Thanks to designs from lead systems instructor Kevin Ritz, and his students at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB) in Port Hadlock, Washington, new zero-emissions pumpout boats are making their way onto the state’s waters.
Solar-powered pumpout boats were introduced in 2018 in Connecticut, by Pilots Marina. The concept was improved by Pedrick Yacht Designs of Newport, Rhode Island, which designed a pumpout boat that featured solar panels, twin 40-hp Torqeedo electric engines, and a 400-gallon holding tank. Those designs got the attention of Aaron Barnett, program specialist at Washington Sea Grant, who brought the East coast innovations west.
Bolstered by funding for the Clean Vessel Act, Barnett turned to the NWSWB to design and build a zero-emissions pumpout boat. Together, Ritz and his students constructed Clean Bay, a wooden boat with an Edson 120-single-diaphragm pump with a 500-gallon holding tank. Power comes from four Torqeedo lithium batteries and two Renogy 300-watt, 12V monocrystalline solar panels.
News of the design spread quickly, and the NWSWB was asked to design a pumpout module for an already existing workboat in Port Townsend. Again, Ritz and his students delivered.
You can read the whole story, with lots more detail, here.
