On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 10:27:39AM +0200, "hanermo" - CNC 6-axis Designs wrote:
>
> I have some comments, that may be less positive than you would wish for, but
> hopefully will allow you a bit more realism based on the current costs and ease
> of making boats.
> Here I am referring to an ocean crossing (category A in the EU) boat.
Hanermo - I just want to mention how much I enjoy your well-considered,
knowledgeable, and informative posts. There are a couple of other folks
here whose wealth of knowledge I appreciate as well, but the breadth of
scope that you take in your overviews is very useful - particularly to
anyone new to electric boating, or even just boating in general. Thank
you!
> Solar is not yet a primary-propulsion power source, you will not be able to
> make a small boat powered by solar, and motor long distances in the ocean.
[sigh] Yeah. All my very recent painstaking research has unfortunately
led me to the same conclusion, with the same (or even a bit more
conservative) timeline as the one you project. I *REALLY* wanted to toss
the old diesel - which is currently sitting on my bridgedeck and waiting
to be shipped back to the dealer as an exchange core - and replace it
with an e-drive system... but I just couldn't find a way to bridge, or
even come close to, fulfilling my requirements for long-distance
cruising. So, I've got another diesel - admittedly, a very pretty job of
rebuilding and upgrading by Foley Engines - sitting in a box and ready
to be dropped in this Saturday. It was a perfect opportunity for
changing over... but the usage model just didn't fit.
> It is practically certaing, that within approx. 10 years, solar will become a
> mainstream, affordable, candidate for primary propulsion in ocean crossing
> yachts.
> The problems are partly techincal and partly cost-related, and costs are
> dropping at the 40% year/year level.
I can only hope that my finances, requirements, etc. will cross with
that breakpoint. Meanwhile, I'm going to use e-drive on my dinghy... and
dream. :)
--
Ben Okopnik
-=-=-=-=-=-
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