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June 2017
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boatingonthehudson.com
Hudson River
Maritime Museum’s
RiverportWooden
Boat School
Announces
Construction Of
Solar Sal 44
Sustainable Energy Systems, Inc. and Gerr
Marine Team with Museum to Design and
Construct Zero-Fuel, One Hundred Percent,
Solar-Electric Passenger Tour Boat.
The Hudson River Maritime Museum proudly announces
the construction of the first commercial passenger vessel of
this kind -- a practical, 100% solar-powered boat that carries
no fuel and doesn’t even plug into shore power – the Solar
Sal 44.
Clean, quiet, zero fuel-efficient, low-carbon/green
construction – Solar Sal 44 – will provide seats for 31
passengers, plus room for a captain and one-to-two crew
members.
Solar Sal 44, Patent Pending, is the first commercial “T”
boat product for Sustainable Energy Systems, and was
conceived by its President, David Borton, a Coast Guard
certified Inland Master and Physics PhD. She is planned to
launch in the Summer 2017.
David Borton – from design concept to reality.
Borton, who grew up using and repairing wood-canvas
canoes has been the President of Sustainable Energy
Systems, Inc. since 1992, and has taught solar engineering
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for 33 years.
Over the years, Borton has experimented with various
fabrications with much success, leading to the six-year old
Sol, a 25 foot launch used in the Adirondacks, and Solar Sal, a
39 foot multipurpose prototype for tourist, cargo and yacht
versions of 100% solar electric boats. The Solar Sal 44 is
based on this second design, which made Erie Canal History
in 2015 by carrying an 8,000lb payload from Lockport to
Mechanicville without using a single drop of fossil fuel (or
a mule)! The trip
was sponsored by
Saratoga
County
m a n u f a c t u r e r s
Cascades Paper and
Hullspeed Coatings,
and the Chamber of
Southern Saratoga
County.
Both boats (Sol
and Solar Sal) are
powered solely by
their solar panels
(with
no
shore-
power charger), and
both can run all day
and well into the night at 5 to 6 knots. This entire concept
is U.S. patent pending (PCT/US201/59967) by David Borton.
Dave Gerr – master naval architect.
In mid-2016, Borton retained Gerr Marine, Inc. of New
York City, to design the Solar Sal 44 based on his concept.
Dave Gerr, a naval architect and a Chartered Engineer and
Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, designs
both yachts and commercial vessels. Gerr probably works
on a wider assortment of boat types than any other design
office – sail and power; yacht and commercial; monohull
and multihull
From 2003 through 2014, Gerr served as director of the
Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology, and in 2015,
SOLAR SAL 44