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The tech keeping Plastiki afloat: photos

ZDNet Australia brings you the tech below deck on the epic Plastiki voyage.
By Luke Hopewell, Contributor
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1 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNET

(Credit: Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia)

The Plastiki completed its journey on Monday after docking at Sydney's National Maritime Museum.

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2 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNET

(Credit: Plastiki/HP)

The crew of the Plastiki used satellite data gear from Inmarsat and HP laptops and phones to broadcast classroom sessions and news interviews from the middle of the ocean. Over 16,000 people followed the voyage of Plastiki through Twitter and Facebook alone.

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3 of 14 Plastiki/HP

The HP Mini Note catches some rays on the deck of the Plastiki.

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4 of 14 Plastiki/HP

No land in sight for miles, but the crew stayed updated with every kilometre it covered. One of the crew members even stayed in touch with his wife via Skype as she gave birth.

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5 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

Inmarsat kept the Plastiki in touch with the land and emergency services.

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6 of 14 Plastiki/HP

The operations centre of the Plastiki keeps the boat going. The Plastiki is powered by several car batteries. The crew had to make modifications to the power supply to make sure it could go the distance.

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7 of 14 Patrick Riviere

The Plastiki and its crew make their way to the finish line in Sydney on Monday.

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8 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

Skipper Jo Royle invites us to have a look inside the living quarters.

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9 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

This is the armadillo-like shell that the crew members lived in during the four-month journey.

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10 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

Inside the armadillo.

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11 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

Skipper Jo Royle tells us that the walls inside the armadillo are made from PET bottles with a foam core, meaning that the boat was able to bend and stretch on the voyage.

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12 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

David de Rothschild and the panel talk about the tech below deck. (From left to right: David de Rothschild; Piers Cunningham of Inmarsat; Sundeep Khisty of HP; Jo Royle and Matthew Grey, project lead on the Plastiki).

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13 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

A strip of the recycled plastic material that went into making the living quarters.

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14 of 14 Luke Hopewell/ZDNet Australia

The catamaran-shaped Plastiki is kept afloat by hundreds of PET bottles lined within the boat's arms, or amas.

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