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[–]JasonCarswell 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Sails require specific trimming for efficiency - but it might be possible. Sails are also hella expensive already - and they're heavier than they look. If you had a the time and money I suppose you could embed panels in a sail that would fold up like origami - but you wouldn't really be able to move it and/or hoist it without some serious refitting. There are ways to sail certain directions to maximize wind propulsion. Adding sunlight to the mix would be possible, but complicates things and neither would be efficient except on occasion.

IMO, it would make more sense to have a little onboard diesel generator for back up power even though I dislike stink boats (motor boats) and prefer rag boats (sail boats).