African Green Cat Begins to Purr

by Sail-World Cruising on 12 Feb 2008 Every week we hear of new innovations by independent scientists, inventors, and commercial organisations to cut down our fossil fuel emissions and cool the planet. As difficult as the issue is, it's encouraging to know that in every developed country of the world independent companies are making small steps of progress, and they need to be applauded.

Sailing-class catamaran manufacturer African Cats has just announced the development of a new generation of catamarans – the Green Cat. These craft are propelled by a revolutionary new motor that uses no fossil fuels and generates its own power from the waves. It is powered by an environmentally friendly electric generator and motor – the Green motion electric propulsion.

CEO Gideon Goudsmit explains 'Apart from propelling the craft, this motor also powers the airconditioning, the heating, the lights – gives electricicy for the whole boat. When the cat is sailing under wind power alone, the motor becomes a dynamo, generating and storing electricity. When the battery is full, and there's plenty of wind, the motor can be lifted out of the water for more streamlined shape and faster sailing.'

To assist the propulsion issue and overcome inertia to get them moving, African Cats have also reduced the weight of the catamarans from 8900kg to 5000kg. How did they do it? - a vacuum injection process using a unique foam that absorbs 78% less resin than conventional materials – and this is used in every part of the craft, not just the hull.

They also replaced the traditional glass-fibre reinforcement with Twaron para-aramid fibres, as Traron has a much lower unit weight and is much stonger than glass fibres. 'Without this kind of high-performance material, our catamarans wouldn't be light enough to make the Green motion motor feasible' says African Cats.

To learn more about the Green Cat, or African Cats' other models, go to their website