Myles,
I've got twin EU2000i generators that I've put together to run the air
conditioner on my sailboat at anchor. Works fine. I will say that I got
sucked in and bought the parallel kit for like $250. Once I got the
"parallel kit" and looked at it I discovered that it was a very simple setup
that can easily manufactured at home for much, much, MUCH less than $250. I
felt quite taken.
From: electricboats@
On Behalf Of Myles Twete
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 2:33 PM
To: electricboats@
Subject: RE: [Electric Boats] Re: Repowering 40' 1975 20,000 lb sailboat
Moderator comment: While this thread has not been totally on topic, it is
one of the best, thought out discussions on the tradeoffs (pros and cons) in
going electric or not. Thank you all for being civil in this discussion and
bringing great value here. My experience ("not again."): My 26ft flat
bottom barge cruiser "The Reach Of Tide" was built in the late 80's and had
been powered for 15+ years by an early 80's M25B Tohatsu 25HP outboard.
That reliable outboard drove author and historian Sam McKinney and his
earlier 24ft barge boat from the upper Missouri, down to the Mississippi, up
the Mississippi to Chicago, then from Lake Huron Eastward, thru Rideaux and
Hudson canals to Hudson River and then NYC. He liked the motor so much, he
sold the boat in NYC and shipped the Tohatsu back to Portland, Or., where
within a couple months he put it on his new creation, "The Reach Of Tide".
After much plying the lower Columbia waters with this boat and the same
motor, in 1996, I purchased the boat. And I ran with the same outboard
until 2002 or so, when I converted the same outboard to electric. The
reasons for my converting it had nothing to do with the performance of the
Tohatsu (though I did always fear it not starting and having to get towed,
which happened on more than one occasion), rather, I converted to electric
(1) because I wanted to, (2) quiet cruising, (3) no need to haul fuel or mix
oil, (4) reduce pollution impact and (5) reliability. Despite having a top
speed of perhaps 1knot less than when the outboard was gas-powered, I've
been quite happy with this electric boat. Since correcting coupler problems
early on, we've never had to be towed due to system being disabled. I carry
spare controller, spare brush set, fuses, motor coupler, shear pins and all
the things that are most likely to go out. I don't go out on bad days and
generally my cruising is limited to under 20miles on a trip. For longer
trips, I take the Honda EU2000i and an extra charger to deliver a steady
1.44kw to the batteries, which itself will push the boat 4knots for as long
as I have fuel to burn. I've saved a fair amount of money in fuel since
2003 and the main price to pay has been slower cruising and intentionally
limiting the number of longer trips I'd otherwise tempt myself into. Most
recently, I retired my 12 batteries from the boat (all between 7 and 10
years old by now.and moved them to my 1920 Milburn electric car) and picked
up a smaller bank of 6 used T-105 batteries that aren't the best in the
world, but at $20/ea and with at least 50% rated capacity, I'm happy so far.
I like electric propulsion so far and am seriously considering going with a
light weight Chinese lithium setup in the next year. The only question will
be whether I cheap out and go with a minimal 200ah pack or spring for a
400ah pack. Either way, for long trips I'll need a genset. Is anyone using
twin EU2000i gensets? That option has my eye.with 2 of these and
appropriate charger setup, nearly 4HP worth of electricity can be delivered,
yielding at least 5.5knots steady for as long as I have fuel (at 1/2gal per
hour)---i.e. 11nm/gal.
Again, thanks for a great conversation. As mentioned by Rob and others,
don't cheap out on safety, be the best mariner you can be and don't be
macho---know when not to go out, when to turn away from danger or drop your
anchor.
-Myles Twete, Portland, Or.
The Reach Of Tide Electric: www.evalbum.
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