6,000 miles with a half-ton of batteries

Bill Carlsen and Cynthia Berger's boat might move just a little slower than others, but that's quite all correct with them.

They're traveling 6 mph on a solar-powered canal boat as they travel by means of the Wonderful Loop, a water trail that circles the eastern half from the United States, using the Illinois, Mississippi and Tombigbee rivers, the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes.

Carlsen is really a professor of environmental education at Penn State University and this trip is his sabbatical project.

"(I'm learning) how ordinary individuals can work to decrease their energy," he told The Times Friday while docked at Heritage Harbor in Ottawa.

The couple purchased the boat from Mid-Lakes Navigation in Skanaeteles, N.Y., final year.

"We enjoy it," stated Berger, who is the news director at WPSU Penn State Public Broadcasting. "We rented the boat final summer and took it for four days. We fell in adore with the boat and here we are."

But Carlsen made a few adjustments.

He installed eight solar panels on the roof with the boat. The boat could sleep eight folks, but a bed was removed to be used as storage for battery packs. The boat has about 1,000 pounds of battery packs. The total price to add the solar energy energy was $8,000 to $9,000.

The electricity generated by solar strength enables the boat to move as a result of water. Strength generated by photo voltaic panels is stored in a bank of batteries that electrical power an electrical motor that turns the propeller.

Dragonfly, named after the "solar-powered" insects that should bask inside the sun to warm up their muscles prior to taking flight, has both an electrical motor and a diesel engine. Beneath diesel electrical power, it runs at about 6 mph. Below electrical energy, it usually runs at about 3 1/2 mph. Dragonfly can go quicker on electric, but drains the batteries much quicker at higher speeds.

"I think it's probably not for everybody," Berger stated. "We go slower."

They suspect, though, the boats will grow in popularity. The canal boat is ideal for locks and bridges, mainly because it is low and can easily fit underneath.

Three months into their year-long journey, they spotted a sign for Heritage Harbor and decided to dock in Ottawa. On Friday, they planned to check out the city's historical websites and possibly take a trip to check out La Salle's replica canal boat.