Hi Steve,
A rendering of our boat is available at: http://www.brucerob
Bruce Roberts stretched his 38' Spray design to accommodate our needs. We had Bruce design our boat last spring. The Spray is a very heavy, solid, and stable boat and will meet our specific needs. With the junk rigged schooner design it will be easy to handle single-handed and will fit our needs as we cruise through retirement.
We live on the Hood Canal in North West US and our winters are wet and cold. So we spent this past summer and fall building a boat shop. I just completed my wiring on the shop and plan to begin laying out the frames after the holidays.
I work remotely from my home and plan to spend a couple hours each evening building the boat—with our plan and my past experience working in wood-epoxy, the project will take 3-years.
At the current time I have been doing as much research as possible but have not committed to the battery solution. I would like to use NiFe batteries from China due to the durability and ability to go dead and overcharge without much damage. They do have two challenges: First, they discharge and charge very slowly which means I would need 600-800 ah to use a motor large enough to move our boat. Second, larger ah ratings would mean that I would have a 40K investment in NiFe batteries. Due to the cost, I am still open to the battery solution and may elect to use 3-36 volt forklift batteries. Whichever batteries I use, I will place them strategically along the center of the bilge to for additional internal ballast.
The best option that we have found for an electric motor is the 1238-7501 with the Curtis controller. The motor will be geared down using a spline belt for simplicity of repairs. See: http://www.thunders
We are also going green with a second composting head for inland waters (no tanks to pump) and a solid fuel cook/heat stove to eliminate carrying petroleum fuels. We will likely carry a small Premus type cooktop for warmer climates. I am undecided on the water issue since water-makers still use a lot of current. I will likely build large water tanks. I am committed to refrigeration and plan a very heavily insulated top mount unit with a keel cooling condenser.
Our plans and specific needs are not for everyone and should be viewed as just one persons perspective. I continue to conduct research and belong to several lists to glean what others are experiencing.
Gene
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