Sunday, September 15, 2019

Re: [Electric Boats] Greetings! Catalina 30 owner here, considering an electric repower

 

That's 2-100 watt panels. 






On Sun, Sep 15, 2019 at 4:45 PM, bob jennings
<sabre281@yahoo.com> wrote:
I have an electric sailboat boat in Maine, Penobscott Bay area. It's a 28 footer & I'm able to keep the 48v propulsion bank & 12v house bank charged with 2-24v panels wired in series. I also heat my hot water with a 48v, 1000 watt element. I installed a 10kw drive from Thunderstruck. I spend most of the summer 8-10 weeks on the boat. The only time I feel the need the run the Honda is when I'm making my way up the Penobscott River.

At 3-3.5 knots I'm drawing 15 amps, 750 watts from the propulsion bank. That's 1 HP. Point being you may be able to save a few dollars going with the 5KW drive. If I had to do it all over again, that's what I would do. 

Bob


On Mon, Aug 26, 2019 at 9:35 AM, jasonsewall@gmail.com [electricboats]
<electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
 

Hello electric boaters,


My wife and I bought a 1982 Catalina 30 about 4 years ago and we have had a fine time sailing it. Alas, around a year ago, the original Universal 5411 diesel engine broke down, and after what seems a very long time of looking at it, the mechanic says it's beyond saving. 


A used replacement diesel would cost $3k, not counting labor & incidentals, and a new one is over $6k. I'm not thrilled at putting in another raw water cooled noisy thing at such a premium, and we're seriously considering an electric repower for the next season.


We live in Maine, work full-time, and have a young family---we are day sailors for the foreseeable future.  We generally have used the engine to power in and out of the harbor and get canvas up. Of course, a bit of extra power for the doldrums & emergencies is a good idea.


We have a mooring (shore power is not something we have regular access to) and were thinking of a 10kW brushless DC motor & controller, etc, a ~10kw battery bank (probably AGM), and some solar panels to mount off the stern.  What research I've done suggests that this would be enough to get a few hours of power at ~3-4 kts every few days, which seems adequate.


So, I'm looking for advice if this sounds like a good plan, and for some tips about the size & type of solar panels we should consider. I'm looking at the 10kw brushless kit on Thunderstruck. I'd really prefer to keep the parts cost at $5k-6k, which seems like it might be possible.


I'm also curious about hydrogenerators; our mooring sits in an estuary that experiences strong currents at midtide and I'm curious if the prop as  genset or a secondary hydro turbine would be a wise supplement to the solar.


If we go this route, I would probably do some of the installation work under the guidance of a knowledgeable boat mechanic.


Thanks and I look forward to learning a lot from you folks.

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Posted by: bob jennings <sabre281@yahoo.com>
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