Hi Folks,
I've got a 32 foot Atkins style double ender somewhat like a "Thistle". She's a great little bird on the water, sails really well except in really light air. Usually gets about half the wind speed to around ten knots wind but in really light conditions struggles a bit due to her having ten tons to propel.
So why not put a pulley on the propshaft( has an Isuzu 25 hp 2ab1 through a prm 140 gearbox) and fit an electric motor to both propel and generate power?
Just need the electric drive to push her to about 3 knots so 5 kilowatt should be plenty. I imagine electric assist in light air, and any time the sun is shining as plan to have solar panels attached to the lifelines. Should get our average speed up a bit!
I guess this would need a clutch or some method of disengaging when the batteries are fully charged or maybe a current diverter that heats water. Should not need a huge battery with this setup.
Really interest to hear your opinions.
Kind regards,
Pete.
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