Closer to home, I was just reading the latest Epoxyworks magazine and they had a couple articles about a 30' classic-looking diesel/solar/electric boat that will mostly be used for canal cruising in Canada and the US:
http://www.epoxyworks.com/32/index.html
And here's some more information and a ton of construction pictures on the builder's web site:
http://www.bearmountainboats.com/launch.htm