The world's first wave Powered boat

Wave Powered Boat

When you go for a walk on the beach side you love hearing those waves breaking on the shore which is so romantic but have you ever thought that those waves can act as fuel for the futuristic engines for a new generation boat. Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Company has come up with this new generation wave powered boat names as The Suntory Mermaid II. This boat will be the first eco-friendly boat and is different from the one which we used to see.

This boat weighs around 3 ton and is made of thin recycled aluminum sheets which were made possible due to the new aluminum processing technology. 3mm aluminum sheets were used which are much smaller when compared with the regularly used 5 mm sheets. As the boat uses very thin, light and recycled sheets of aluminum it made the boat more durable and corrosion proof which was not found in the other recycled aluminum. The Suntory Mermaid II is a reality which can move at about 5 knots though the other boats can move 2-3 times faster than this.

The Suntory Mermaid II can turn the wave energy into the propulsion energy no matter from where the waves come from. The wave propulsion technology has become a reality and the only disadvantage we see is the low speed. So this might not appeal the crowd who like high speed cruising. The Suntory Mermaid II can turn out to be the best source for sailing which can also sail with outboard engine if required but it is good to maintain it as an eco-friendly boat which sails with the waves.

This amazing ship was developed by Hiroshi Terao of Tokai University and measures at around 9.5 meters in length or 31 feet. With the current crisis of global warming this wave powered boat comes as another step to save the earth. The basic principle of operation is to use the wave energy to create propulsive power so that the 2 fins attached under the bow will start moving to propel the ship.

This eco-friendly boat doesn’t stops by simply using the wave power it also uses the solar energy to generate electricity for it on board equipment. There are many on board equipments such as navigation light, personal computer, radio and iridium satellite phone which are all powered by solar energy. The boat’s propulsion system was made possible by the engineering professor at Tokai University in Japan Mr. Yutaka Terao and Ichiro Yokoyama was responsible for the ship’s design. It seems that they have done a tremendous job and the Suntory Mermaid II will successfully start its voyage later this month.