Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, world record trip on River Murray, 1993, in first Australian built/design solar boat

Prince Alfred College's solar-powered Sunboat I making its world-record journey along the River Murray in 1993. Inset: The college's Sunboat II that made the same trip in 1995-96.
Images courtesy Prince Alfred College

A student crew from Prince Alfred College in Adelaide set a world record in a catamaran that was solar powered – the first designed and built in Australia and the world’s biggest – with a 2,000-kilometre journey on the River Murray on January 1, 1993.

After battling severe weather for weeks, the Prince Alfred College-Ford Sunboat I completed the world’s longest trip on an inland waterway by a solar-powered boat, from Yarrawonga in Victoria, at South Australia’s River Murray mouth. In March that year, Prince Alfred College was presented with an Advance Australia Award at government house for its work in developing solar power.

The success and interest in Sunboat I encouraged Prince Alfred College staff and students to design and build Sunboat II, sponsored by Westpac. The project was the largest of its kind by an educational institution in South Australia and possibly the world.

The final design and electronics emerged from many variations computer-created and -tested.  A group of students converted the design to printed circuit boards and then completed wiring and assembly. The 11.3 metres x 5.5 metres three-hulled boat was powered 1,728 solar cells. The hulls were high-tech materials including Divinycell fabrics – from kevlar and carbon fibre – needing highly-specialised fibre glassing, incorporating polyester, epoxy resins and special adhesives.

Students developed skills in computer aided design (CAD), aluminium and stainless steel fabrication, electronics, photo voltaic power application, modern boat building methods, boat design, modern plastics, lateral thinking and problem solving, plus the traditional skills of woodwork, metalwork and drafting. The trip was designed to provide students with the chance to practise navigation, operate two-way radios, operate and check on-board computers, take the boat through locks and correctly moor the boat each night.

The boat accommodated six people, full headroom, a galley, toilet, solar powered refrigeration and is equipped with a satellite phone, The project was developed and organised by Malcolm Gray, head of the art and design department at Prince Alfred College, assisted by staff members Phil McLaughlin, Peter Sillett and Garry Simcock. The trip from Yarrawonga to Goolwa began on December 1 1995 and ended on January 8 1996 – 38 days and covering 2,507 kilometres in world record time.