Preview: Ama Natura – Decarbonizing the Inside Passage

27 Responses So Far to “Ama Natura – Decarbonizing the Inside Passage”

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  Capt. Peter Wilcox says:

  We are looking for the next steward/owner of our beloved and so far completely petroleum liquid free AMA Natura, which can be found in the boats for sale section of this OCF site. We’d love to find a buyer who want to continue and evolve AMA’s exemplary clean energy record for her next 16 or more years! We’ll be departing Olympia on the evening of July 7th on our way to Bella Bella, BC, stopping along the way heading north and south as we return in late August. Please keep an eye out for AMA and stop and say hello!

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  Peter Willcox says:

  Peter,
  I think I met you in Portland about 8 years ago. Wonderful project, and I wish you the best of luck.
  Smooth sailing,
  Peter Willcox

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  Alex Zimmerman says:

  I was so pleased to see the OCH folks in Ama Natura across the dock from me at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival last fall and have been looking forward to this video ever since. Peter and Bridget have been tirelessly advocating for a lower carbon future for years and you couldn’t hope to meet a nicer couple.
  For those commenters who have criticisms about bio-diesel, another viewing of the video might be helpful. Use of bio-diesel is not what the decarb the passage project is advocating. Rather, it advocates for use of renewable or green diesel, which is derived primarily from municipal waste or other wastes that would otherwise decompose and produce methane. No arable land involved.

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  Andrew Christie says:

  I for one have always been interested in this vessel which comes up on many of my feeds. So for showing her off, thank you. Biodiesel is very interesting, would like to know more, this is probably not the place but thanks for exposing it. As for, “the message”, no thanks. Wooden boats are living things made by skilled hands of patient thoughtful people. Time to think not time to be lectured to.

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  Jerry McIntire says:

  It’s been decades now that objections to biodiesel have been and are still being raised. Still, it is being made and is readily available in some areas: in Rhode Island, in the Midwest where farmers are happy to run their tractors with it, and in the Pacific Northwest where Peter and Bridget are happily able to contribute to cleaner waters and air by using it. In the early 2000s we drove our car on 100% biodiesel almost exclusively for five years.
  My wife, in the wind and solar power business, hears the same sort of objections raised here. There are of course impacts from any fuel source and technology– even sailing! But the great degree of improvement over fossil fuel use is nevertheless a contribution. On the long road to a cleaner and more sustainable future, which I want to help leave for my children and grandchildren, I applaud every effort to leave dead dinosaurs in the ground, burn less of any fuel, and enjoy human and wind powered boating to its fullest.

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  Jerry McIntire says:

  Peter W.: you were dissembling a bit in not listing yourself as a key part of the design work for Ama Natura. She is a beautiful package into whose details you poured heart and soul, together with Bridget. Thank you for sharing your home on the water with us!

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  Jerry McIntire says:

  Peter S.: the command form and the third person singular is the same. It can be a command, but also s/he loves nature.

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  Spencer Day says:

  Correction (in ‘boat particulars’): Ma[s]ter Shipwright is Richard WILMORE (with 1 “L”).

  Very nice boat and message in an another beautiful production!

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    Nate Rooks says:

    Thanks, Spencer – fixed!

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  Kit Laughlin says:

  Thank you for this video—these themes are uppermost in our minds, I feel, in the current era. AMA is one partial solution; there are others. I am grateful to OCH for bringing these solutions to us.

  As James said above, perhaps a hybrid solution is the optimal one for now; in any case, I will be “watching this space”. Thanks again.

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  Richard Randall says:

  Decarbonizing boating is an admirable goal. Unfortunately biodiesel will not be the solution. Owing to the realities of distribution and marketing, for biodiesel to catch on in boating it will first have to be adopted on a regional scale for automotive use. This has not and will not happen, in part because of the accelerating conversion to electric cars. While full-electric is not yet practical for cruising boats, its time will come fairly soon as the cost-efficiency of solar panels increases along with automotive-driven advances in battery technology.

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    David Wiegand says:

    You need to watch it again, Richard. Pete is advocating mainly for _Renewable_ Diesel. Biodiesel is a niche bridge fuel, which is best used as a blending agent that is made from waste vegetable oil (a recaptured waste stream). I ran biodiesel in my cars and trucks for nearly 20 years before switching to BEV, myself. But pound for pound, batteries have nowhere near the energy storage density of liquid fuels – yet.

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      Capt. Peter Wilcox says:

      David, I unfortunately hadn’t looked at these comments for a while, where biodiesel seems to be a theme. We did run AMA Natura on 100% biodiesel for her first eleven years, but it was frequently a pain. Renewable diesel is way better in so many ways than fossil diesel, not a fuel that diesel engines can tolerate (when not too cold outside). The last five years have really sold us on Renewable diesel as a near ideal replacement for fossil diesel – simple to use, no smell or smoke, typically 80% lifecycle carbon and other toxic emission reductions, and only half as many of the super cancinogenic diesel particulates. And often cheaper than fossil diesel, though harder to find still.

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        David Wiegand says:

        Hi Peter, yes, I agree that RD is a better option (except in the case of blending, and using wastestream feedstock) I ran B99 extensively in my Ford F250 pickup (6.9L diesel from IH), my Golf and Jetta’s (both pre 2007) and my Volvo MD7A diesel on our sailboat – and still run B25 in our home heating furnace at present. If one takes into account natural rubber expansion and has the right fuel lines I never found any issues (excepting the extra filter changes, initially) Getting RD as a staple in marine fuel docks (especially if we are getting near price parity) would be great!

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          Capt. Peter Wilcox says:

          You are doing good things, David! FYI, there are no problems at all with blending RD with fossil or biodiesel.

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  Burton Blais says:

  Not sure the economy of scale works for these alternative fuels in terms of broad availability and economy. Some would even say there are ethical questions about using arable land which could be used to produce food for a burgeoning global population to make yacht fuel. Personally, I sail most of the time (even in light airs) and mainly use my Alberg 30’s Atomic 4 gas engine to get in and out of the harbour. Probably burn all of 5 gallons of fuel each season. Others I see out on the water spend most of their time under power, even when the wind is blowing. In a hurry, I guess. The best approach to decarbonization comes from taking it slow and using your sailboat the way it was meant to be used.

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    Annie Hill says:

    I completely agree. Not only can that land be used for food, it can also be rewilded to allow the rest of Nature some space to breathe. I also try to sail whenever possible – I live on board and used 20 litres of petrol last year. I can’t believe how many sailing boats I see motoring upwind, downwind, across the wind. It you’re in a hurry during your leisure time, you’ve lost the plot.

    We should all think twice before burning fossil fuels, especially simply because we’re feeling a little impatient. And those who have children and grandchildren should think even harder.

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    Capt. Peter Wilcox says:

    I also (almost) completely agree. Sail (and rowing & paddling which I do a lot) are the way to go. But at 75 I’m finding I can’t raise our mainsail myself any longer and have a mobility issue. Our new or retrofitted AMA Futura will have an easier to use Kite Sail. But powerboats still dominate the world of recreational boating and the time-value of carbon reduction suggests that we need to move quickly. Renewable diesel, 97% pure synthetic diesel made from bona fide waste, is a great solution, as the Heiltsuk band is proving in our joint RD pilot project. It’s likely you’ll be able to fill up in their Shearwater resort before long, but we also need to see fuel docks in WA, OR, CA and other parts of the BC coast as well!

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  Frank Laskowski says:

  I guess it’s wonderful to have deep pockets so you can afford an idealistic lifestyle, or so they think. I personally wouldn’t know, I’m a burger and fries guy most of this video put me to sleep. The planet was here long before me and I’m sure will be long after I’m gone.

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  Kim Alter says:

  When do you expect more videos on the Aroha , I’m at 23 now . What a beautiful boat .

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    William Mittendorf says:

    You are young; build your own Aroha. We have a kit, lumber, and engine for sale at discount.
    Call 415 302-2173.

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  David Tew says:

  These types of efforts need to spread widely, just as Peter and Bridget emphasize: https://www.adventuretravelnews.com/best-practices-for-tour-operators-offering-marine-activities

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  James Reinhard says:

  So she’s for sale? If so, what’s the next boat? It would be interesting to go with Leo’s hybrid solution.

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    Capt. Peter Wilcox says:

    She is for sale (also here on OCH!). Our plan is to find and refit, or build if we can convince the Woodenboat School to build her, AMA Futura (She Loves the Future). Likely a catamaran with a massive CIGS solar array, two electric outboards, and a Renewable diesel fueled genes for range extension until solid state batteries arrive in the marine market (in 5-10 years?). I’ll be talking about AMA Futura at the PT Woodenboat Festival this fall and at docks between Olympia and Bella Bella over the next several weeks as we take our last big voyage in AMA Natura.

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  Larry Cheek says:

  A lovely boat and a worthy idea whose time has come! Question: Where and how do they obtain the decarbonized fuel?

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  Peter Strock says:

  I take it back: AMA could be the imperative form, that is a command : {YOU}Love nature! But I do not believe it can be SHE loves nature
  Thanks for challenging the “little grey cells” to quote Hercule Poirot

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    Capt. Peter Wilcox says:

    A Native Italian speaker friend is the one who commented to me as we were getting ready to launch AMA Natura that her name could be translated as “She Loves Nature.” Regardless, she does love Nature through eliminating every bit of carbon and other toxins we can manage to cull from her building and operation.