Falcon
Falcon is an unusual boat. Essentially an ordinary cruising yacht, a Blackwater Sloop built in 1982 at Maidon on the Essex coast, what is different is the method by which it is powered. The original mast and sails have been removed and replaced by a wind-turbine.
Until the development of the steam engine, boats were powered either by oars (muscle power) or by the wind. Sail at its best is powerful and allows boats to move at high speed through the water, but sail needs special skills, and if the wind drops or blows from the wrong direction, then travelling becomes very difficult. Engines free ships from the inconsistencies of wind.
During the years 1981 - 85, the Department of Naval Architecture at the University of Glasgow ran a project to test the usefulness of a wind turbine on a small boat. The type of construction they used resembles the windmills which are used to run electricity generators, and this boat will sail directly into the wind, something which is impossible to do with conventional sails, and it has been described as "a device which turns the power of the wind against itself". The wind-turbine is not designed for speed, as in good conditions Falcon could travel faster with conventional sails. It is, however, a useful insight into an alternative form of power that may become more necessary in years to come.