# Tool Talk > Machines >  Alcyone Turbosail

## jdurand

I figured I'd post these since my wife just scanned the slides for a history we have to write.

This is the Cousteau ship Alcyone WAY back in 1986 when we all had more free time and spare money.


Note the two Turbosails. Aside from the things we told people they were when we were feeling silly, they're the main means of propulsion.
They work a lot like a cloth sail, but there is a fan in the top (turbo) that pulls in air along the length to create a partial vacuum. This gives lift and the sail can be rotated as needed to follow the wind.



That flap to the right can pivot to either slide of the perforated area so the sale can get lift on either side.




Normal navigations tools with an additional readout of the live sail configuration


Always have paper maps


Electronics, 1986 era



Base of one of the sails



Dive gear spray painted silver


Computer with me planting a virus...


The power behind it all


The guy next to my wife is the engineer who designed the ship


And, of course, Jean-Michel Cousteau the herder of cats (crew) and personality on camera

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Altair (Feb 27, 2020),

baja (Feb 28, 2020),

Christophe Mineau (Feb 28, 2020),

jimfols (Feb 27, 2020),

Jon (Feb 26, 2020),

JTG (Feb 28, 2020),

mwmkravchenko (Feb 27, 2020),

nova_robotics (Feb 27, 2020),

Rangi (Feb 27, 2020),

rgsparber (Feb 27, 2020),

Seedtick (Feb 27, 2020)

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