Solar powered boat hits water for the first time

Wednesday 13 June 2007
By Naomi Weston

A solar powered racing boat, designed and manufactured by mechanical engineering students from Imperial College London, hit the water for the first time at the Beale Park Thames Boat Show, near Reading, last weekend. The boat is being prepared for the Frisian Solar Challenge, a 220km race along the canals, rivers and lakes of Friesland in the Netherlands.

The team of students showed off their boat, Solar Spirit, and reached a speed of 6.3mph on the lake at Beale Park. Although in an unfinished state, with the solar panels unconnected, the boat, powered by a battery, demonstrated that it met the design requirements.

"The boat turned easily, was very stable and had low resistance," explained Oliver Carson, a third year mechanical engineering student working on the project. Oliver, who is control system designer for the team, added: "We were very pleased with the boat’s performance and hope at the actual race next year we will have optimised the motor and have the potential to go significantly faster."

The team, coming to the end of their third year in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, now plans to hand the project to another group of students who will complete the boat in time for the race in 2008. The new team will start in September and have the task of working on the electrical system, the fixings for the solar panels and the last minute extras including fire extinguishers and life jackets.

Hull designer, Peter Huthwaite, said: "I’m delighted with how the project’s gone – in nine months we’ve come from nowhere to having a completed hull which we were able to successfully demonstrate at the show. We’re now looking forward to handing the project over to another enthusiastic team of students who should be able to build on our work for the competition."

The current team includes Thomas Middleditch, Oliver Carson, Christopher Burrows and Peter Huthwaite. They plan to attend more boat shows over the next year running up to the competition in the Netherlands and are keen to attract further sponsorship. For more information on Solar Spirit please visit the website: www.solarspirit.co.uk

The Frisian Solar Challenge race is held biennially and is the only solar powered boat race in Europe. For more details on the race please visit the website: www.frisiansolarchallenge.com