Hybrid Boat

Hornblower Hybrid... worth a trip to New York.

The Hornblower Hybrid was featured in Workboat this month. The article discusses the current progress of the boat and some of the unique systems that it incorporates. The details of these systems and the method by which the vessel operates are provided by the included video.

Hornblower Hybrid featured in Marine Log

  


A profile of the Hornblower Hybrid appeared this month in Marine Log. We're excited to be talking about the boat more as we get so close to launch. Read about the progress of construction, how the boat operates and details on all our partners who are providing components to make the boat run!

Ultra High Pressure Water Blasting and Primer Coat

The Hornblower Hybrid is shown here undergoing a shipyard's version of one serious shower! Instead of using the method of abrasive blasting, we decided to use Ultra High Pressure (UHP) water blasting. Water is shot at the vessel at more than 30,000 psi removing old paint and cleaning the vessel off back down to steel. This process allows for us to remove and properly dispose of the old paint before applying the vessels new protective coating.

This method eliminates the concerns of dust that comes from abrasive blasting. Additionally, the water is collected, filtered and able to be reused. Hang on for the quick ride through a weekend of water blasting and the first primer coat application.

 

 

New York Hornblower Hybrid Prepping for Paint

We had so many great responses from our post showing the time lapse construction of the catwalk and the glass structure we decided we should post the vessel being prepped for paint.

In this video you can see the the crew working from two different perspectives prepping the vessel. While they make this all look easy, their work helps prepare them for the paint job that comes next. Stay tuned for some great upcoming videos.

 

Professional Mariner article on hybrid vessels

David Tyler at Professional Mariner wrote a great piece about our Hornblower Hybrid and several other hybrid vessel projects in the works. The important message in the piece is the emphasis that every company featured is placing on commitment to innovation. Changing the way the maritime industry views fuel consumption and energy conversation won't happen overnight, nor will it happen with one boat.

More companies like those mentioned in the article need to get involved and more people like David need to talk about what we're doing. Together we can make our oceans, rivers and harbors a cleaner place!

Getting closer....

Hey there! You may have noticed we went silent for a bit. Well, we were busy building our boat. Since we couldn't give you updates everyday, we recorded a few days of work, sped it up and voila – a lot of what you missed in a very short video.

In this video you can see the construction of the catwalk above the glass atrium on the second deck. If you’re walking on the catwalk you’ll be able to look down on the people inside the second deck, and they can look up and see you! Almost like an aquarium!

 

Since our last post we actually have the boat well on its way to completion. Just a few more weeks in the shipyard, followed by a few weeks of sea trials and we’ll be taking reservations for her maiden voyage.

New York Hornblower Hybrid System Overview

In the first week of December some members of our engineering team visited the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans, La. With success at the show last year, being named recipients of one of the Significant Boats of 2009, the team was excited to see what other companies had been working on in 2010.  The team had the opportunity to see what others in the industry were doing to reduce emissions, provide a healthy workplace for their crew and ultimately protect the environment. One thing our team reported back on was the willingness of others in the industry to discuss alternative propulsion systems, such as the those being implemented on the Hornblower Hybrid projects.

Three years ago, that was a different story...While it takes time to understand, time to learn and time to adopt our team was motivated by the fact that many people were willing to discuss our project. Many even acknowledged that there is a spot for the technologies being implemented on the Hornblower Hybrid, in certain applications, in the near future.

As we mentioned in our previous posting, we have seen questions from folks across the country asking:

• How will the vessel work?
• How will you use the diesel generators, hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, solar panels and wind turbines to power the vessel?
• Are you going to be running only on Hydrogen?
• What other vessels or boats would this system work on?

Today we'd like to provide you an overview of the systems on the New York Hornblower Hybrid. Additionally, we will work to answer some of the most common questions that we've seen. While this overview won't go into great detail, it will provide you a better sense of the project and the various technologies being employed to reduce our overall emissions.

In the upcoming weeks we will continue to elaborate on each of the propulsion and renewable technologies, including:

• Variable Speed Generators
• Hydrogen Fuel Cells
• Solar Panels
• Wind Turbines
• Batteries
• Rapid Cold Ironing

As we elaborate on the various systems we will provide readers the opportunity to learn about the benefits of not relying on a single source of power.  Each power source listed above has different environmental, health & safety and efficiency attributes.

Continue to stay tuned for great videos and pictures of the project.  What are some other topics you would like to see discussed?   

Feel free to leave a comment here or write to us on Facebook.

If you'd like to get more updates on the project you can follow us on twitter.

Check out our other videos on our You Tube channel

 

 

Hornblower Hybrid is all the Buzz

After introducing the vessel last week there has been an exciting response from not only the maritime industry, but from others in the technology and transportation world as well.

Popular Science, Engadget (Calling it the Eco-Friendly Trifecta by using Hydrogen, solar and wind),Brighter Energy and Earth Techling to name a few have talked about the project referencing the San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid as well. 

We have seen questions from folks, asking how will the vessel work? How will you use the diesel generators, hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, solar panels and wind turbines to power the vessel? Are you going to be running only on Hydrogen? What other vessels or boats would this system work on?

In our next posting we will be providing an overview of the systems on the vessel. We will be taking readers through our diagram explaining how the various power sources support this vessel while at the dock and while underway.

To get a head start, take a look at the System Diagram of our existing vessel San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid - System Diagram.  The New York Hornblower Hybrid is based off of the technology used on the San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid...of course in an effort to make things better we have been making enhancements, but it's a great place to start from. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

The shipyard is busy working on the stern extension, the battery room, wireways and stairwells on the New York Hornblower Hybrid. Below is a short video giving you an inside look at the work being done in Connecticut by Derecktor Shipyard.

 

For those who might have missed it here is a link to a few of the vessel renderings available. They make for a great desktop background:

New York Hornblower Hybrid Renderings

Statue Cruises sets launch date for revolutionary new Hydrogen Hybrid vessel

 Our team is ecstatic about today’s announcement by Statue Cruises, Hornblower and Derecktor Shipyard.

“This is a genuinely breakthrough project, not only for us but for the U.S. marine industry. This boat will produce minimal carbon emissions and sip, rather than guzzle, diesel fuel. Along the way it will help make New York harbor a cleaner, safer and more pleasant place. As a local shipyard, we’re extremely pleased to have this project,” says Gavin Higgins, Derecktor Vice President for Business Development.

Over the upcoming months we will be making weekly updates to our blog providing the world an opportunity to have an inside look into the completion of the Hornblower Hydrogen Hybrid. If you have a question, ask it. If you have a comment, leave it. Our engineering team will work to provide you with answers that help you and the world better understand the technology.

Here is a picture of the hull and main deck moved into the shed at Derecktor’s Shipyard to complete the remainder of the vessel inside during the winter.

We have video clips, other pictures and diagrams explaining the systems on the vessel coming soon...

Additional Pictures:

Additional Pictures & Renderings

 

 

 

Please find the full press release at the site below:

Marine Log

 

 

 

Hornblower going hybrid for fleet with electric power

Just came across an article by Onell R. Soto with the Union-Tribune.

Hornblower going hybrid for fleet with electric power.

Hornblower going hybrid for fleet with electric power

By Onell R. Soto

Saturday, November 21, 2009 at midnight

/ HornblowerSD

Hornblower Cruises has a boat powered by wind and sun (and diesel) in the harbor for the next couple of months. The boat features wind turbines made by Helix Wind, a San Diego company.

The ropes were untied, the harbor cruiser was floating free, and Capt. Nick Kreisel pushed the throttle as he worked the wheel, kicking powerful motors into action.

The air on San Diego Bay was filled with — the sound of splashing water.

The signature roar and smoke of a harbor boat pulling away from the dock were missing as the Hornblower Hybrid’s big diesel engines remained silent.

Instead, electric motors driven by battery power pushed the boat through the water. Above the wheelhouse, electric wind turbines spun in a sea breeze and solar panels converted sunlight into power.

The visiting ship, which spends its summers ferrying San Francisco tourists to Alcatraz, is a model of what San Diego’s largest harbor cruise line says is the future — a ship that saves energy by using electricity to move around.

Electric propulsion on the water is not new, but it has been mostly limited to large, oceangoing ships such as cruise liners that use fuel oil to power generators, or aircraft carriers and submarines that rely on nuclear power.

If you compare it to a car, this floating hybrid is more like a plug-in Chevy Volt than a Toyota Prius.

It relies on lead-acid batteries charged while it is plugged in at dockside for much of its propulsion, so its diesel engines — which power generators, not propellers — need only run when it is going fast and steady.

At slow speeds, 3 or 4 knots, the ship can run for several hours on battery power alone.

“We’re taking the diesel out of the picture when it’s least efficient,” said Hornblower’s Cameron Clark, who was involved in the retrofit as the company’s environmental director.

That means the 149-passenger ferry uses about 75 percent less diesel an hour than it did in its prior life as a commercial-diving catamaran in the Gulf Coast, he said.

Big power plants and solar and wind farms can produce electricity much more efficiently and with less pollution than onboard generators, Clark said. The electricity from the onboard wind turbines and solar panels is not used to move the boat, but rather for its lights, computers and other electrical equipment.

The ship is designed as a teaching tool, so many of its features are out in the open. The bar, for instance, features electrical equipment instead of liquor bottles.

And passengers can try to add to the electricity supply by pedaling an onboard exercise bicycle, though Clark concedes that the amount of power a person produces is so tiny that no one has succeeded in pushing a significant amount into the batteries.

The Hornblower Hybrid will be available for private events, harbor excursions and cocktail cruises in the next couple of months, and will take part in the San Diego Bay Parade of Lights.

Clark said the $4 million retrofit cost about 30 percent more than a typical upgrade, and it will take about six or seven years for the company to recoup its investment through lower fuel bills.

Hornblower is committed to looking for ways to save fuel and the environment, said Jim Unger, who heads the company’s local operations.

It is now planning to build a second, more advanced hybrid to take tourists to the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, and is considering converting one of its seven San Diego-based ships, the Adventure Hornblower, as well.

“We’re looking now for grant money,” Unger said.

He said the company has installed cleaner diesel engines in two of its San Diego ships. Such engines will be required by law five years from now.

“Hornblower has really pursued a leadership role in these issues,” David Merk, director of environmental services for the Port of San Diego, said yesterday.

Such moves are part of an ongoing effort to clean the air near the coast, he said.

For instance, by 2014, big ships that use a lot of electricity while moored, such as cruise ships and those with refrigerated cargo containers, will be required to plug into the electric grid while docked and turn off their engines.

In addition, the port is asking big ships to slow down as they approach, because slower ships burn less fuel and pollute less.

As an incentive, the port is making sure that longshoremen are dispatched to the dock to unload those cargoes, eliminating a need to race each other in hopes of getting the labor first.

“They don’t have to be the first arrival anymore,” Merk said.

In the wheelhouse, Kreisel noted the contrast of sailing under electric power to the roar of diesel engines.

“I still haven’t gotten used to the calmness,” he said.