Originally Posted by MassiveD

I am very interested in electric boating. Not sure it will be what I want to see over the decades, but there the potential is vast. There are no hills on the ocean, and the winds one toys with can be avoided in areas like the doldrums that boaters have traditionally avoided. Boats can carry enough solar panels even at current technology that large yachts have gone solar round the world. Might be a little boring with neither the speed of power nor the challenge of sail. If it ever gets going there is the potential of vastly more cruisers which would reduce the freedom even today's cruiser's enjoy. But right now it is viable, and there is no reaction against techno tramps. Aux contraire, the solar pioneers are feted wherever they go. For now.

An inside look at the world's largest solar-powered boat | The Verge

I am not sure what happened to the solar boat chronicles, but they made it a fair distance in their trimaran.

Of course all these stunt boats have limits that a true platform boat does not, as it can use whatever form of power is best, without having to concern itself with a limited form of power.