My answers are:
1) Did you buy an off the shelf product?
Yes. SolidNav Explorer; Motor, mount, reduction drive, controller, throttle, fuse, connectors, forward/reverse switch and on/off switch.
2) How much did you know about Electric Propulsion and the issues of design and safety before you bought?
I'm on my second electric propulsion system. First was a trolling motor (36 volt - 109# thrust) on a 23' sailboat. That system taught me a lot about batteries, charging and monitoring.
3) How had you learned when your project was done?
?
4) How long did it take you to build your system from first idea, to motoring away from the dock?
That's tough to answer but I think what you want to know is, from when I ordered the motor (3/08) it took six weeks +/- to take delivery and another three weeks before I was motoring. Much of that time was waiting for other parts to arrive (and a day job :-).
5) A 10 hp diesel engine delivers about 7500 watts of energy. What size electric engine would be appropriate as a replacement?
You'll get better answers from others here but the SolidNav Explorer (4kw) does well with my 7000lb Ericson 27.
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?
More likely if commercial unit.
7) What are the biggest gottchas when designing and installing a home brew electric propulsion system?
Don't know about home brewed but even with the factory built units you have a lot of issues to solve; battery placement being the biggest head scratcher for me.
8) How much time have you spent using your new electric yacht?
My current electric auxiliary sailboat is in the water all year and sailed all year so two full years at this point.
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.
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?
Yes. The one thing I would change is that I would buy two 4 bank battery chargers right off and not deal with a 48 volt charger. I'm glad I did start with the 48 volt Kipoint charger because I learned from it and I was able to use one charger ($) for the two separate 48 volt battery banks. That said I still have the Kipoint 48 volt charger on the first string of batteries and it is working fine.
Mark
Santa Cruz CA
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