Hi All, hey guys
As a future catamaran owner I am also very interested in this kind of conversion.
Adam,
Cheaper than the torquedo's is certainly possible and that is what I would consider...
Look at the possibility of getting two electric motors, controllers and getting these installed in two outboard units.
To get an idea, look at this site created by James Rudholm : http://www.psnw.
The cost of one Torquedo Cruise 4 should get you close to the dual converted outboard cost, to get an idea, there are some kits listed online:
http://www.thunders
http://www.electric
I would think of get 2 kits and two identical second hand outboards with broken engines (throw away the broken ICE and install the electric motor)
FWIW I read these Mars Brushless motors hit about 3500rpm at 48V, have not done much research yet as things do get better and cheaper...
I think finding the correct prop will be the biggest challenge (maybe try to install the Torquedo prop?)
This is probably the way I will be going once I get my boat...
I am looking at an old Catalac 8M (so not the lightweight racing cat)...
On this boat I can easily install a generator centered aft, there is plenty of room for a generator and the boat can take the weight there (some of these boats have a diesel there on a centered steerable outdrive).
(The boat I'm looking at has a 15 hp 4-stroke outboard which would become obsolete or could stay for backup ...)
For me another big question would be : where do I install the electric drives ???
- Dual electric outboards can not be spaced far apart unless I install them next to the transom hung rudders. But do I really want this weight far aft... Any opinions?
(installed on a rail on the transom they would easily be lifted out when sailing when we don't need regen and when moored/beached.
- Next possibility is to install two outboard lower units under the aft lockers in front of the rudders, coming close to a saildrive setup... Two fixed dragging props when sailing and no regen is required ... And a dive if something gets fauled in the prop...
Lots of things to think about ...
Keep us posted !
Op 25/05/2010 8:17, nzsilvia schreef:
thanks for the great replies! thoise 4kw outboards sound like they would be perfect! i would want a couple though which would end up being a bit more than i would like to spend! if i cant figure out a cheaper way of doing it though i may well take that option.
james i had thought about just having the diesel revs controlling the speed of the motors.. would it be possible to have it so that at idle the motor were not turning at all? hadnt thought about the possibility of slightly different speeds would be a good setup with a single electric motor maybe..
in my experience with everything else marine related its all horribly overpriced! i have had experience marinizing diesel engines before would this be a possible option if i found a small enough diesel engine from another source? easy enough to calculate the required size of motor to use etc? 4kw of each side with about an 8kw generator was what i was thinking. is there any loss in efficiency having batteries in the system? or can they be easily bypassed during etended motoring?
as funds to build the boat will just be trickling in i will launch it first just with motors while i save up for a rig and sails etc which could take a while. so i'd like to try and sort out a nice reliable safe system to power it.
thanks for the help!!
adam.
No comments:
Post a Comment