Rhiannon Ballard Hydro-electric Boats The Idea of a boat that runs on water has been around for many

years. Ever since boats were created, there has been the thought of using water, which is unarguably needed in the use of a boat anyway, to power the boat. In 1933, in Czechslovakia, a boat was tested that ran completely on water. This boat sucked up water and then discharged it. The water was sent hurling from nozzles at the back of the boat. This motion, much like the recoil of a gun, propelled the boat forward. This boat was deemed economical and fast. The jets were constantly in action, therefore, the boats never stopped receiving power. Since there was no propeller protruding from the bottom, the boat was able to ride in much shallower water. In August of 1954, Ralph E. McCabe patented the idea of a salt water battery. He tested his concept using model boats that were 21 inches long and weighed between 2 to 3 pounds. The batteries to run these produced a little over 1 volt and 3 amperes of current. The boats ran up to 5 mph, which is quite fast for a boat of that size. The models were even fitted with electric lights and a foghorn. In the salt water battery, the incoming saltwater acted as a conductor of the current. The water flowed between a carbon graphite positive plate and a nickel-zinc negative plate, which agitated the electrons and allowed a charge to be transferred from the water to the electrons. The current operated a DC electric motor, which drove the propellers. McCabes model boats were able to run for 5 hours until the motor brushes or armatures became dirty. The flashlight cell, which is the type of saltwater battery that McCabe had patented, is a circular, grooved carbon-graphite positive rode surrounded by nickel-zinc negative plates, which are deeply corrugated for the increased area. These wet batteries could be arranged for large, sea-going freight and passenger ships. Large tubes could stretch between the double hulls, taking the place normally used by fuel-oil tanks. Subsurface intakes on either side of the bow would admit seawater through flow systems that also exhausts the water from exit vents beneath the stern. The current would be fed into banks of storage batteries, which can be drawn in even, steady supply to operate motors and auxilary. The reason that this would work is because of the high amounts of saline, which forms a perfect electric conductor. DC motors, ideally, could be instantly reversed, eliminating the heavy reversing gear and increasing the boats maneuverability. The nature of the batteries makes them easily accessible at any time. They are made in short, detachable sections, so that it is easy to clean and replace electrodes. Individual pumps and gate valves permit any one battery to be closed off and drained without affecting the others. This would allow boats to proceed at normal cruising speed while repairs are completed. Plates could even be replaced without ever having to dry-dock the boat. This system could easily be adapted to small boats. The batteries could be hung in sheets from either side of a sailboat or spread horizontally across flat bottoms of motor cruisers. These engines are far simpler and more dependable, and, while they are more expensive than fuel engines, there is no engine vibration or noise, and the positive attributes outweigh the negative ones. More recently, in 2010, it was explained how sea water could be used with aluminum to power an engine. A team at Perdue University invented a mechanism that used the reaction between aluminum, water, and a liquid alloy to extract hydrogen from seawater and used it to

power boats. Aluminum has the ability to split water into its two original components, hydrogen and oxygen. Aluminum Hydroxide, a byproduct of this, can be turned back into aluminum using solar or wind power, thus making this type of engine a completely renewable resource. In 2011, a French company invented an aluminum-hulled luxury boat named the MIG 675. This boat runs completely on salt water, but the company refused to reveal exactly how. It generates up to 50,000 volts of electricity, which is used to power the boat as well as on-board electronics. The 22x8 ft boat somehow generates hydrogen to fuel the 500 horse power engine. This boat can hold up to three people and has a top speed of 70 mph, with a cruising speed of 45 mph. Resources "JETS OF WATER DRIVE THIS BOAT." Popular Science Nov. 1933: n. pag. Modern Mechanix. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://blog.modernmechanix.com/jets-of-water-drivethis-boat/>. Mills, Hank, and Sterling D. Allan. "Luxury Sea Boat Generates Electricity from Ocean Water." Pure Energy Systems News. PES Network Inc., 17 Dec. 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://pesn.com/2011/12/17/9601986_LuxurySea_Boat_Generates_Electricity_from_Ocean_Water/>. Sandru, Ovidiu. "Boats Than Run On Hydrogen From Seawater Made Possible With Aluminum and Liquid Alloy." The Green Optimistic. The Green Optimistic, 12 Oct. 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2010/10/12/purdue-boats-hydrogenseawater-aluminum/>. Tisley, Frank. "BOAT RUNS ON SEA WATER." Mechanix Illustrated Aug. 1954: 84-87. Modern Mechanix. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. <http://blog.modernmechanix.com/boat-runs-onsea-water/1/#mmGal>.