Not so odd. I am doing similar, with a CAL 2-27, but I hope to end up with a full canopy and 2kw of solar. Drive is already installed and in use for 3 years now. One 48v 220ah bank of golf cart batteries. Stil fiddling with reduction ratio, shaft alignment, etc and still to come, another bank of golf cart batteries, and the solar. I will be going with MPPT. It is a superior technology that will boost charging performance considerably, and not cost much more. Granted, a PWM charge controller is easier to homebrew, but I will be using off the shelf charge controllers. Haven't decided on panels and controller brands/models yet, or even string arrangement. I intend that it be a 100% solar powered off-grid liveaboard and slow bayou/river/icw cruiser.
Don't bother with PWM controllers unless you already have them on hand. The price difference really isn't all that much. Similarly, don't bother with a square wave motor controller. Kelly has some very cheap sine wave controllers that will work nicely with a 5kw motor and a 48v bank. Check out the KLS-S series. Remember though that the listed current ratings on the Kelly site are peak, not sustained current. You want a controller that will handle 100a sustained, or about 240a or maybe 300a peak. Still, there is one there for under $200. (You will mostly be running between 10a and 20a, but the extra power is nice for showing off, and motoring for short distances into unfavorable wind or current.) Add a $400- motor and a homebrew reduction gear with thrust bearing and you are good to go for under $1k including cables, wiring, contactor, fuses, meters, and associated doodads, and if you use golf cart batteries from Sams Club like I did, you can have a 10.6kwhr bank for less than $800 more. You will definitely want a large 3 blade fixed prop in place of the folding sailboat prop that the boat probably has. A used 3 blade fixed prop in the 14" to 18" range can often be had cheap or even free.
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