Tony,
My short answers are as follows. You can read some of my previous posts for more depth on these topics.
Good luck with your conversion.
Eric
Marina del Rey, CA
> My questions are:
>
> 1) Did you buy an off the shelf product?
I bought Propulsion Marine's 5kW open frame drive.
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> 2) How much did you know about Electric Propulsion and the issues of design and safety before you bought?
Lots. Background in technology, project management, successful electric conversions of cars 20 years ago, installed multiple solar systems, etc.
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> 3) How had you learned when your project was done?
More info about battery chemistry. Specific attributes of A/C drives versus D/C drives. Info about propellor efficiency related to displacement boats. The importance of matching drive capabilities to specific installations, one size does not fit all.
>
> 4) How long did it take you to build your system from first idea, to motoring away from the dock?
First idle contemplation, a decade ago. Bought Torqeedo for dinghy 2 years ago. That physical conversion took 15 minutes. This project; diesel in my 30' ketch failed last September, work started in March. Hope to be operational by Memorial day (less than 20 hours a month available for this project)
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> 5) A 10 hp diesel engine delivers about 7500 watts of energy. What size electric engine would be appropriate as a replacement?
Typical conversion ratios for auxiliary sailboats are 1hp electric = 2-3hp ICE. A conversion that I find more consistant is 1kW per ton of displacement (not weight). For both of these conversion ratios, I would round up to the next available motor size. Other boat types have different requirements.
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> 6) If you were going to purchase an electric boat, would you be more or less likely to purchase based on home brew vs commercially purchased?
A commercial system will have a better resale value. I would not be interested in most of the homebrew conversions that I have seen.
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> 7) What are the biggest gottchas when designing and installing a home brew electric propulsion system?
Matching the drive to the boat. Finding good places for the batteries (they're bigger than you think).
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> 8) How much time have you spent using your new electric yacht?
N/A
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> 9) Have you ever found yourself out of power, or feeling you had too little power to get yourself out of a difficult situation?
The Torqeedo 801 runs like the 2hp it replaced, but will run flat in a weekend of ship to shore dinghy runs at Catalina. I had to row ashore with a dead battery when I first got it. Now, I monitor my usage more closely and opportunity charge whenever possible.
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> 10) Are you happy with the results? Would you do it again if you could start over again? If you answer yes, what would you change about the system you installed?
TBD. I expect the system to meet my expectations, but I've done extensive research on my options. Given my investment, I can't afford a do-over. Alternatively, I would not convert my F-27 trimaran to electric, electric is not a universal replacement for ICE. But for some boats, electric drive is a viable alternative, the boat you describe falls into that range.
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> Tony
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