Which makes the break-even point for such wingsails, which cost one hell of alot more than a few tonnes of fuel did … rather far-away/long-term, doesn’t it?
There was also a system using huge parachute-kite things, on carbon-nanotube-ropes, fired up into the sky with rocket-assist, and the things could apparently pull the ship, quite effectively…
… the service-subscription the ship was supposed to pay-for gave them the optimal route for fuel-savings vs time-to-get-there…
here, it was sorta like this, but the kite-sail looked different, and I’m pretty-sure they were saying something about nanotube cable for the kite, and it wasn’t just a concept, it was actually-working…
I seem to remember that at the beginning of covid, some shipping companies just shortened the bulbs on their hulls, to optimize for a slower cruising-speed, and saved money that way…
Which makes the break-even point for such wingsails, which cost one hell of alot more than a few tonnes of fuel did … rather far-away/long-term, doesn’t it?
There was also a system using huge parachute-kite things, on carbon-nanotube-ropes, fired up into the sky with rocket-assist, and the things could apparently pull the ship, quite effectively…
… the service-subscription the ship was supposed to pay-for gave them the optimal route for fuel-savings vs time-to-get-there…
here, it was sorta like this, but the kite-sail looked different, and I’m pretty-sure they were saying something about nanotube cable for the kite, and it wasn’t just a concept, it was actually-working…
https://marinersgalaxy.com/giant-kite-pulls-ship-across-atlantic/
I seem to remember that at the beginning of covid, some shipping companies just shortened the bulbs on their hulls, to optimize for a slower cruising-speed, and saved money that way…
again, where’s the break-even on it