I was born in 1952, then I stopped counting
This is the answer you will get from Dominique Renouf when you ask her how old she is. We have to admit that this woman full of projects, ideas and desires gives this teenage energy that incites to join her on her journey.
An environmentalist and humanist at heart, Dominique puts music to her actions and her business. For example, she has made all the artisans she works with take an active part in her latest venture, to ensure the sustainability of her business, in case it " happened to you "and, as she says herself, to assure its investors, its clients, its partners and all the craftsmen it employs that they will not be left without a solution
. An interesting approach to business, disconnected from intrinsic individual success and closer to the common good.
Boats for the planet
She is not one of those utopians who have an idea applicable only on paper, on the contrary. In 2006, she founded the first solar-powered hotel boat. In 2019, aware of the major ecological challenges ahead, she founded her company "Boats for the Planet", shifting the paradigm and creating as the only need that of the sun. And the sun star, we can say that her beautiful region - the Lot - sees it more than average. Indeed, with 2006 hours of sunshine in 2016, the new Aquitaine is above the national average of 1888 hours of sunlight. His new challenge then? To launch a fleet of solar coches in New Aquitaine. On May 31, 2019 was inaugurated the prototype of this catamaran, which is now successfully operated in rental without a license on the downstream Lot.
Dominique's boats are real nests of comfort and love: 2 bedrooms for 2 people, two showers, toilets, a large living room, a terrace... In short, everything you need to have a good time on the water, without stress, without a license and, above all... without constraint. The current rental fleet is made up of one boat, Soleil d'Aquitaine, available on reservation on his website (see below) for a day, a weekend or a week. Dominique also offers gift vouchers and plans to offer his boat for corporate seminars in the near future.
Olympic Games ?
Among his many ideas, Dominique proposed to use his boat model to build floating offices on the Seine River, in Paris, during the next Olympic Games in 2024. A new solution to avoid constructions that would become useless after the event!
Project Stakeholders
The naval architect Jean-Pierre Brouns was in charge of designing the hull of the solar boat in compliance with the rules of art and standards. The manufacturing was then entrusted to the Meta shipyard in Tarare, specialized in aluminium construction - and especially in Strongall, manufacturing in particular the boats of the singer Antoine, of Catherine Chabot's boat or "Nouveau Monde", José Bové's boat.
Dominique's hulls are designed so that the motorization does not consume more than what the solar panels produce (except, obviously, in night navigation or in case of very bad weather). The two ePropulsion motors of 6 Kw each that equip the fleet operate in 48 volts and develop a respectable torque of 120 Newtons, largely sufficient for a ride along the water at 5 kilometers per hour. The whole is controlled by a joystick which acts on a hydraulic steering for soft and smooth movements. Weighing 8 tons, these units measure 14.90 m long by 4 meters wide, have a draft of 60 cm and are designed to accommodate up to 8 passengers (12 in navigation).
The hull is made of "Strongall" (contraction of the English Strong Aluminium), concept to weld thick aluminium plates and thus avoid a structure inside. With no paint finish, it is entirely recyclable. Dominique has sought, since the beginning of the concept, to minimize the ecological footprint of this barge and seems to have succeeded.
The on-board electricity - both for the motorization and for the servitudes - is produced by 15 solar panels of 300 watts each, cleverly installed on the roof of the saloon. A fleet of Victron lithium-ion batteries totalling 1500 ampere-hours stores the energy and a converter converts the very low voltage (48 V) into low voltage (220 V) for the needs of the crew.
The wooden structure of the living space is made up of a class 4 poplar sandwich that traps a polyurethane foam, for a total thickness of 5 centimeters, ensuring sound and thermal insulation for the occupants.
When asked about the autonomy of her boats, Dominique explains None of my tenants have ever gone below 60% battery. And, if it should happen, at 30% the system goes into a safety mode to avoid a deep discharge of the batteries
. In confidence, it seems that the autonomy is of 5 to 6 hours for a navigation at 5 km/h, speed suitable for a navigation on a canal. And, in the hypothesis that it would be necessary to do it - even if it would go against the principle of self-sufficiency - it will be enough to connect the boat to an electric plug to recharge the batteries.
Is the future of the electric boat?
Probably, even more so when it is able to produce and consume its own electricity, making it totally independent from any non-renewable source of energy. In other words, the solar panel boat is a form of solution to fight against environmental degradation and leave a more livable planet to the generation that follows us. " Dominique is a visionary, she is 10 years ahead on all her projects "These are the words of the investors Dominique works with.
See you in 10 years, Dominique?
