Canadian Yachting February 2022 - 82

CROSSING THE LINE
THE GOATIN MY BOAT
AN OPEN MIND WHEN IT COMES TO
ALTERNATE ENERGY SOURCES
By | John Morris
When you look at the classic paddle-wheeler, we can see that
in years gone by the marine community better understood alternate
fuels and green energy. Just like the paddlewheel powering
a Victorian gristmill, the water turns the paddle wheel, which
in turn drives the power plant of the boat and pushes the boat
forward. Brilliant.
I see the skeptics among you already putting your hand up and
bellowing about Newton's Third Law. Sure, in your narrowly
defi ned world, a boat cannot use water for fuel even though it is
sitting in limitless free supply. C'mon people - think outside the
envelope for even a minute or two; that kind of undernourished
imagination is what got us to here in the fi rst place, driving up the
river with that 30-year-old sooty Evinrude watching the climate
thermometer rise. We can do better!
SOLAR:
Alas, you've rejected the paddlewheel concept, but everyone
is on board with solar power. Free energy from the sun. A 400
kW solar set up is signifi cantly larger than the boathouse roof
but with some ingenuity can be fi tted onto your 28' runabout or
medium sailing sloop. That rig can power up a storage battery
weighing less than 850 kg and taking up less than three cubic
metres of interior space. While you won't have enough cockpit
room to take guests aboard, you will have the great feeling that
comes with reducing our nation's carb footprint.
HYDROGEN:
Before you even start with the safety spiel and showing us
pictures of the Hindenburg bursting into fl ames, consider this
important fact - hydrogen can be produced from ordinary water.
And water is what we have in abundance as we pointed out
earlier in this article amid your noisy rejection of our fi rst plan.
Converting ordinary water into hydrogen only requires electricity
and while the solar generation approach may not work for
everyone, don't be so quick to dismiss the extra-long extension
cord on page 104 of the Canadian Tire catalogue. After all, how
far from your dock do you actually go on a typical weekend
cruise? Just shorten the trip a smidge and the problem is solved.
METHANE:
As we know, farm animals produce extensive methane and
green thinkers see the reduction in animal consumption as a
step to reduced emissions. So, you can give a goat (or a heifer) a
wonderful new opportunity for a healthy outdoor lifestyle aboard
your boat. Wearing one of Mustang's new Goating Life PFDs
the goat is easy to please. You simply feed him sandwiches, or
strudel, or whatever you have aboard (it's well known they eat
anything) and he will get to work. The methane produced may
interfere with the fresh scent of the sea, but it will power your
engine without consuming even a litre of fossil fuel.
WILD ENERGY:
Here's a long shot - the wind is free. Simply put a mast on the
boat, add some sails and the boat will go anywhere you want at
no cost. What a great idea - I'm surprised we hadn't thought of
it before. Hold on there, please... I'm getting a message from
the control room. I am told that it has been tried before; free sail
power has driven boats for centuries, in fact. Well isn't that the
cat's pyjamas!
82 CANADIAN YACHTING | FEBRUARY 2022
Canadian Yachting February 2022

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