I suppose it's been done before, but I saw my first solar-powered canoe. I was bicycling along a street that bordered the Kentucky River in Frankfurt. When I passed the boat, which was sitting on a trailer, my brain went "whaaa..," and I doubled back to look at it more closely. Two panels were bolted to the gunwales and wired to a small electric outboard in the stern. I'd loved to know how it performed.
View attachment 128192
That's my boat! I have two of them for running sheltered flatwater up to Class I+).
Each one is a Square Stern Alumacraft CO17 carrying 2 150 watt monocrystalline solar panels (300 watts of solar collection) through a 30 Amp Victron Smart Solar MPPT Charge Controller charging a 100 AmpHour LiFePo 12v battery housed in a floating waterproof Plano Gear Box.
That powers a "stock" 55# thrust (0.6 hp) Minn Kota EnduraMaxx PWM Transom Mount trolling motor sporting a high pitch after market model airplane prop.
Each boat yields 5.1 mph at wide open throttle at 370 watts, 4.5 mph cruising speed at 75% throttle (300 watts) and about 5 hours of "no daylight" power reserve (20 mile range) with generally "unlimited range" if the sun is shining.
I still have canoe paddles onboard for shallow creeks and landing/launching.
850 pound payload rating for each 17' canoe. I will load 2 people and 250 pounds of gear, or 1 person and 400 pounds of gear for longer treks.
The two Solar Canoes are matched, so they make a great catamaran when lashed together with two 8 foot wood poles bungee corded on the fore and aft thwarts on larger bodies of water. You can stand up and walk around if you are careful.
Bullet Proof canoeing skills required (NO DUMPS ALLOWED)
I am not "green", I am just LAZY! and got tired of listening to a 2hp outboard for long treks on flat water rivers.