JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015 - 19

sustainability

Ultralight solar boat

The Scigrip solar boat is a sustainable structure aiming for the highest efficiency possible when it comes to weight, speed and
overall optimization. It competed in the
highly competitive DONG World Cup Solar
Power Challenge during the summer of 2014.

of the drive system and therefore boost the vessel's speed.
Specialist software was also
included to optimize energy
and power consumption. The
use of composites allowed the
boat to be the lightest structure possible while ensuring
optimum performance.

Challenge and having learned
from past experiences, the
teams followed up with a
reviewed design and extensive testing: the new hull was
completed during the Cracow
Composite Expo in 2013. In
May 2014, the boat entered
the last stages of production,
i.e. sea trials.

Competitive racing
and results
The Scigrip solar boat first
competed in the DONG
World Cup Solar Power
Challenge in 2008, winning
second place, then reiterating
in 2012 with a third place and

ince 2008, different
versions of the Scigrip
solar boat have been
built in its native country of
Poland, always aiming for
a lighter hull to make it the
fastest solar boat possible.
Scigrip and the Solar Boat
Team worked together to
make this possible; Scigrip
providing adhesive solutions
and the Solar Boat Team its
experience in terms of design,
mechanical and boat building
skills and the use of advanced
composites.

the Innovation Award for the
lightest boat in the competition. Thanks to these promising results, the team built
a completely new boat to
compete in 2014. Engineers,
boatbuilders, designers and
students constitute the public
of this particular race, making
it very competitive and providing a launching pad for the
most dynamic boat designs in
terms of lightweight composite development and sustainability. n
More information:
www.scigripsolarboatteam.com

Several Scigrip components
were used to build the 2014
solar boat. The SG 230HV
high-viscosity methacrylate
(MMA) adhesive was used
to bond the largest and most
demanding joints such as the
bulkheads, engine column
and floater beam sections.
The engine features rareWeight saving and
earth magnets (the strongest
type of magnets available),
adhesive solutions
Anticipating the 2014 DONG which increase the efficiency

More information

Bartosz Puchowski, the captain, says: "Our team led the class on
and off throughout the race. We sailed tactically and I am delighted
our efforts paid off. The SCIGRIP solar boat performed very well
and thanks to its incredibly lightweight structure of 135 kg, it had
a real speed advantage over our competitors during the reduced
solar power phases of the race. As a result of this higher efficiency,
the boat was then able to really excel during the longer, sunnier
distances of the course, reaching maximum speeds of 24 km/h."

Model testing at the CTO S.A. ship design and research centre (up). The SCIGRIP solar boat at the 2014 DONG World Cup Solar Power Challenge (down)

No94 January - February 2015

/ jec composites magazine 19

http://www.scigripsolarboatteam.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #94 - January/February 2015