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An old idea, but finally they took it seriously... big cargo ships with a giant traction kite. It's an on-line translation from spanish newspaper, so sorry if it has mistakes:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u ... s&ie=UTF-8


do you see any future in this?

Yes i saw this some years ago, but didnt know it was about to happen. I thought i was only a funny fotoshop joke.

It wont be easy to fly a kite that huge in strong winds, and i asume is gonna be risky to get caught by the kite lines or joints. Other problem is gonna be the degradation of the materials, after a big-long trip the textile used is gonna stress a lot in that size and after flaping just by being manipulated ( i guess by a computer.) other issue, teh kite falling by any reason to the sea.

As i said is not gonna be easy , and dont know how do they want to achieve this, but the idea is wonderfull.
Human have done grater things than this (like landing in the moon) so i guess they would get this too.

Good points:
1.Enviromentall (saving fuel)(preserving the seas)
2.Reducing cost on shippments. (maybe also for customers)
3.kitesurfing will be highly respect and renowed (as its grandfather;)

the first ship with a foil was just watered...

http://www1.ndr.de/wirtschaft/segelfrachter4.html

surferazul wrote:Yes i saw this some years ago, but didnt know it was about to happen. I thought i was only a funny fotoshop joke.

It wont be easy to fly a kite that huge in strong winds, and i asume is gonna be risky to get caught by the kite lines or joints. Other problem is gonna be the degradation of the materials, after a big-long trip the textile used is gonna stress a lot in that size and after flaping just by being manipulated ( i guess by a computer.) other issue, teh kite falling by any reason to the sea.

As i said is not gonna be easy , and dont know how do they want to achieve this, but the idea is wonderfull.
Human have done grater things than this (like landing in the moon) so i guess they would get this too.

Good points:
1.Enviromentall (saving fuel)(preserving the seas)
2.Reducing cost on shippments. (maybe also for customers)
3.kitesurfing will be highly respect and renowed (as its grandfather;)

Actually SkySails have solved all of these problems quite creatively. The foils are being manufactured by North Sails NZ and should have a life expectancy of about a year. Handling of the kite is being done automtically by a nacelle suspended fron the bridles, there is only one traction line between load and nacelle. Lets wait and see how the maiden journey of the Beluga turns out.
One thing that can drmatically be inproved is hull design. Present hulls are not designed for this kind of propulsion and are very poor performers reachingupwind. I quess a large dagger board could improve the close reaching angle and make a more efficient use of the kites traction.

There are other companies developing knowhow on power generation using kites, I guess that as it as the case with skysails, we might see a proto in about a decade.

And here's some video showing the kite in action on the ship...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid ... =1&bbcws=1

Doesn't seem to practical to me. I've spent some time in the engine rooms of commercial tankers, and it seemed liked everything was half-broken and leaking all the time. Seems like a computer guided kite needs to be working just right for it to work at all. Probably more useful on a yacht that is well maintained IMO

much as i love the idea. i can't see a this working with 500-1000sqm kites in anything but the most perfect of conditions....

the cargo ships would have to be completely redesigned to handle the load.. and that would be to manage the constant kite pull. imagine the monster foil collapsing and then regaining power. that kind of torque will break a ship in half.. that or rip the anchor point off.

im more dreamer then engineer.. but even i think this is wishful thinking.

nah, compare relative size of kite and you will see these guys would be incredibly "underpowered" by our standards.
Don't plane, much less jump.
I don't think the shipping Co's would let them put a kite on a ship if it would break. $$$
The idea is to lower fuel use by reducing load on motors. As far as the loads from the kite, they are much less than from a "conventional" rig.