Design students are interesting people and the way they think, I worked with some a few years ago.
It would be good to know what the design brief was for the yacht and if it was at uni there might another 20 different versions out there somewhere?

I think it could work. Pedaling lay over wheels is very inefficient tho and the tyre wear would be scary.
I suppose you need to consider just WHY you want a pedal/sail combo.
do you want a sail assisted bike to get you and your gear somewhere, or do you want a pedal assisted landyacht?
Personally I have no desire to push a landyacht around, If I cant sail , Id rather sit !
If I wanted to get somewhere with all my gear then a sail assisted bike would be the go , but that means a lightweight muti geared ,comfy bike that can carry gear and have a rig that easily reefs or packs away.
The leaves me with the problem that every recumbent Ive tried has been horrible.
Id be considering a long bike with deraileur gearing and a forward mounted mast/sail combo , with an outrigger/carry frame that can be switched from side to side depending to prevailing wind