Tony, great solicitation, great focus. Add spouse. Mark Stafford here sharing my limited experience:
1) Did you buy off-the-shelf?
No. I already had the electric guts from a trashed Honda Accord conversion, except added two KiPoint 48V chargers.
2) How much did you know?
Went in cold, though I have a strong mechanical background, strong electrical interest, and support from spouse.
3) Lessons learned?
Slapping something together that works is surprisingly easy. Thermal control, battery health, robust mounting, corrosion resistance, performance data... all surprisingly difficult.
4) How long did it take?
Remove 2500 pound diesel: 10 hours. Design mount: 10 hours Install motor: 2 hours. Install batteries & cables: 20 hours. Education: 500 hours.
5) Appropriate replacement?
50HP ICE out, 23HP electric DC in. Because of old batteries, I limit to 175 amps momentary @ 96V, or just under 23HP. No speed trials yet, and I still have poor motor thermal control.
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?
I prefer well designed/proven home brew (hard to find). The new crop of commercially available systems may change that.
7) What are the biggest gottchas when designing and installing a home brew electric propulsion system?
Robust mounting, thermal control, runaway time, corrosion, trying to save money at the expense of time, research time.
8) How much time have you spent using your new electric yacht?
20 hours. Still doing refit/rebuild: fridge, births, stove, cockpit, water pressure, hot water, shower, cabinets, NAV & electrical, hydraulic steering, and more.
9) Have you ever found yourself out of power, or feeling you had too little power to get yourself out of a difficult situation?
No, but only because I steer clear, go to plan B early in the day.
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?
I am a victim of myself... I would happily do it again the same. I wish I could hire pro's instead of wanting to learn it all myself and being money limited. I wish I had an AC or Permanent Magnet BrushLess DC system, but there was nothing available 2 years ago. My dream motor: a bigger Arby Bernt motor/controller.
Mark Stafford
e-H55, e-GEO Metro, e-scooter, biodiesel cars
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