T-Pain Is On A Boat: [Electric Boats] Facilitate, Accelerate, and Compensate

Saturday, June 13, 2009

[Electric Boats] Facilitate, Accelerate, and Compensate

Mark Stafford here loving this forum! Professionals offering their expertise for the greater good, "armchair professionals" like myself trying to stay in the ballpark of reality, yet push the boundaries at the same time; repower pioneers who are willing to share their successes and failures with kindred spirits, manufacturers working on the next great product, the hand-full of new members every day, at least one of whom seems to be considering a green(er) marine repower.

You inspired me, and now I need your help. I've audaciously set up www.GreenMarineRePower.org to utilize and compensate existing worldwide efforts to green power water vessels. The work done here on ElectricBoats is phenomenal, and a little hard to access for someone who knows little about repowers. The test website I've been developing should help newcomers more quickly spool-up and build on the work you all have already done. Several ElectricBoats members know I've posted their boats on GreenMarineRePower's test site, some don't. I apologize, and will remove what you wish. Though I foolishly jumped in the deep end and started paddling, I want it to be your website. Though GreenMarineRePower Inc. is now a CA registered Public Benefit Corporation, a 501(c)(3), an NGO, it is designed to facilitate, accelerate, and compensate the work ElectricBoats is already doing.

For instance, Dave Tetta and Angel Rebollo want to see what others have done to green power their Catalina 30, or similar boats. Now they can check http://rabblebabble.org/node/78 which is currently on our slow but extensive test website. I hope soon it will be fast (we need funding) and on http://www.GreenMarineRePower.org (capital letters not necessary, just easier to read).

If YahooGroups starts charging us, I would like there to be somewhere else free to be. GreenMarineRePower forums will be ready.

So I need your help, your feedback on GreenMarineRePower's test website. Aside from needing many more example vessels, is there potential? There is a brief education section that needs more specialty topics. It may be hard to post your boat. What else is wrong? What else would you like to see?

I need your help, your boat(s) listed as example vessels. Your words of e-wisdom not already posted in the ElectricBoats archives. Your amp/knots/voltage data at comparable speeds (maybe 3, 4, 5, & max knots?). Your air-powered or hydrogen-powered or steam-powered or kite-powered boats, not just e-boats.

I need a graphic artist's help with a standard presentation format of your boat's data. This is a specialty Drupal web design request. Maybe one simple iconic line drawing of a canoe, one of a trawler, one of a sailboat, etc., where the boat owner just enters LOA, LWL, #s, volts, prop, range, chargers, ICE.... all those parts and number stuff. When someone new is looking for comparative information, all their mission-critical decisions are easy to spot... displayed right there on the image of the type of boat they are interested in. They don't have to text search through reams of emails, just look at a few pictures of other people's successful repowers.

I need your help identifying example vessels. There are many blogs out there with great info, but little amp/speed data and no comparative shopping, no "here are 18 examples of Cal25s and their green repowers, complete with captain feedback". Let's throw all this information up in one accessible place and format, so we can all more quickly advance in this dynamic field.

I need your help identifying great products. In order to remain objective, GreenMarineRePower can't sell anything, but we must collect user feedback on what we all are buying. This is a central aspect to our business model: the manufacturers are our Directors and volunteer Associate Directors, and are keenly interested in market feedback. The more feedback we provide, the better tomorrow's products will be. GlacierBay, ThunderStruck, and Re-E-Power have already stepped up to start our Board of Directors, but they need some help. We need at least two more Directors, and a host of Associate Directors. See http://rabblebabble.org/node/21

I need your help identifying funding. Not your money... think bigger. 1% off the top to anyone who secures funding over $100,000 USD. A $20 Million grant secures a $200,000 commission, and still leaves over 93% directly for green marine repower education, training, advocacy, field testing.... all the stuff you folks are doing now but not getting paid for yet. If the Grantor earmarks for a particular country, we will of course honor that.

I need your help participating in ways I can't even imagine. You folks are collectively the best and brightest on the planet for working towards a marine future our children can live with. Jump in however you see fit! Sign up on your test website with "Create new account". http://rabblebabble.org/

I suspect there will be positive and negative responses to this wild adventure. If you think of it, please don't "Reply" to this post (it is crazy long); just "Post" something new with a title that focuses on what you want to discuss or point out.

Charge!
Mark Stafford
Founder / Secretary GreenMarineRePower Inc
Electric GEO Metro & 3 biodiesel VW's
Electric Herreshoff Marco Polo project