Man who built solar-powered yacht that can run forever shares full build guide so anyone can make their own vessel

Remember the man who built a solar-powered yacht that could run forever? If you ever thought you wanted to follow in his footsteps, you’re in luck – he’s shared the full build guide.

Helios 11 was designed to be a practical yacht that lived on sunlight and could keep moving without the need for marinas or fuel stops along the way.

It took Lukas Sjoman 200 days to get this vessel ready for the water.

And now he’s revealed how he got the job done – and how you can make your own.

If you ever wanted to build a solar-powered yacht, this is your lucky day

The Helios 11 had gotten its fair share of coverage over the months, from its ability to overtake boats three times its size to its maiden voyage on the frozen canals of France.

But the full details of its build hadn’t been laid bare before.

That changes now.

In a new video for his YouTube channel True North Yachts, Lukas Sjoman opened up about what went into the building of his solar-powered yacht.

Now, any good project requires a nice space in which to work, right?

Well, for Sjoman, it was a temporary workspace out in the forest.

There, he built the skeleton of the boat using marine-rated Okuma plywood, and brought together plywood sheets to form the hull framing.

Thin wooden structural beams were then added and glued to the hull’s bottom, and internal sofa walls were put in place.

Biaxial fiberglass was used to cover the entire exterior bottom.

The rooms on the inside – a living room, kitchen, bed, compartments for the toilet and fridge – were reinforced with structural plywood.

Plywood was also utilized for the roof, secured into place with heavy clamping and bracing.

And for the finishing touches, he painted the interior white and installed custom lightweight furniture like sofas, a kitchen table, and a performance table.

The solar panels were added onto the roof with a central beam being engineered to create a ventilation gap, which would prevent the cabin from overheating.

Lessons learned along the way

Believe it or not, but building a solar-powered yacht isn’t easy.

During the building process, Sjoman had to learn from some of his design choices.

In hindsight, he wished that he’d made the internal structural beams thicker and more rigid, while making a similar lament about the fiberglass on the exterior.

Despite any of his misgivings and the ‘Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda’ thoughts, Sjoman was happy with the build.

He wanted fellow aspiring builders to keep some things in mind when embarking on their own projects.

“I’ve been very tired the previous weeks during the build. And when you’re tired, you’re just working yourself to death. You’re not really excited. It is important to yeah remember why you started something in the first place. In my case, freedom,” he explained.

“And is it freedom if you’re sort of a slave to freedom?

“I do not want to work myself off. And I’ve learned a lot from this project to not take it too seriously.

“You’re not in a rush to build freedom if you have to sacrifice your current freedom and your health.”

At any rate, he’d created something truly remarkable and he should give himself kudos for that.