Experiment of kite model as alternative propulsion for small boat

Abstract

For the last few years, the crude oil prices increase steadily. The increase of oil prices is a major problem for the operating cost of the boats. The efficient usage of oil for a boat can decrease the fuel cost. Others problems are the smoke which created from engine can create pollution. The large kite may serve to assist ship or boat to reduce the usage of fuel to propel a vessel. This research was carried out to create a model of kite and to setup test for small boat. The comparison of generate power and operating cost of between boat with kite sail and without kite sail was investigated. This research also estimates the amount of fuel consumption. The result indicates that, annual operation cost for boat with kite sail is RM1045.16 while the annual operation cost for boat without kite sail is RM1562.08.