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lucifer-ase t1_iu1y8pg wrote

wind-assisted would be a more honest description. According to the article this type of sail reduces fuel consumption by 5-8%. There are some fully wind powered designs under testing or in the design pase (e.g. Windbird by Wallenius Marine AB - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/swedish-firm-wind-powered-cargo-ships)

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edweirdmuybridge OP t1_iu4ek6f wrote

Like so many things on r/Futurology, this design looks great on a PowerPoint slide. But retrofitting existing ships allows us to improve fleet efficiency while simultaneously testing sail design and manufacturing processes so we can eventually make a fleet of fully wind powered ships. See Gall’s Law.

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