Skoota 32/36

The dream and the plan To be able to travel without limits, independently, inexpensively, without engine noise, environmentally friendly, with the necessary comfort for a wonderful trip. Everything I found was either too big, too small, too expensive or had too little range. Until I came across Woods Design. It quickly became clear that it should be a Skoota 32. At first it was thought of with 2x 60HP outboard motors, until it became clear that the costs for fuel, maintenance, the limited range and engine noise over thousands of nautical miles would not make the trip a pleasant one. So I started to switch to electric propulsion and the time has come for that; it feels like a new manufacturer of electric motors comes onto the market every month. The problem here was also the range and driving fast was also a thing of the past. Until I found the solution: we have time, so drive slowly, and a catamaran also has space for solar modules. Even the largest battery storage does not offer sufficient range, and the weight and charging options for the battery bank must also be taken into account. ​ The Skoota 32 has narrow hulls so that as little power as possible is needed. Everything required can be accommodated, but you cannot turn it into a 5-star hotel, which also contradicts the system's aim of being efficient. Do you need a 5-star hotel for a trip? That is in the eye of the beholder with the appropriate financial means. ​ For technical reasons, the Skoota 32/36 is extended by 120 cm in the cockpit area and in the engine area and widened by 35 cm. The hull volume is retained so that efficiency is not affected. It even has advantages because length matters, a little more load-bearing capacity and stability due to the widening and more space for solar modules. ​ This gives us a large storage space for all the electrical equipment as well as 2 small platforms with a bathing ladder in the cockpit and approx. 5 kw peak solar modules on the roof surfaces. ​ Now the question arises, why do we need a generator? That's actually easy to answer, everything can be calculated pretty precisely, but not the weather like wind, current and sunshine. If the route is along the coast, it's 90% not a problem with appropriate planning, just look for a sheltered bay, a river or, if there's no other option, a marina. In the marina you can of course also charge using the shore power connection. ​ But if our route is, for example, 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km) from Fernando de Noronha (Brazil) to Mindelo Cape Verde (Africa), it would be negligent to rely on the weather forecast for a journey lasting 14 days. The catamaran travels at around 800 watts at 3kn, but now we have a strong wind from the front, now we need 1,500 watts and now not much sun, and that's where the generator comes into play. We have 110 liters here, which allows the generator to run for about 100 hours. That would be a range of about 800 nautical miles. The on-board power can still be supplied without any problems using the solar modules. So there is more than enough reserve; if you want to be even more secure, take a reserve canister with you. Even a sailing boat needs a lot more fuel when there is no wind. ​ In practice, it looks like we can travel at 5 to 6 knots during the day with the solar modules at full power, and 3 knots at night. That gives an average of 4 to 4.5 knots. After 10 Atlantic crossings with about 30 sailing boats each, an average cruising speed of 4.9 knots was calculated. There are actually more calms than you might think. That means we are well within the acceptable range with the travel time. 12 to 14 days in the example given. ​ Just as sailors look for the right wind, we look for calms and sun. Many people don't have enough fuel and have to stay in the calm until the next wind. This means that our calculations of travel time are much more accurate and reliable, as well as more comfortable - no setting sails and rebuilding, etc. ​ Of course, all of this only applies to long journeys; on coastal journeys everything is super easy.