[mos6507]

Here we go folks. Right on schedule:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/e ... 380921.ece

[Ludi]

There go the forests.


The forests of history

[HEADER_RACK]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t travels at a top speed of eight knots, about half as fast as a modern cargo vessel.

[Tanada]

I bet you dollars to doughnuts the USS Nimitz could be converted to carry containerized cargo and would out preform any potential fleet of wind powered cargo ships.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'T')here go the forests.

[Ludi]

Plastic? Aluminum?

What do you think?

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'T')here go the forests.

[entropyfails]

I would imagine that autonomous wind vessels would be the real win in the modern era. You don't have to feed a crew (maybe you need to keep a captain on board for legal reason, maybe have a group of captain that can board as the ship approaches national waters.) You don't have to care as much about how long it takes or loosing ships (thus making for far cheaper insurance after the technology is proven) If you make them out of polymers they would be much cheaper than old wooden ships too.

Of course, no one has designed such a ship nor the control systems to operate it. But that is mostly engineering at this point. The science behind all of that is sound, well known, and "plug-in" ready. It is more of a situation where we are in a race, the runners are circling the track, but we haven't even noticed the starting gun has fired.

[kokoda]

Actually I kind of like the idea of tall ships ... but it is more likely that this will be the future of sail.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/29/tra ... akes-sail/

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('entropyfails', 'I') would imagine that autonomous wind vessels would be the real win in the modern era. You don't have to feed a crew (maybe you need to keep a captain on board for legal reason, maybe have a group of captain that can board as the ship approaches national waters.) You don't have to care as much about how long it takes or loosing ships (thus making for far cheaper insurance after the technology is proven) If you make them out of polymers they would be much cheaper than old wooden ships too.

Of course, no one has designed such a ship nor the control systems to operate it. But that is mostly engineering at this point. The science behind all of that is sound, well known, and "plug-in" ready. It is more of a situation where we are in a race, the runners are circling the track, but we haven't even noticed the starting gun has fired.

[entropyfails]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JPL', '
')Huh???

When I last read my history books, the technology was pretty well perfected. Looks like this:

BTW: The computer-controlled version doesn't work too well but the tried & tested one with 40 sailors, plenty of rope, a steel-jawed captain, tar & salt beef used to work just fine.

Get you anywhere in the world. Just not in luxury. And, yes, there were real pirates 200 years ago. That was part of the fun of it (grin).

JP

[Commanding_Heights]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('entropyfails', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JPL', '
')Huh???

When I last read my history books, the technology was pretty well perfected. Looks like this:

BTW: The computer-controlled version doesn't work too well but the tried & tested one with 40 sailors, plenty of rope, a steel-jawed captain, tar & salt beef used to work just fine.

Get you anywhere in the world. Just not in luxury. And, yes, there were real pirates 200 years ago. That was part of the fun of it (grin).

JP

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('entropyfails', 'I') would imagine that autonomous wind vessels would be the real win in the modern era. You don't have to feed a crew (maybe you need to keep a captain on board for legal reason, maybe have a group of captain that can board as the ship approaches national waters.) You don't have to care as much about how long it takes or loosing ships (thus making for far cheaper insurance after the technology is proven) If you make them out of polymers they would be much cheaper than old wooden ships too.
...

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('entropyfails', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JPL', '
')Huh???

When I last read my history books, the technology was pretty well perfected. Looks like this:

BTW: The computer-controlled version doesn't work too well but the tried & tested one with 40 sailors, plenty of rope, a steel-jawed captain, tar & salt beef used to work just fine.

Get you anywhere in the world. Just not in luxury. And, yes, there were real pirates 200 years ago. That was part of the fun of it (grin).

JP

[JPL]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Commanding_Heights', '
')
And who's going to stop the pirates?

[mos6507]

It will not be simply a recreation of the past. The successful technologies of the future will leverage what we can from the past and use everything we have now to compensate for the things we can no longer do (like decimate the forests to build ships). We will NOT be filling WalMart with goods blown in on tall ships, but since international trade predates oil, it will certainly outlive it.

And before anyone mentions it, the sky sails thing is actually a pretty poor application of wind technology since it only works when the wind is blowing in the same direction the ship is going.

[jbrovont]

Depending on what part of the world you're sailing in, there are some circular trade routes that can be made with sailing ships where you can run with the wind most of the way. Hence "trade winds," but who knows how climate change will be affecting these in the next hundred years.

I would think large clippers made of fiberglass and carbon fiber could carry more and make better time into the wind, but who knows. I'm not sure that's ever been tried. Maybe the aircraft carrier conversion isn't too far off - huge nuclear vessels might be the best way to go for a while.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'A')nd before anyone mentions it, the sky sails thing is actually a pretty poor application of wind technology since it only works when the wind is blowing in the same direction the ship is going.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cube', '
')A sailing ship's hull has to be structurally designed / reinforced to handle these forces at great cost. MUCH more so then a regular ship.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cube', '
')A sailing ship's hull has to be structurally designed / reinforced to handle these forces at great cost. MUCH more so then a regular ship.