Eric, good point about the fuel usage. I came to the same conclusion as well, so the "bite out of BP" is mostly symbolic. It's interesting to consider though, what the main selling point is to electric boats. Some people are really motivated by "eco" reasons, however I'm pretty sure the argument that will win the day is if EP is shown (and if the buying public can be convinced) that the technical and practical advantages make the most sense. Are we safely at the point where we can all say, that for certain applications, maybe power boats in sheltered and pristine areas and for auxiliary power on day and coastal cruising sailboats- that EP is hands down, the best choice, technically and practically? If so, then it looks like a marketing and PR challenge to increase sales for these systems and change the boating world.
-Greg
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Eric" <ewdysar@...> wrote:
>
> Greg,
>
> I agree with your sentiment, but realistically, the oil industry won't notice that I'm gone. One of the deciding factors in starting my sailboat conversion was that in seven years, I had rarely burned more than one gallon of fuel in a single outing. If my typical usage was above 2 gallons per outing, I wouldn't have made the conversion. I would guess that my average fuel purchase for that boat was less than 10 gallons per year. After all, Serenity is a sailboat...
>
> I'm doing it because after converting a number of cars to electric 15 years ago, my particular use case fit well within the limitations of electric drive. Of course, I wouldn't have considered it at all if my Yanmar had kept running...
>
> Fair winds,
> Eric
> Marina del Rey, CA
>
> PS. I sold my personal electric 914 after a year or so, it required much more attention than my 50mpg Geo Metro. I needed to simplify my life...
>
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Greg Martin" <ffmagellan@> wrote:
> >
> > On the anniversary of the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which still hasn't been cleaned up, and in response to the apology by the CEO of Transocean, for having a good year last year (and being shamed into donating his obscene bonus to charity), I just think it might be time to ask ourselves why we're into electric boats? Is it because the technology makes the best sense, for certain applications, ...or... are we trying to take a bite out of BP (i.e. the oil industry)?
> >
> > Keep it charged!
> > -Greg
> >
>
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