James Leo Dolan (1942-2026) Past President of Martin & Ottaway While recovering from cancer surgery, Martin & Ottaway President Emeritus and Senior Consultant James L. Dolan passed away at his home in Rumson, NJ, on August 29, 2026. Jim Dolan was born in Rhode Island and raised in Lynn, Massachusetts, where he met and married… Read more »

In 2013 I ruminated on a solar powered RV that could cross the United States using natural resources not unlike the way settlers did it with their oxen drawn Conestoga covered wagons. Although in a little more comfort. Now 13 years later, technology has improved and my desire to some day build one of these… Read more »

  As a semi-tradition, one of our summer intern assignments is to do a little project that summarizes issues that run through Rik’s head. In this case, Christian Percy, a rising senior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, was asked to get organized on sustainable energy in Europe. This is his summary:   … Read more »

Note: For an overall discussion of this design concept go to: SHEWAC Aberration Whether they were sailing ships of the line, dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, or nuclear submarines, complexity has been the marine engineer’s stock in trade. Even in the less glamorous designs such as tankers and bulk carriers, the level of complexity in these vessels… Read more »

For an overall discussion of this design go to: SHEWAC Aberration Over the last five years service, Aberration’s propulsion plant has seen significant modification and upgrade. As outlined in the original powerplant description the propulsion plant was completely Torqeedo (Primary chargers, batteries motors and controllers) with afloat power supplied by a 12.5 kW diesel generator… Read more »