Hi Eric & Electric People,
I have to apologize in advance and warn you that I have thick skin so badgering me won't work. I am seriously keeping the numbers I am getting to myself. Not to be rude but they are not a real representation of the electric experience, my boat is big and fat and my battery bank is more massive than the average, as we all know the speed we try to motor completely determines how far we can go, bla bla. In reality I use my motors all day long the wind and current and fog and traffic of S.F Bay is constantly throwing something at me that makes pushing the boat under power tempting. The key is always on and the power is always there. I am taking many different people sailing and it's funny watching my guests trying to guess if we are motoring or not. Usually not but sometimes to make an impossible tack through a bridge or channel mark, seemingly like we are under full sail but with 90 or 150 rpm of full torque power makes an amazing amount of difference. At full speed I easily get to my boat speed I even wound back the max output.
Back to reality, in reality I can motor from Sausalito to Emeryville in the fog and motor sail all the next day anchor overnight and still have 75% charge when getting back to a shore power hook up, I can get out of the marina at 5 am without waking any of my neighbors. There are regen numbers showing that need some checking and confirming but they are there and at lower speed than you might believe.
The cost, well that depends on what you are replacing, here are a few numbers to think about. New diesel engine, or $6000 rebuild? new stainless custom fuel tank or stick with the old one new fuel filters and plumbing. New exhaust and let's not forget the cooling. The electrical system is also 30plus years old, Total price came in my situation to somewhere about 25000 USD not including unforseen extras and custom pieces needed for the installation and crane hire to lift it in. My electric conversion Inc 540Ah 48v LiFePo bank, with self installation plus help from a friend thanks Jim, cost less.
Basically as the happy convert of a 28000lb sail boat I can totally recommend if you are thinking about re-powering think electric, call Scott or Bill at electric yacht.
Pitt Bolinate
Sent from my iPad
Hi Justin,
The specs that you posted were good, but your Formosa 41 has a displacement of 28,000 lbs, the amount of ballast isn't really relevent.
The rule of thumb used for many conversions is 1kW of drive for each ton of displacement. This means that you should be looking for a drive system that is rated for at least 14kW. You're lucky that there are two sisterships that are converted or being converted. You should be able to get good information to set your expectations for your electric performance and the approximate cost of the conversion.
If either of the other two electric Formosa 41s can post their performance numbers (watts to knots), we'll all understand the conversion of larger boats a little better.
Fair winds,
Eric
Marina del Rey, CA
PS. This conversion will probably be more expensive than you think, you shouldn't go into this thinking that it will be significantly cheaper than a diesel installation. That said, there are plenty of reasons to go electric, you just have to see if the compromises of electric drives don't conflict with the way that you use your boat.
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, justin johnson <justrayj@...> wrote:
>
> I am new to your site and coming to you from Honolulu Hawaii. I am the
> owner of a Formosa CT41, a 45' sailing ketch. The original 50hp diesel
> motor has failed and it is time to choose a replacement. I am really drawn
> to the quieter operation of an electric drive. In addition many of the
> outer islands in the chain do not allow the use of fossil fuels.
>
> I am very confident installing a system myself. However I am new to this
> format and still learning. Any suggenstion or comments are very welcome.
>
> FYI 39" at the water line 45' overall, 12' beam 9,000lb full keel, It is
> necessary to navigate about a mile of a narrow channel to get to open water.
>
> Justin
>
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