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Re:Battery-Electric Fishing Vessel Marks a Sea Change for Sm... by JshWright on Sunday September 10, 2023 @08:17PM (#37461406)
Hybrid sailboats are already a thing. An electric motor/generator sits in line with the traditional diesel engine and can a) drive the prop shaft, b) harvest power when the engine is turning the prop shaft, c) generate power by running the engine with the prop shaft clutch disengaged, or d) (the one you’re getting at) passively generate power when under sail by disengaging the clutch from the engine side and letting the prop spin the generator.

Sailboat props are often variable pitch to allow for better efficiency (i.e. they can be turned completely parallel with the flow of water when not in use), which also allows them to be set at an optimal angle for power generation (with minor speed losses, obviously).

Re:Battery-Electric Fishing Vessel Marks a Sea Change for Sm... by briffle on Sunday September 10, 2023 @11:37PM (#37462590)
H&H catamarans has some nice diagrams on how theirs work: https://www.hhcatamarans.com/ecodrive
Re:Battery-Electric Fishing Vessel Marks a Sea Change for Sm... by JshWright on Monday September 11, 2023 @09:15AM (#37466784)
Ah, cool, those are great diagrams!

I first heard about this system design from the Tally Ho rebuild: https://youtu.be/xohxmwPfctg?si=RoJV2za9ZgPldrJJ&t=1497