For Sale: Glacier Bay Diesel-Electric Propulsion System $3,000

[mbianka]

"No, he's probably the guy yelling at you from across the mooring field asking you to stop running your generator endlessly to recharge your batteries."

If he is than he has me confused with another nearby boat that's running their generator "endlessly" to run their air conditioning and power the big screen TV down below. In which case yelling is futile. Believe me I don't run my generator any more than I have to. That would be fuelish!

"While you silently motor past the fuel dock, does that mean you sneak the GAS for your generator on board under cover of darkness? "

Why that would stealing! The marinas would not take to kindly to that kind competition. No, what I meant was you won't see me waiting around burning fuel while some 65 foot motor yacht is tied up to the fuel dock loading up with hundreds of gallons of fuel. Why? Because I already dingied over with a few 2 1/2 gallon jerry jugs and have no need to tie up for fuel. BTW I used seven gallons last season including some for the outboard. Any left over was put into the car.

"I'm glad the experiment is working out for you, but you haven't found a free lunch. all you have done is changed how you consume your fossil fuels."

I agree no such thing as a free lunch when one owns a boat. But, what I have found is I no longer have to squeeze my 6' 2" frame down below as often as I did when I had a diesel. In fact I can access most of what I need to check from inside the cabin. As I mentioned maintanence costs have also dramatically dropped, reliability is up and the system is clean and quiet. As they say "silence is golden".

"Now when your system is self-sustaining, needing no fossil-fueled generator to keep the batteries charged, THEN you can be smug."

No smugness here. Just a happy sailor who would recommend others take a look at an electric propulsion system WHEN it comes time to repower. I'm glad I did. It might not work for everybody but, it has made my cruises much better. As far as fossil fuel consumption goes that's always a goal of mine to reduce or eliminate it as much as possible. Not because I am a "deranged eco freak" though I do care about the enviornment. I make that a goal because it also means less money flowing out of my pocket. That's why I also have a 48 volt solar panel dodger and a wind turbine too! Plus I get a kick at watching the boat make fuel while under sail too.

"BTW, I am not an anti-electric bigot. My dinghy is electrically powered, AND sustainably solar- charged. No fossil fuel input, no noise."

A route I will probably go once my Honda 2Hp four stroke gives up the ghost. Now how about some info on that outboard you are using? What make and model, and voltage? What size solar panel are you using and what type of dingy are using it on (inflatable, hard)? I am seriously curious for future reference.

[bljones]

Thanks for your reply, Mike, and glad you took it in the spirit it was intended.

My dinghy is nothing spectacular, simply a 7' roll-up inflatable with a trolling motor on the back powered by a 12 volt battery and charged by a 30 watt solar panel.

[relmason]

Although my Columbia 10.7 has a relatively low-time Yanmar I am about to convert to an all electric drive with 550 watts of solar panels and a wind generator to supplement, along with a Honda generator as back-up. Diesel has strong points, but it stinks, is messy and environmentally unfriendly, requires persistent maintenance and visiting fuel docks regularly. Electric makes more and more sense to me especially in light on the progress made in designs recently. We all seem to forget that for most of history sailors sailed and managed to traverse all the oceans. I bought a sailboat to escape from the negatives of fossil fuels. All the arguments against electric drive will be null when the s*it hits the fan and oil costs skyrocket. Personally, I look forward to it - there will a lot more room in most mooring fields then, as well as less traffic on the water.

[tonforty]

hey..that sounds like the way to go!

[chris07732]

I started down the path to replace my 80hp Perkins with a 24hp (17.5kw) electric drive for my 39', 20,000 lb center cockpit cruiser. The project stalled due to Danish company couldn't deliver components after 20 months (quality/design issues??) and the US rep was useless to enforce the deal. My bad luck. End result, I moved on and installed a new Yanmar. At this point, for my 40% deposit, I have the very nice permanent magnet drive motor (the only component the Danish company outsourced to reputable manufacturer), plans and specs to complete project with readily available electronic components from the DIY elctric car industry.

My drive motor and all the plans/correspondence are available for sale if someone is interested. PM me and I'll send you copies of the design specs and where I left project.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by chris07732

I started down the path to replace my 80hp Perkins with a 24hp (17.5kw) electric drive for my 39', 20,000 lb center cockpit cruiser. The project stalled due to Danish company couldn't deliver components after 20 months (quality/design issues??) and the US rep was useless to enforce the deal. My bad luck. End result, I moved on and installed a new Yanmar. At this point, for my 40% deposit, I have the very nice permanent magnet drive motor (the only component the Danish company outsourced to reputable manufacturer), plans and specs to complete project with readily available electronic components from the DIY elctric car industry.

My drive motor and all the plans/correspondence are available for sale if someone is interested. PM me and I'll send you copies of the design specs and where I left project.

Do you think the 24 HP electric would have enough power to replace the 80 HP diesel? I know the electric has fewer parasitic losses, direct drive, etc but my limited research I thought I would need at least 35 HP to replace my 60 HP diesel which is really not overpowered for my 42' Pearson.

What kind of motor do you have, AC or DC, voltage, etc?

[sww914]

This is a classified ad. Is a debate appropriate in a classified ad?

[chris07732]

Calculations showed that I would achieve hull speed (7.2kts) with something less than 100% of the available 24hp. Battery capacity would limit this speed to less than an hour.

Initially, my plan was to be able leave my dock and sail locally/socially and be able to motor for 4-6 hrs (if no wind) back to dock, at 5 kts. Recharging batteries would happen at dock.

2nd stage plan was to add diesel genset and be able to recharge/utilize power from the genset and be able to coastal cruise long distances.

As I got deeper into the project and started to do my own engineering, realizing that ASMO wasn't going to deliver, I began to question some of my assumptions. Key was that the genset to allow me to cruise "untethered" cost as much as a new Yanmar. Ultimately, I realized that a new Yanmar was the most economical and foolproof approach to my goal of cruising.

I regret not following thru on the idealistic goals of silent, clean, renewable cruising, but I'm running out of time to get this stuff done (I'm 67!!), I needed to get on the water.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by sww914

This is a classified ad. Is a debate appropriate in a classified ad?

Well, since the OP has never returned to the thread nor did he respond to my PM expressing interest in purchasing the equipment he listed for sale I am guessing he doesn't mind.

However, if the mods feel that it's appropriate to move the thread which has obvious and relevant interest then sure.

[yachtsman44]

I'm interested in this system as you describe it, and have the cash to buy it.

Give me your phone # and lets talk.

best email direct to me: yachter44 <at> gmail <dot> com

[bryguy67]

I put together a simple electric dinghy as well. The dinghy is a soft V-bottom, about 11'. I bought a used 75 watt panel (too big for the job), a 92 amp/hour AGM battery, a cheap/simple solar controler, and had an aluminum bracket custom made for the panel to mount to the stern board. Approx. cost $175 used solar panel, $150 battery on sale, $150 bracket, $300ish for a 55 lb/thrust 12v trolling motor. There is no need to plug in a charger, it charges via the sun. We can travel at nearly 4 knots for over 3 hours (haven't run it dead yet). We've used this system for about 3 years now, and it's been trouble free. The easiest way to do it now is to just buy a torqeedo as long as you can recharge it from your own solar/wind source instead of their over-priced solar charger.