I will be setting up some pictures and video on the AMeP site for ease of
access go to the URL that Keith provided, some size editing is needed to
facilitate the videos so bear with me.
The sailing was great and your memory is about accurate I think it was about
1.4-1.5KW +/- on the return with the wind making us use more power than the
downwind stretch.
As my first sailing adventure, I enjoyed the whole trip and was very
satisfied with how the Mark II responded and glad we were electric. What I
remember most was as we pulled in to Treasure Island the large dock that we
went around was close as we decided to bring the sails down and power her
up. I headed into the wind and bam we came to a rapid slow down and started
to drift towards the docks, the front of the boat being pushed by that
strong wind and our sails catching on the wrong side... I grabbed the
controller and switched into reverse and spun the dial... We stopped in our
"tracks" and control was mine again going backwards into the wind. Spun the
dial to 0 and flipped to forward and dialed her back up coming about and
filling the sails correctly again. Too bad only Mia and I were there to
experience that one. We dropped the sails keeping her under power and made
the approach around 3mph at power, just under 70amps I would say, to keep
her strong in that wind.
If anybody would like to come and see the boat and motor please let me know
and we can arrange a meeting.
Kevin
From: electricboats@
On Behalf Of aweekdaysailor
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 7:17 AM
To: electricboats@
Subject: [Electric Boats] eBoat "regatta" in SF last weekend
We had a sail-in to Treasure Island last weekend which included 4 e-boaters
on 3 sailboats - mine, Hans K and Kevin brought his Erickson 27 powered by
Arby's [http://www.advanced
his wife came along on my boat (he's got an e-boat down in Monterey) so I
got to make a couple of new friends to boot.
It was a great day for sailing and we hit the tides well (all coming from a
different spot on the bay). We'll hopefully get some pictures up soon.
We did have a "watt race" - my boat and the Erickson running parallel and
each calling off watt (amp actually) readings. This was all very
un-scientific but we did calibrate the ammeters and had independent
observers at least.
Downwind, the 100% watt draw advantage (for example I was at 2KW, Kevin at
1KW) was pretty close to true. Upwind (about 15kts) it narrowed a bit to
about 50-60% fewer watts advantage (i.e. I was at 2KW vs 1.5KW for Kevin)-
making sense with that boat being about 30% lighter and a freshly scrubbed
hull. (Kevin I'm going from memory, so please correct me if I mis-state). We
were nowhere near hullspeed - maybe 4kts down and 2-3 back.
I'm still nursing a set of bad batteries, comparing very different boats,
mine needs a scrub, props, etc -- so unfortunately I don't place much faith
in the numbers - this was intended for fun more than anything else, though
I'm sure this will trigger some debates (what's the expected difference in
those hulls, etc...)
That said...Arby'
very robustly assembled (so much so I'm afraid pictures taken of my setup
are going to end up as "before" pictures like those diet ads in the
tabloids...)
huge advantage in long-term reliability in saltwater installations.
I think more testing is in order before declaring it SF Bay ready for a boat
as large as mine (30' 9800lb), but it seemed to me a good fit for the
Erickson and for the very large number of boats up to that size/vintage
ready for new motors. The 24volt package has obvious advantages as well,
though I would love to see 36V and 48V options.
YMMV, Caveat Emptor and all that - but all in all I think it deserves
consideration as a legitimate option in appropriate sized vessels and
sailing conditions. What "appropriate" means will involve further testing,
experience, testimonials, etc.
-Keith
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