» Solar Powered Trimaran Ferry

(October 2006)

You may have read about the changing of the guard down on the San Francisco waterfront: the unionized company that has run the ferries and tours to Alcatraz for the last 15 years, Blue and Gold, has been replaced by Hornblower Yachts, a commercial charter outfit. About 55 B&G union workers — deck hands, captains, etc — lost their jobs when the National Park Service switched contractors when it was put up for bid.

All the local coverage has focused on the obvious—disgruntled union employees—but missed the main reason for the switch: Hornblower was the only bidder to submit a proposal for cleaner-tech vessels, part of the new requirements by the Park Service, which manages the tour operations. Hornblower is working with Solar Sailor of Sydney, Australia, to construct two 600-passenger trimarans for Alcatraz (at a cost of between $6 million and $8 million apiece) that will run on as much on sun and wind power as they do diesel fuel—and will emit half the pollutants of a similar sized conventional ferry. Service is scheduled to start in 2008, and a second vessel is on order for 2011.


The slickest feature? The triple-hulled vessel will have a 45-foot high retractable wing covered in solar panels that can generate 20 kilowatts of electricity to help take the load off the two diesel engines. The wing also generates some 170 hp on its own as a sail. When conditions get hairy and the wind hits 30+ knots (that's when many sailboats start to de-mast), the wings fold up, all beetle-like, and the ferry operates like one of its older counterparts All this is based on a similar ferry that's already been in operation in Sydney for a couple years.

Source: waterlog

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