By David R. Baker
Ferries plying the San Francisco Bay in the future could be equipped with sails to slash the amount of fuel they consume, if Jay Gardner has his way.
Gardner co-owns a small startup, based in Napa, that plans to build ferries with tall, solid sails, using the bay's strong winds to help haul commuters across the waves.
The sails, made of carbon composite materials, would more closely resemble aircraft wings than the canvas rigging of standard sailboats. They wouldn't eliminate the need for an engine.
They could, however, cut each ferry's fuel use by at least 40 percent, said Gardner, with Wind+Wing Technologies.
"Especially with the Bay Area and the amount of wind we have, it's something that really clicks with people," Gardner said. "Once you get past the initial resistance and start showing them the studies we've developed, the light comes on."
He and his partners at Wind+Wing already run a 18-year-old company called Adventure Cat Sailing Charters that takes tourists on catamaran cruises around the bay.
Many ferries burn 70 gallons of diesel per hour, or more, giving ferry companies and transportation districts a big incentive to try more efficient designs. Gardner has presented his plans to three of the local ferry operators, and they've expressed interest.
"We're excited about it," said Carolyn Horgan, vice president of operations for Blue & Gold Fleet, which runs 14 ferries and tourist boats on the bay. "If someone wants to come to us with a fuel-saving technology, we'll take a look at it."
Gardner has signed up noted boating engineers Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering of Huntington Beach (Orange County) to work on the vessel's design. He is negotiating financing for the project, although he won't say with whom. Building the "wind-assisted" ferry could cost between $3 million and $9 million.
There is, of course, no guarantee it will be built. The Bay Area, with its entrepreneurial culture and ecological bent, has seen many promising green ideas go nowhere. But some succeed.
"Every ferry route could benefit from something like this," Gardner said. "Would the ferry districts like to save fuel? Oh my gosh, who wouldn't like to save fuel? Would they like to save greenhouse gases? It's a question of how you do it."
Wind+Wing isn't the only company trying to design a greener ferry.
Solar Sailor, based in Australia, makes ferries with sails covered in solar panels, tapping both the wind and the sun. In San Francisco, Hornblower Cruises & Events started shuttling tourists to Alcatraz last year aboard its Hornblower Hybrid, which uses solar panels and two small, vertical wind turbines to generate electricity.
Hornblower considered using sails but decided the solar panels and wind turbines would be more useful. Unlike a sail, they provide power even when the ferry isn't moving, said Cameron Clark, the company's director of environmental affairs.
"With a ferryboat, you spend the majority of your time sitting at the dock," he said. "You sit for 30 minutes and sail for 15."
Together, the panels and wind turbines generate about 5 kilowatts of electricity, enough to run the ship's electrical systems. When tied up at dock, the engines shut off, saving fuel. Before Hornblower retrofitted the ferry, burned 20 to 26 gallons of diesel per hour, Clark said. Now it burns six. The entire retrofit cost nearly $4 million, and Clark estimates that building another hybrid boat would cost 20 to 30 percent more than a regular ferry.
"If your vessel is running 4,000 hours a year, it'll pay back," he said. "If you're running a couple hundred hours a year, you'll never pay it back."
Wind+Wing envisions a single-deck catamaran hull with two sails. If financing comes through, Gardner plans to build a small demonstration version of his vessel next year, letting the local ferry operators see how well it works on their routes. A full passenger ferry capable of hauling 300 people or more could be ready in 2015.
E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/16/BU051BVNKL.DTL#ixzz0fiOFZoFX
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