Electric Propulsion

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by WorldWind

Sure...
It's re-listed again.
It's located in New Port Richey.
I am in no way affiliated to this person(have to add that),just seen it for those interested.

Electric Sailboat 27'

Thanks. Checked it out but unfortunately no information on the electric drive, not even a brand name in the listing.

[WorldWind]

Your Welcome.I don't see any solar or a genny for re-charging either.Possibly the outboard has a charging system.Probably kept on charge at the dock.
Looks like a clean boat tho'.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha all,

The original poster (OP) just launched Kealoha today and he has done a wonderful job restoring his Aries 32. It has a beautifully installed 48 volt motor for auxiliary power and he and his wife are talented sailors so that won't be a problem. It is a regenerating power plant so as the boat sails he'll be generating power for the next time he needs it.

The launch went smoothly here in Hilo Bay and many photos were taken. I hope he shares a few with you.

I'll be waiting to see the report on how the power plant goes.

Welcome to Gene Savoy's Home Page

The Captain of Kealoha is Mauricio and was the navigator aboard the FSIII Ophir (a reed catamaran) pictured in the link above. Sailed from Peru to Hawaii in ''98 when I first met him.

kind regards,

[deckofficer]

Looking forward to that even though Capt. Mike is running the same system, always ready for fresh comments on going EP.

[sharpey]

Right... time for me to chime in... not with answers though... just more questions


I co-own a Moody 376 with my Dad. We need a new engine. The 35hp mitsubishi based block that's currently there falls into the "rusted out before it wore out" category, and I'm just not sure whether its worth fixing at this stage...

So, with the boat out of the water for hull work to be done (blisters... lots of them), I've got some time to think about EP...

So I just spent most of the afternoon trying to ignore the chatter of young children and play the distracted father reading a 22page thread. I do though consider this time well spent.


From what I've read, I've come up with the following.

A) nobody seems to have mentioned Electric Yacht | CLEAN, GREEN & QUIET Marine Propulsion Systems! their most expensive system about $8K would work in my boat... I gather...Any thoughts on these guys?
Coupled with the following... I'd have 400ah of LIpo where the fuel tank used to be... and at around the same weight as a full tank of fuel.

48v 400Ah lifepo4 battery pack for sloar,ups,storage - Detailed info for 48v 400Ah lifepo4 battery pack for sloar,ups,storage,48v lithiumion battery,48v 400Ah lifepo4 battery pack for sloar,ups,storage,32650 on Alibaba.com

B) As Beta Marine is already a contender in my repower, I've also been thinking about a hybrid engine... But since a 38HP hybrid (and batteries) would add weight... and cost, perhaps it's not the way to go... Then again, what if I went with a smaller HP hybrid, like the 16hp? ... since I'd be using the engine to charge the batteries, and essentially use as a generator, it could work out both weight and cost wise...


With a full electric system, I'd still need a generator (wife wants Aircon) and I guess I wouldn't complain for having it! So, given that with either option I'd want about 400ah of LiPo batteries... do you reckon one would be a better bet over the other?

Cheers,

James

[SkiprJohn]

kealoha launch day - YouTube

[David_Old_Jersey]

Those aerial shots are kinda cool .

Appreciate that no mast and probably not fully loaded - but she seems to be floating high at the stern. More Batteries (crap?!) needed? . A Vid / some pics of the installation would be nice (the link previously posted doesn't seem to go anywhere "Boaty" ).

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Nice video! Thanks for sharing.

[LauderBoy]

Originally Posted by sharpey

A) nobody seems to have mentioned Electric Yacht | CLEAN, GREEN & QUIET Marine Propulsion Systems! their most expensive system about $8K would work in my boat... I gather...Any thoughts on these guys?
Coupled with the following... I'd have 400ah of LIpo where the fuel tank used to be... and at around the same weight as a full tank of fuel.

I actually haven't seen much from these guys lately. But looking at their website is looks like they're still pretty active.

Another route to consider would be a Thoosa 13kw engine: PDF Spec sheet

My biggest concern on a project like that is I haven't heard much from people re-powering a boat that size. I have a 32ft boat and there are installs out there with boats that size using Thoosa 9k's that give me a pretty good idea what to expect. How much amps they're using at different speeds, how well using a 2kw generator works with the system and so on.

My first step would probably look at seeing how much speed I could expect with a 5kw generator supplying power to a 12-13kw engine and see if a split system like that would satisfy me. From there it'd come down to space vs long range cruising speed vs hybrid or not.

I'd also really look into other people's experience with the batteries. Most everyone is still using wet or AGM and the lifepro4 will probably come with their own quirks. I'd want to know those quirks and be ready to live with them before I started any install.

[SkiprJohn]

I truly hope the Captain of Kealoha will respond with more information I just thought I'd share what info I have which isn't much. I kind of felt honored to be the first person aboard other than Captain Mauricio once in the water. I was the old guy in grey shirt and jeans. She was floating high in the water all around. She is not loaded and you might have seen her with two of us at the bow.
We stepped the mast but that wasn't included in the you tube video.
kind regards,

[Zonker]

Close to buy a 30 feet cat, 3.5 tons. It has already a Yamaha 10 PS outborder but I would like to add electric propulsion.

Thinking about :
2x electric outboard motors (such as http://electric-outboard-motors.co.u...ota-endura.jpg) ... mounted as retractable units
1x Kipor IG 2000
1x 12 V/200 AH LiFePo batteries (house and drive)

=> that should be sufficient to get in and out of the mooring
=> the Yamaha outboarder would provide extra juice if needed

==> according to my calculation the package should cost about $2500-$3000

What do you guys think ?

[JRM]

Originally Posted by Zonker

Close to buy a 30 feet cat, 3.5 tons. It has already a Yamaha 10 PS outborder but I would like to add electric propulsion.

Thinking about :
2x electric outboard motors (such as http://electric-outboard-motors.co.u...ota-endura.jpg) ... mounted as retractable units
1x Kipor IG 2000
1x 12 V/200 AH LiFePo batteries (house and drive)

=> that should be sufficient to get in and out of the mooring
=> the Yamaha outboarder would provide extra juice if needed

==> according to my calculation the package should cost about $2500-$3000

What do you guys think ?

If you're going to be in salt water and use the MinnKota check out the Riptide series. Made for salt and have zincs. I don't know about motor sizing for your cat, but I have a sneaking suspicion your going to be underpowered and *way* under ranged. I use a 40lbs thrust riptide with a 32 ah AGM on my 8' dink, and I think the battery is a bit thin.

200 ah @ 12V is only 2400 Wh. Off the top of my head that's somewhere around 3HP for 3 hours to full discharge with no house load. Not going far on that in a 7000 lbs boat. I think you'll find that in a cat that small, electric just won't scale. The energy density of battery power is so much lower than petrol that you really need to be able to carry large loads to make it worthwhile. FTR I carry 4 x 4D batteries in my traction bank on a 30' mono, and I carry a Honda 2000 generator for backup.

JRM

[Zonker]

Originally Posted by JRM

If you're going to be in salt water and use the MinnKota check out the Riptide series. Made for salt and have zincs. I don't know about motor sizing for your cat, but I have a sneaking suspicion your going to be underpowered and *way* under ranged. I use a 40lbs thrust riptide with a 32 ah AGM on my 8' dink, and I think the battery is a bit thin.

200 ah @ 12V is only 2400 Wh. Off the top of my head that's somewhere around 3HP for 3 hours to full discharge with no house load. Not going far on that in a 7000 lbs boat. I think you'll find that in a cat that small, electric just won't scale. The energy density of battery power is so much lower than petrol that you really need to be able to carry large loads to make it worthwhile. FTR I carry 4 x 4D batteries in my traction bank on a 30' mono, and I carry a Honda 2000 generator for backup.

JRM

I would use the electric motors only for 30min or so (in most cases this is sufficient) - if longer then the mini-generator (2kW) should provide the juice. I was just wondering if a trolling motor @ 1000 W (1.5ish hp) provides any meaningful thrust.

[JRM]

Originally Posted by Zonker

I would use the electric motors only for 30min or so (in most cases this is sufficient) - if longer then the mini-generator (2kW) should provide the juice. I was just wondering if a trolling motor @ 1000 W (1.5ish hp) provides any meaningful thrust.

The J24s at our local club charter/ teaching place are all fitted with MinnKota motors, and they do just fine. I'd look into the Kipawa weed wedge props, more efficient. There are some folks who are fitting model airplane props with great success. I suggest heading over to the Yahoo electricboats and ask there. A lot more experience there than just mine...

JRM

[bassman1956]

Thought I'd reserect this...

Aiming at getting it in the water this year. Strongly looking at the Torqeedo 1003, side-mounted aft, due to my very narrow transom. Will get a spare 520Wh battery too. Have been in contact with them directly on where and how to mount it. It isn't cheap, but, it is what I really want for most of my sailing, IEZ, larger lakes and sounds, with enough battery to run hard 1 to 2 hours to get back to shore.

Now to research reviews before I commit.

I would love to see someone dedicate a book to electric propulsion for boats!