You might be better off buying an old aluminium tinny and modifying that. Lasts longer than plywood, and is already a boat. Hardest part done. Making a roof and adding solar panels is relatively easy
this post was submitted on 09 May 2026
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I think the best option is to take two old sailboats (already efficient hulls) and connect them together into a large catamaran with a platform in between them. This greatly increases the possible surface area for solar panels, with a minimum of water resistance added. It allows you to add a large section of solar panels in the middle without anything adding drag in the water in that section.
LOL! That's the best option? Why wouldn't you just start with a catamaran?
If you ever built a thing like that please give me the link to your YouTube, that would be funny as hell to watch.
A single-hull can be made self-righting, in case it flips in bad weather. A 35 foot catamaran? You're not getting that back up-right with a crew of one - you basically hope and pray a bigger boat comes along at that point.
... Now I've watched the video, there is no ballast, not even a dedicated bilge space, and with the shallow draft, I am uncertain how the boat in OOP isn't too top-heavy to stay up-right. Forget the "Sovereign Living" bit at the end, I'mma need to see some solid design and build data before listening to another word from that guy.
In short: I take back any mean things I said or implied about Catamarans.
I was just stanning on of my favorite things about, and pet criteria for, properly-designed boats. I just sold my first sail-boat because I wanted a bigger one, with a better capsize-rating.
Now I've watched the video, there is no ballast
He does end up adding ballast later. Added batteries, living stuff and about 150KG of rocks.
His takeaway was that it didn't really affect cruising speed and that he should have made a sturdier, heavier bottom hull.
Edit: he's in the process of turning it into a trimaran at the moment also for stability.
there is no ballast, not even a dedicated bilge space, and with the shallow draft, I am uncertain how the boat in OOP isn’t too top-heavy to stay up-right. Forget the “Sovereign Living” bit at the end, I’mma need to see some solid design and build data before listening to another word from that guy.
Don't worry, he said up front it is "rated for cross-atlantic" so it's all good.
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Catemaran hulls are specifically designed as such, you can't use normal hulls.
You do gain the extra room for solar, but equally you also make the boat wider, making it less flacrical in confined waterways like canals and rivers.
In high latitudes having a vertical solar sail might actually work quite well to well as both a solar array and a wind sail. But that will require significant engineering design time to get right.
Uhm. This is not done by welding a bit or using big bolts. If done wrong, your “catamaran” will not survive a single wave, let alone the conditions of the open sea. Don’t forget how much force water has.
So if you do this on a lake, you’ll be fine, but not in open waters.
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Fiberglass and resin or epoxy on plywood can last very well and is easy to repair if you go for "work boat finish".
I have every book I can find on this. Phil Bolger, Dynamite Payson, Jim Michelak, all easy and good designs.
The Birdwatcher style would lend itself well to solar panels, or Michelak's IMB (International Marine Beacher, from a magazine competition).
I have a half-built "Cartopper" in my shed. I need to go work on it more. Sometimes it's more fun to read about than do.
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hey that's my retirement plan
Frankly waiting for the news story where he gets killed "proving" his concept...
The first warning bell was "rated for cross-atlantic"... "rated" by whom?
Of course then there's the latter part where he talks about the next one is going to be super amazingly polished autonomous vessel with everything up to and including a sauna from the solar... And of course the sovereign citizen take....
Cool doing a project like this, but it smells of overconfidence in what it currently is and how trivial it will be to get to something much much more...
I remember reading about a Finn who spent 5 years, half part calculating, half building a small aeroplane in his apartment. Neighbours were let in on the knowing when he needed them to open their doors to poke a plane part into their apartements to get the thing down from IIRC third floor and out.
He flew it too!
I read it in the early nineties and the thing was maybe from the eighties. He didn't solder anything but drilled like 30.000 holes and riveted it all together.
Finns are cool.
And then there's this German champ hobbying together an entire tank in their basement:
Reminds me of Richards Reactor, a dude in Sweden who attemoted to build a smal scale nuclear reactor of some sort in his apartment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Handl
Not too long ago his blogg was still up, found this but the nuclear stuff is gone:
https://richardsreactor.blogspot.com/2017/02/170222-visit-from-police.html?m=1
The man had also been keeping an anti-aircraft gun in his basement
How big is this man's basement??
okay you can't just let those sit around. you have to maintain those.
He want's to make it
AI controlled
aww man
I respect his solar commitement, but listening to him it's obvious he's a libertarian Elon-Bro... my immediate reaction is "oh no... it's stupid."
And the concept isn't new, solar boats have been a thing for ages now and most of them are (like @OwOarchist@pawb.social suggested) catamarans or trimarans.
I'd like to second Povoq's request and ask that we're more mindful of the words we choose and their impact please.
Can we please avoid using abelist slurs in this community?
Heard and edited.
Oh, it's OK, he specifically addressed how to get good AI results. He commanded Chat-GPT to give him good info. If you just ask nicely it won't work, you have to be forceful. Forget boat building, he should clearly be teaching classes on using LLMs.
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Someone in the comments said it best, it's a very cool canal boat but nothing that light would stand-up to open ocean waves.
This specific design maybe not, but similar light plywood-epoxy catamarans based on designs by James Wharram are well regarded and proven open-ocean sailboats.
its ok for coastal mediteranean too. He did use it through canals of northern europe to get down to spain.
That's actually impressive.
He gets into this in the later videos but he's living aboard it quite a while now in the Mediterranean.
It could work in nice weather in the Mediterranean or some other more calm seas
Meh, do you know the level of tech that spread mankind across the world. Roughly logs. OP is likely fine.
USA: and I took that personally.
The USA do be blowing up boats and murdering their crews on the regular these days...
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Such a cool project. Now, if only I didn't live 1000 km from the sea in a small apartment...
Just mod it into a helicopter to carry the boat, easy.
Yeah I'll make a design on the back of a napkin. Nothing can possibly go wrong.
Just build it out the window and wait for the waters to rise. Biblically correct method 👍
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Leaving a comment so I can watch this later.
maybe star/save your comment or something because i am doing the same. i'm planning on kitting out my camping setup with solar so i can take our ebikes with us and i bet this video has all the info i need (i am pretty sure i have it all figured out except the precise wiring but more knowledge never hurt okay i just thought up an exception to that but you know what i mean) i am not pausing babylon 5 tho
On my version of Boost there are options to see your upvoted etc, and saved posts, but it doesn't work anymore
It did work. I atarted out saving things here and there and then an update wiped it all out and no longer works. Or it didn't the last time I tried it
It does not run forever.
If only we could build an undersea country in this way, but without the psychopaths. And let the land people make hell for themselves if they want, just freedom for the sane ones.
Yeah, except not fascist.
Welcome... to rapture!
And it lets you look like a super-spy.
@Nickelalloy
Initial thought: Wow, I'm sure many have started that but not finished.
Subsequent thought: Of course.
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Is that a river boat they started with? That thing looks like it’d crack in two over a strong wave.
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