Howick and pakuranga times jan 26 2015

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Est. 1972

MULTI AWARD WINNING NEWSPAPER

127928

Monday, January 26, 2015

127928-V2

Vol 44, No 7

General 271 8000  Classified 271 8055  Delivery Enquiries 271 8014  Website www.times.co.nz

CORRECTION

Club has never owned the land

BOLD IDEA: Howickian John Caldwell is looking for assistance to help him get his dream of a solar-powered boat onto the water.

Times photo Wayne Martin

Powered by the sun By Chris Harrowell

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OHN Caldwell is searching for someone able to assist in making his dream of building New Zealand’s first practical solar-powered catamaran boat come true. “I would like to see it floating by this time next year if possible,” the Howick engineer and inventor told the Times, about the unique project. “If I’m really lucky I’ll find a partner to help me and I’m definitely searching for corporate sponsorship. “It could be someone interested in owning a share in the boat, but I’m also open to it being someone with all sorts of skills. “If they had boatbuilding experience, that would be great.” Any potential business partner would be expected to contribute up to $150,000 to help complete the

INSIDE

enterprising project. Named the Electric Solar-Powered Catamaran, or ESPcat, the vessel will be about 11 metres long. It will sleep six people and carry up to 12 passengers on a day trip. Mr Caldwell says the boat’s cabin top will be covered in solar panels which are connected to a solar charge controller. The controller is in turn linked to a set of lithium batteries weighing up to 450 kilograms. The batteries power twin German electric outboard motors, propelling the boat forward. “If you had tried to do this five years ago it wouldn’t have been possible,” he says. “The technology wasn’t available.” Mr Caldwell works full-time as an electrical engineer for Schneider Electric in Highbrook.

He’s motivated to build a boat that will appeal to as wide a group of people as possible. One of his goals is to remove the noise and inconvenience associated with many modern marine vessels. “I set out to build a boat that was quiet and didn’t smell from diesel fumes,” he says. “Bit by bit, the idea of making it solar-powered grew. “Everyone loves the sea, but they would love it more if it wasn’t so uncomfortable to get out on a boat.” Mr Caldwell says the family coastal cruiser will have enough power for its users to go out on the water for a day without the sun. “It will be sitting at its mooring and you will see on your smartphone when the boat is fully charged up and ready to go,” he says. “Going away on it for several weeks

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would also be okay. “It will be good for about four hours of outboard motor use and then you will stop, unless the sun is shining. It also charges while moving if the sun is out.” Mr Caldwell has been pleasantly surprised by the level of interest he’s received since deciding to try to build the boat. “People are always coming up to me asking how it’s going,” he says. “I’d also like to see East Auckland secondary school pupils get involved if possible. I’ve been involved in hundreds of design projects. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this, it’s that it’s not that easy.” People interested in helping Howick engineer and inventor John Caldwell build a solar-powered boat can phone him on 535-8973, or send an email to jc@espcat.co.nz.

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[The Times apologises to the Pakuranga Bowling Club for the error in using the word owned, in reference to the land in Pakuranga Road. It was a genuine mistake in a complex story covering an issue going back over 20 years and has commercial sensitivities. – PJ (Phil) Taylor, Editor ■■ Further explanation, page 2]

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I WRITE in respect of the article headlined ‘Service station is going ahead’ (Times, January 8). Within it, an inaccurate comment is made in one paragraph regarding the Pakuranga Bowling Club. This is: ‘Early last year, BP Oil lodged a new consent application to build the station at 322 Pakuranga Road, formerly owned by the Auckland Council, and 330 Pakuranga Road, previously owned by Pakuranga Bowling Club and now BP Oil.’ The Pakuranga Bowling Club (Inc) operates within Lloyd Elsmore Park on land leased from the council. The club has never operated from, or owned land at 330 Pakuranga Road. Accordingly, the above statement attributed to our club is untrue and misleading. As you are no doubt aware, there has been from members of the public substantial misgiving about the installation of the BP Oil Ltd service station and some public debate about the issue. Since the publication of the article, a number of members of the public have made disparaging remarks to members of my club and some family members about the article. They have been very critical about what they believed when they read the article, namely, that my club had sold the land for the service station when it is to be located adjacent to a church and school. Kelvin McMinn, Pakuranga Bowling Club president


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