I am having a difficult time following this blog. It does not seem to be the Catalina 27 anymore.
I am not an engineer and I really enjoy learning from members of this blog and from Scott at EY. As you know I am a dealer for EY.
After installing 4 systems this year and speaking with hundreds of boat owners I have come to some very definite conclusions about electric propulsion. It is personal.
I sail in an area that is know for light winds. Electric allows me to enjoy sailing more that my fellow diesel/gas friends. I can make passage to just about any local destination but have to do so with understanding that I will not push into a 20 mph headwind for long (not much fun for a diesel either). What I can do is point better and motor sail better because it is still sailing and that is something I did not enjoy with my diesel.
The electric motor is in my thinking vastly better than diesel, less moving parts, fewer support systems, more reliable, instantly available, almost no maintenance, etc. What is does not have is a power storage system as easy/fast and accessible as diesel. We have to wait for that.
I personally think that anyone who re-powers and does not consider electric is short changing themselves. The decision will likely go to diesel as that is the current standard and well deserved by a history of success. It is OK to go diesel. I is not wise to not consider other options but the decision is yours.
Ben, it appears that you have gone through the steps and have come up to a decision that supports your goals. I envy your future sailing adventures with your boat. There is just so much time we have to enjoy and share these experiences and that is what is most important
Just my thoughts
Mike EY of So Cal
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Mike <biankablog@...> wrote:
>
> Ben
> Â
> I would think there must be a system out there for your boat. My ASMO Marine Thoosa 9000 system works well on my 8 ton 30 footer. I know they had higher powered systems for larger boatsbut, Â I am not familiar with the specs.
> Â
> Capt. Mike
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com
>
>
> --- On Wed, 9/21/11, Ben Okopnik <ben@...> wrote:
>
>
> From: Ben Okopnik <ben@...>
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Re: Catalina 27 conversion
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 7:47 PM
>
>
> Â
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 02:46:08PM -0000, Mike Gunning wrote:
> > Leland.
> > I represent Electric Yachts on the West Coast. The Catalina 27 is a straight forward conversion. Both Scott McMillan (owner of EY) and I have Catalina 27 electric propulsion and I will be glad to share with you pictures and details of the conversion.
> > Was the diesel the original motor or was it an earlier replacement for an Atomic 4, they came both ways? The EY 100ibl will push you boat at hull speed with great efficiency. I have a small 100amp gel battery system and it has exceeded my projections of distance of 10 miles to now be 15 miles at about 4kts. In my larger Newport 30 I have a 300amp battery supply and it has a 40 mile range. The Catalina also has a 2 bladed 12X10 composite prop from Performance Propeller (this I believe is the reason for the greater performance and range). The total system including the sightly used batteries was $5000 and took about two days to complete the install. I can give you a quote if you would be kind enough to visit my website:
> > http://electricyachtssocal.com
>
> Wow, I'm seriously jealous of those numbers. If I could get a 40 mile
> range with anything resembling reasonable size/cost... ah well. My
> 10.5-ton, 45' Morgan does not seem to fall into "reasonable" range for
> an electric conversion (at least my best effort to date hasn't turned up
> any such animal - I'd be very happy if someone could prove me wrong),
> and since my diesel just blew up in the classic "runaway" fashion, I
> guess I get to install another diesel. I'm rather unhappy about that; I
> was really looking forward to converting to an e-boat. :(((
>
> --
> Ben Okopnik
> -=-=-=-=-=-
>
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