah that claim stinks to high heaven. You're just going to bolt these suckers down to the deck and plug in an extension cord? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship#/media/File%3ACargo_E-Ship_1%2C_Emder_Hafen%2C_CN-03.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship#/media/File%3ACar...
  - fulafel 6y ago
    That picture is not of an auxiliary retrofited sail, but of E-Ship 1 which is all sails. The retrofitted ones are much smaller relative to ship size and are used together with main engines.

studius 6y ago

With the technology we have today, why couldn't self-drying, self-folding, self-stowing sails be used to make ships even more efficient? Edit: there actually is a ship called the Oceanbird[1] with telescopic metal sails. [1]- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZVDs4n_a0M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZVDs4n_a0M

Tade0 6y ago
Because that's a fairly hard problem comparing to just tacking two rotating columns.
- studius 6y ago
  There's a patent for a memory metal sail[1], telescopic sail mast[2], automatic retractable sail[3], and many others[4]. Also, there's the Oceanbird[5], a modern car-carrying ship with telescopically retractable metal sails. [1]- https://patents.google.com/patent/US9481432B2/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US9481432B2/en [2]- https://patents.google.com/patent/DE202011101489U1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/DE202011101489U1/en [3]- https://patents.google.com/patent/CN103086280B/en https://patents.google.com/patent/CN103086280B/en [4]- https://www.google.com/search?q=telescopic+sail+patents https://www.google.com/search?q=telescopic+sail+patents [5]- https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/swedish-collaboration-unveils-world-s-largest-sail-powered-car-carrier https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/swedish-collabora...
  - curtainsforus 6y ago
    All this complicated, fiddly tech, vs. two spinning bits of metal. I know which one I'd be more confident in...
frederikvs 6y ago
Perhaps they could, assuming somebody is willing to make the necessary investment to develop what you describe. However, it will probably be a complex system, and like most complex systems, it will be fairly fragile. Compare that to these Flettner rotors, which are essentially "a tube and a motor".

mhb 6y ago

Ships can easily be retrofitted, literally overnight, with rotors activated by an on/off switch. Kite systems seem far less practical but this can't possibly be true unless they're talking about a Sunfish. And even then, I'm skeptical. Or maybe they're using literally, as is the fashion, to mean figuratively.

jcims 6y ago
Yeah that claim stinks to high heaven. You're just going to bolt these suckers down to the deck and plug in an extension cord? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship#/media/File%3ACargo_E-Ship_1%2C_Emder_Hafen%2C_CN-03.jpg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotor_ship#/media/File%3ACar...
- fulafel 6y ago
  That picture is not of an auxiliary retrofited sail, but of E-Ship 1 which is all sails. The retrofitted ones are much smaller relative to ship size and are used together with main engines.