Friday, May 15, 2015

Re: [Electric Boats] Daydreaming about the next project: An electric day cruiser...

 

The fact is, many do use old sailboats to go electric.   And yes, the true displacements hulls are a great place to start. 


I'm not  sure how many have cut down an older rig to, in essence, create a motorsailer that is more on the motor side of the equation.  Why not just leave the sail rig as it is and use it as is?. 


As for needing to be on the water/planning to exceed hull speed, I don't believe that's entirely accurate. The need for huge amounts of power to exceed hull speed is certainly right on, no matter what the source of power is. 


Along with Meander, a Seawind II ketch, I recent acquired a Gulfstar 36 trawler that has the advantage of being based on their motorsailer hull and, as such, is a true displacement design. 


It is currently ridiculously overpowered with twin 85hp Perkins diesels - she'll do 8.2 knots on one engine while dragging the other 17", 3 blade prop.  My goal is to pull one engine and replace it with a 12.kw motor as a 'proof of concept' of sorts.  If that works as intended, I will pull the other engine, add another motor, more solar panels and generator. 


Unfortunately, that project is on hold as I'm scheduled for back surgery the end of July.  It's something to look forward to though.


Wishing you luck with your project and looking forward to hearing how it turns out.


eric SV Meander



---In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, <artzboyz@...> wrote :

any boat IN the water is limited by hull speed. even approaching hull speed increases power usage exponentially. to exceed hull speed, the boat needs to be ON the water. if you can make the weight per square inch ratio low enough, a flat sheet of plywood may be the best planing boat. add weight and you're back to displacement speed and power use.

i'm surprised more electric boat aficionados don't use old sailboats. some sailboats are lightweight, have removable weighted keels and narrow efficient beams. keep some of the sails and you have an alternate method of power if you run out of battery power.

i have such a boat, an old venture 21, that i'm considering adapting to electric power. if i cut down the mast, i'll still have some sail power if needed but in a more manageable configuration. if sea trials warrant, the keel can be reduced too. it's 400 lbs now with a bulb of lead on the end. the boat, trailer, sails and 9.9 outboard cost me $900. the beam is 6'10". pretty inexpensive way to build what i think could be a fine design for conversion to electric power.

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