Hi Nanci,
I agree with Mike about falling off and motorsailing if seas are an issue. If you have any wind it does not take much power to increase your boat speed.
On the light side of the wind spectrum I find I can add a small amount of power, 2 to 8 amps (@48-51 volts)and gain a knot or two (or even three) and point higher (make sure you keep leeward weight). At that current draw you can motorsail for quite a distance and the higher point of sail can make a big difference in VMG.
Mark
Santa Cruz
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Mike <biankablog@...> wrote:
>
> Nanci:
> Â
> I've not done a crossing to the Bahamas yet. Though after this winter I keep thinking about taking the boat to the warm in winter. Plowing into head seas was never fun for me. IMO trying to out slug the ocean  raises the odds against you a bit.  I did not enjoy it even when I had my diesel and it will eat up power from your battery bank. But, what I did discover recently is to fall off slightly and use the EP to keep moving in the in the direction I need to go. Much easier on the boat and keeps you moving in the general direction you need to go and it does this quietly. That works for me.
>
> Â
> Capt. Mike
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com
>
> --- On Mon, 2/7/11, Nanci <nancishouse@...> wrote:
>
>
> From: Nanci <nancishouse@...>
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Cruising with EP
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Monday, February 7, 2011, 2:35 PM
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> Â
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> Yeah, I'd like to be done with diesel too. If I go to all the trouble and expense to put in EP, I don't want any diesel onboard. My "for instance" is, crossing from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas, the wind is usually on the nose. If I have to tack, I run out of daylight to make it, so I want to feel assured that I can get there under EP if I need to ..about 50 miles.
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> Nanci
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike <biankablog@...>
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sun, Feb 6, 2011 7:52 pm
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Cruising with EP
>
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> Â
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> Nanci:
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> I can move my 8 ton boat about three knots in calm conditions without drawing any power from the battery bank using the Honda 2000 if I need too. Actually I still have power to spare from the generator so I usually charge up my 12 volt house bank at the same time. In reality I'd only do that when there is no wind which is not very often. The wind usually picks up soon enough and I gradually start cutting back on the EP as the wind picks up. Pretty soon I am sailing again and shut the generator down. I could also have put in a bigger diesel generator and powered the EP system from it too but personally I'm done with diesel.
>
> Capt. Mike
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com
>
> --- On Sun, 2/6/11, Nanci <nancishouse@...> wrote:
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> From: Nanci <nancishouse@...>
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Cruising with EP
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sunday, February 6, 2011, 8:41 PM
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> Â
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> Thanks for the reply, Mike. So a Honda 2000 would keep the batteries up enough to run the EP that long? Well, that makes a lot of difference. Not being an engineer, all this battery lingo is a little Latin to me.
>
> Nanci
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike <biankablog@...>
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sat, Feb 5, 2011 6:03 pm
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Cruising with EP
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> Nanci:
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> BTW I changed the topic for this reply. I have a friend who is on his second EP system. The first one was a homebuilt setup with chain gearing a little noisy. A few years back he sailed from St. Martin to St. Thomas on the way back he was demasted. He used his EP system and Honda Generator for twelve hours of motoring to get to St. Criox for repairs. EP systems work well on sailboats. But, as I mentioned to Pete you have to be ready to embrace them. But, IMO they just make a whole lot of sense for a sailboat thats why I decided to go with it.
> Â
> Capt. Mike
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com
>
> --- On Sat, 2/5/11, Nanci <nancishouse@...> wrote:
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>
> From: Nanci <nancishouse@...>
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Re: Electric boating association in the US?
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011, 3:37 PM
>
>
> Â
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> I'm in a part of the country where there are a lot of cruisers. I do mostly "destination" sailing ie Bahamas or north to the Cumberland Island, Georgia for a short sail. As much as I would like to convert, I can't figure how this would work for me with the present battery limitations.
>
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> Nanci
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acsarfkram <acsarfkram@...>
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Fri, Feb 4, 2011 8:58 pm
> Subject: [Electric Boats] Re: Electric boating association in the US?
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> Sorry somehow I hit the send key before I finished :-).
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> What I was trying to get at is the fact that electric sailboat auxiliary businesses were just getting off the ground with engineered, affordable units when the economy tanked. I think if you look into any Marine Business you will find pretty flat sales.
>
> And to finish my thought on my setup;
> Yes, I have been operating my electric auxiliary sailboat nonstop since April or May of 2008 and have never had a range or operational issue. I don't cruise much, mostly daysail multiple days per week with overnights within 35 miles, but that is more than I see most of the sailboats doing around here.
>
> Mark
> Santa Cruz
>
>
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "acsarfkram" <acsarfkram@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Eric,
> >
> > I'll agree with the idea that powerboats are a niche group for E-propulsion. Although even for a strictly motorized boat (no sails) electric or human-power is increasingly the only way people are going to be able to access certain lakes across the USA.
> >
> > There are three other electric sailboats boats that I know of in the Santa Cruz Harbor. I think one of the reasons that there are not more electric conversions on sailboats is that the economy has been so bad pretty much since the latest Unfortunately the electric auxiliary .
> >
> > Yes, I have been operating my electric auxiliary sailboat nonstop since April or May of 2008
> >
> > --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Eric" <ewdysar@> wrote:
> > >
> > > No, I was referring to the fact that there are many more power boats than sailboats in the US. According to the USCG 2009 statistics, registered power boats outnumber auxiliary sailboats by about 98 to 1. Looking at just the sailboat population, we know that the 26' to 40' range is the sweet spot for electric conversions. Now we're down to less than 51,000 boats in the US out of over 12 million mechanically driven boats (boats with motors).
> > >
> > > Many of the people I know that own boats of that size would not accept the limitations that we have all accepted by trading to electric. I own two boats in this range and won't convert one of them due to the performance hit while sailing and motoring, and I'm a big proponent of the technology.
> > >
> > > Just for sampling, I know that you've been operating your boat very successfully for a few years. How many other people in your marina have tackled a similar conversion?
> > >
> > > I still beleive that electric drive is a very good answer for some sailboat users, but it no more of a universal answer than ICE is.
> > >
> > > --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "acsarfkram" <acsarfkram@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > >Show them how the compromises can be a good choice for some users. >With their
> > > > >feedback about your boat, you'll find that electric is not a good >choice for
> > > > >most boaters, both pleasure and commercial. This is a niche industry >and I'm
> > > > >glad to be a contributing part of it.
> > > >
> > > > >Eric
> > > >
> > > > I've seen some negative posting here lately, but this one I can't let stand. Without a doubt MOST sailboaters that I see out on the water would be better off with an electric drive. Cheaper to operate, more reliable, more pleasant to be around...
> > > >
> > > > Eric, are you talking about commercial fishing boats?
> > > >
> > > > Mark
> > > > Santa Cruz
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
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