Fossil-Fuel-Free

[Morgan Paul]

Sullivan...so just how big is that firewood barge that you have to tow behind you? ...just messin with you.

That was funny.

[Alan Wheeler]

They're only out for the weekend and have to hurry up to get back to work. The pace of life is too quick.

Absolutely.
Sailing alongside....eerr...behind Seafox this year has taught us to slow down. Actually it really showed us up as to how fast we travel too everywhere. When on our own, we won't slow our pace right down to Seafox's, where they are happy to sit for 4hrs waiting for the breeze, but we certainly have taken more advantage of the light air's when in the past we just start the engine and "get there".

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

Absolutely.
Sailing alongside....eerr...behind Seafox this year has taught us to slow down. Actually it really showed us up as to how fast we travel too everywhere. When on our own, we won't slow our pace right down to Seafox's, where they are happy to sit for 4hrs waiting for the breeze, but we certainly have taken more advantage of the light air's when in the past we just start the engine and "get there".

Poor Seafox... ha ha ha!

He sure takes a lot of ribbing.

[Joli]

Towable generators have been around for a long time and can be used when passaging to run the ap, lights, comm, and electronics. In port wind and solar can be used for modest daily energy needs. A plain old off the shelf diesel still seems like the best bet for propulsion.

Welcome to the forum.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Joli

Towable generators have been around for a long time and can be used when passaging to run the ap, lights, comm, and electronics. In port wind and solar can be used for modest daily energy needs. A plain old off the shelf diesel still seems like the best bet for propulsion.

Welcome to the forum.

Am I imagining this correctly? ...a genset towed behind the boat?

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by David M

Am I imagining this correctly? ...a genset towed behind the boat?

Yes towable generators have been around a long time , the disadvantage with faster boats is that the propellers surface and do not work well.
they are also limited in the power production , anywhere between 5 and 15 amps 12.0 volts , there is also a nice british product that has a wind generator that can also function as a towable generator or actually the generator stays on the boat and a line and propeller are tossed overboard and that is how they charge.
Water and Wind Marine Generators, Welcome to DuoGen

greetings gideon

[henryv]

I am working on converting my small cat to electric drives. While at the moment I plan to use a genset to ensure that I have the ability to motor for extended periods I think over time it will be possible to change elements in the system to make it fossil free. As long as the motors and controls are efficient and reliable the batteries and generator can be changed to use what ever new technologies come along. I believe that we will see dramatic improvements in batteries and solar cell efficiency in the next few years.

[Joli]

Sure, they have towable generators, been around for ever.

Wind Powered Generators

[Joli]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

Yes towable generators have been around a long time , the disadvantage with faster boats is that the propellers surface and do not work well.
they are also limited in the power production , anywhere between 5 and 15 amps 12.0 volts , there is also a nice british product that has a wind generator that can also function as a towable generator or actually the generator stays on the boat and a line and propeller are tossed overboard and that is how they charge.
Water and Wind Marine Generators, Welcome to DuoGen

greetings gideon

Yep, seen those also. The problem with towing the generator is trying to get it out when moving. Can be a bit tough.

[thomasrichman]

Thanks for the great feedback. I'm definitely interested in getting rid of the noise, smell and weight of two diesel engines.

The Green Motion system from FastCats looks like a fantastic idea. The specs in the pdf make for an easy sell. Hopefully they'll post some news of the two Atlantic crossings using this system. Fastcat435, do you have any pics of the system installed on a boat?

I'll probably be purchasing an older boat that will need to be converted. Has anyone gone through the process of taking out their regular diesel engines and replacing them with a hybrid or all-electric system?

Tom

[David M]

Originally Posted by David M

Am I imagining this correctly? ...a genset towed behind the boat?

Thats funny...you know what I was visualizing Gideon? A diesel generator towed on some sort of barge with a tow cable and electrical wires running up to the boat. LOL

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by David M

Thats funny...you know what I was visualizing Gideon? A diesel generator towed on some sort of barge with a tow cable and electrical wires running up to the boat. LOL

I think we all saw that from your wording, David.

But... I was reluctant to say anything! ha ha

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by David M

Am I imagining this correctly? ...a genset towed behind the boat?

Hallo David

Our Green Motion system is off course also a towable generator that has dual function because it also works as a motor when no wind is present
We are able to generate 3 Kw per hour for each "Motogen" ( new word )
and if we use 2 for regeneration we loose 10 % of our speed.
The 3 Kw is generated when we make a speed of 10 knots , with 8 knots it is only 1500 watt each side and we start recharging at a speed of 5 knots , around 500 watts per Motogen

Greetings

Gideon

[fastcat435]

Here are some pictures of the Green Motion system as it is being lowered hydraulically.

Greetings