Saving weight

[fastcat435]

It makes the boat a lot heavier, when it should have been a lot lighter (battery weight).
It makes the electric system very complex.
battery capacity constrains the power output and causes significant problem when motoring for any distance.

Hallo Talbot , you are right . electric propulsion ads weight but not much since you can take the amount of diesel normally carried to less than half of for the FastCat from 600 liters for an ocean crossing to 200 liters saving 320 kilo,s there.

To my simple mind, a hybrid system is much more simple and offers significant weight savings.

A pure hybrid system is simpler but use almost as much diesel as a pure diesel system and our reasoning is that we want to save on fuel

By hybrid, I mean the installation of a purpose designed generator, that is used for engine drive. It is then available for battery charge and running AC. A single generator would be a simple installation, and the battery weight savings would be substantial. You also avoid all that speed reduction by being able to use folding props.

To minimize speed reduction when not charging battery's we lift the propulsion out of the water

As another idea for weight saving, has anybody investigated the use of titanium anchor chain - A very quick look suggests that it is less susceptible to corrosion, and strength to weight is much superior, hence possibility of reducing the weight - of course that would have a knock on effect of reducing the effectiveness of the anchor system.

Titanium is very brittle and weight for a chain is needed to keep the anchor in place
we have special chain produced for us in 8 mm made out of Duplex Stainless steel with a weight of 1.4 kilo per meter and a breaking strength of 6400 kilo or 14400 LBS

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by ireaney

Has anybody used LEADED ROPE instead of using chain or use it and reduce the amount of chain carried to lose weight?

Standard we deliver our cats with 25 meter of chain followed by 50 meters of weighted rope .
That is a good combination of less weight with enough strength to hold the boat.
We do however recommend a longer chain if anchoring in deeper water often happens and than 100 meters of chain is supplied with the 50 meters of weighted line to follow

Greetings

Gideon

[Whimsical]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

we have special chain produced for us in 8 mm made out of Duplex Stainless steel with a weight of 1.4 kilo per meter and a breaking strength of 6400 kilo or 14400 LBS

I like the sound of that, what is the expected corrosion properties of it in an anchoring situation, and at what cost.
The problem with any Euro products is that the costs are realy getting out of hand. Although I have many times seen the same products through an American or Aussy distributor far below that of a European seller. I suppose the price depends on what the market is willing to pay.

Mike

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by Whimsical

I like the sound of that, what is the expected corrosion properties of it in an anchoring situation, and at what cost.
The problem with any Euro products is that the costs are realy getting out of hand. Although I have many times seen the same products through an American or Aussy distributor far below that of a European seller. I suppose the price depends on what the market is willing to pay.

Mike

Hallo Mike we pay Euro 35 per meter it is 8 mm DIN 766 Duplex extremely low corrosion
F53 / S32750 / 1.4410 Super Duplex Stainless Steel with a minimum order of 1000 meters
I do not know how this compares with Normal stainless steel chain in 316 price wise.

Greetings

Gideon

[Spammy]

Whimsical,

One of the current problems in "overpricing" European boats is the strength of the Euro in international currency exchange. We live in the USA, where the Dollar is approximately $1.50 per Euro. It has been said that currently the Euro is overvalued vs the Dollar by about 30%. This has a dramatic impact on Dollar purchase costs of a European boat.

Rocky

[Whimsical]

I do understand why the Euro prices are high, in AUD it is nearer 2 to the Euro, but it is not just exchange rate. I wonder how long it will last before there is a serious impact.
Gideon, very nice but $3500 AUD for 50 meters is way out of my league to save a few kg's

Mike

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by Whimsical

I do understand why the Euro prices are high, in AUD it is nearer 2 to the Euro, but it is not just exchange rate. I wonder how long it will last before there is a serious impact.
Gideon, very nice but $3500 AUD for 50 meters is way out of my league to save a few kg's

Mike

Hallo Mike , what is the price for normal stainless 8 mm chain ?

Greetings

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by Spammy

Whimsical,

One of the current problems in "overpricing" European boats is the strength of the Euro in international currency exchange. We live in the USA, where the Dollar is approximately $1.50 per Euro. It has been said that currently the Euro is overvalued vs the Dollar by about 30%. This has a dramatic impact on Dollar purchase costs of a European boat.

Rocky

The nice thing is that the Euro has dropped almost 10 % over the last 2 weeks compared with the Dollar and it will go on for some time since economic recession has also hit Europe

Gideon

[ireaney]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

Standard we deliver our cats with 25 meter of chain followed by 50 meters of weighted rope .
That is a good combination of less weight with enough strength to hold the boat.
We do however recommend a longer chain if anchoring in deeper water often happens and than 100 meters of chain is supplied with the 50 meters of weighted line to follow

Greetings

Gideon

Thanks Gideon, I thought if any body would know or use it, it would be you.
Cheers
Ian

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

Standard we deliver our cats with 25 meter of chain followed by 50 meters of weighted rope .
That is a good combination of less weight with enough strength to hold the boat.
We do however recommend a longer chain if anchoring in deeper water often happens and than 100 meters of chain is supplied with the 50 meters of weighted line to follow

Greetings

Gideon

Gideon, hello, can you tell me what are you using for weighted rope?

Thnx Jack

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by Jmolan

Gideon, hello, can you tell me what are you using for weighted rope?

Thnx Jack

Hallo Jack we use the 50 meters of 16 mm weighted rope from Liros in Germany but there are many suppliers for this type of weighted rope .

Greetings

Gideon

[sandy daugherty]

A cursory search for Titanium Anchor chain got me nowhere. Is it actually on the market?

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by sandy daugherty

A cursory search for Titanium Anchor chain got me nowhere. Is it actually on the market?

Not as far as I know since the properties of Titanium are not the best for an anchor chain.
The same for aluminium , the advantage of Titanium is its weight and non corrosive character.
The down side is the fact that titanium is brittle and it could break easy if a shock occurs.
But then again there are many different types of titanium alloy,s

Greetings
Gideon

[Glenn C]

I have a titanium road bike which is just superb at absorbing road shock, Litespeed Territory Select (it is very corrosian resistant so Ti foldups are on the cruisng list) but Fastcat is right, Titanium alloys can work harden, and apart from the expense this would be why it is not suitable for an anchor chain. The Litespeed site although devoted to bicycles has some interesting info on Ti alloys GC

[Zach]

Great discussion so far...

Hey, Have any of you guys used stainless tubing or titanium shafting for rudder posts?

I'm curious as when I rebuild my rudder I'll be extending its length. (At the moment its a L shaped piece of bronze... lower half has its own mini-shaft bolted to it.)