Electrical Propulsion vs Diesel Propulsion

[I.Grind]

Thanks for the great info Mike, i have enjoyed reading your blog. All the naysayers claim that regen slows the boat by an unacceptable margin. In the video embedded in the above referenced blog post you were doing 6 kts and generating a small amount of power. Have you tried (it would be a great video hint hint) adjusting the motor so that the display read zero (neither generating or consuming power) and measuring boat speed then backing off the power to start regenerating power and measuring how that affects boat speed? I am very curious as to how much difference it really makes especially as one begins to surpass hull speed. My assumption is that the faster you are going, the less it will slow you down, and the rate of generation will increase.

Something else I have been wondering, can you control the amount of regeneration (and resulting drag) with the throttle?

Thanks

Andrew

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by mbianka

THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: END OF THE SEASON THOUGHTS OF AN ELECTRIC SAILOR: 2011

I've been through your Blog already and plan to do so again in the future!

[ArmyChief]

I've read his blog 3 times...specifically on propulsion. Thanks Mike

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by I.Grind

Thanks for the great info Mike, i have enjoyed reading your blog. All the naysayers claim that regen slows the boat by an unacceptable margin. In the video embedded in the above referenced blog post you were doing 6 kts and generating a small amount of power. Have you tried (it would be a great video hint hint) adjusting the motor so that the display read zero (neither generating or consuming power) and measuring boat speed then backing off the power to start regenerating power and measuring how that affects boat speed? I am very curious as to how much difference it really makes especially as one begins to surpass hull speed. My assumption is that the faster you are going, the less it will slow you down, and the rate of generation will increase.

Something else I have been wondering, can you control the amount of regeneration (and resulting drag) with the throttle?

Thanks

Andrew

Andrew:

I just discovered the regen working quite by accident late in the season so I did not experiment with it too much. Most of the time I'm just enjoying the sail. I had just been "electro sailing" that is just turning the prop enough to negate the prop drag when I noticed the regen working once the boat was sailing about 6 knots. I'll play with it more this season. I had noticed that when I start off motoring under sail the current draw drops as the wind picks up and the sails start to power the boat more. So I expect regen to increase as well the faster the boat goes. I'm also using the same three bladed prop I used when I had my diesel so a new prop might even improve it more. Though the size is limited a change in pitch or number of blades might help. But, I am happy now and there are a few things like AIS, lifelines and some new anchor chain I'd like to get before I get around to messing with the prop. Plus I'm "it ain't broke don't fix it sailor". Another thing I'm curious to see if when running under sail if I get a little regen as the waves pass under the boat and the boat surfs forward a bit. Kind of tapping into the energy of the wave. We'll see.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by ArmyChief

I've read his blog 3 times...specifically on propulsion. Thanks Mike

I've read his blog 3 times...specifically on propulsion. Thanks Mike

Thanks David and Army Chief! Hope it helps others who might want to make the switch and whats involved.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by ArmyChief

I've read his blog 3 times...specifically on propulsion. Thanks Mike

Same here. I haven't found any other blogs with as much first hand experience and details.

[niel12]

Thanks Capt Mike, i realy read and re-read your blog and will so again and again in future as i now see i made serious errors, in truth, one's never to old to learn!

[MacG]

The electric motor is going to work as a dynamo as soon as it reaches a certain revs/min level. And indeed, it is quite practical to reduce drag by letting the motor power slowly. One of the very advantages of an electric propulsion.
In this particular situation I believe that you have a three bladed prop?

[JRM]

Originally Posted by Hyprdrv

JRM,
Steve here. I have not "reworked it as the original installs were horrible extensively". In fact most of the original components have worked flawlessly for the last 3 years of my owning Electra Glide. I've updated several systems such as monitoring and balancing the Propulsion bank but other than that system has worked very well.
Do NOT confuse the first 3 410 cats that had the Solomons System installed with the 420 systems installed by Lagoon. They are 2 different systems operating on the same principles. Lagoon decided they didn't need Solomons so went off on their own. I operate on a 144V system were they operated on a 72V system. All 3 410's are still running strong and Hull 2 of the EP 410 systems was just sold after being on the market for 1 week. There is nothing wrong with the Solomons system. It's 9 years old and going strong.
As for the 420's Ive talked to several owners and the general consensus was Lagoon sold them a system on a very expensive boat that they hadn't done their homework on. Most of the early systems should never have been sold to people who didn't fully understand the operation of an EP boat let alone put it into a charter environment which gets abused. Then add the problems up front that owners were experiencing, add a dash of panic on an expensive boat, and you get the results you seen.
Don't throw out the idea do to improper application, poor understanding of the system, and a get out of the EP system card.
I'm planing on solar panels for the house bank this year (remove the load from the Propulsion Bank) and if all goes well I'll go to LiPo batteries on the Propulsion bank in maybe 2 more years.
If anything, I was pissed off I couldn't get any wiring diagrams from Lagoon so have created my own. Other than that, Regen is minimum in the Bay. Not enough to charge the Prop Bank. The 15KW genset handles any emergencies but then I try and not get in a situation I can't sail out of. Worked so far.

Steve in Solomons MD
Lagoon 410 SE

Thanks Steve, and my apologies for misstating the facts. I knew yours was different from the current one, I just assumed you had changed it. Thank you for correcting that.

Good luck with the solar. I just priced out adding solar to my traction bank and transitioning house load onto it, but it's more than I want to invest right now.

I wouldn't trade my electric boat for anything, except maybe a bigger electric boat :-). Pretty much every boat we look I try and figure out if I can justify the conversion.

JRM

[deckofficer]

I would like to create a place for everyone thinking about electric, and diesel-electric propulsion, fully electric galley, electric dinghy, diesel DC gen-sets, and 48 VDC (and higher) inverters, can communicate ideas, links, experiences, and pictures. Since I have been the victim of thread closures when such topics veer off, I have added this topic to my own forum. When your on your own turf, you know posting history will not be lost. My forum is a rather oddball mix of subjects, 80% hot rods (T-buckets) 10% for family care givers, and 10% sailing/cruising. This is where you will find the topic "Integration of systems" in the "Hybrid Drives For Sailboats" thread that is part of the "SAILBOAT CRUISER'S FORUM". All are welcome, please give links to all the breaking news on hybrid drives that you have come across here....
Integration of systems