Monday, June 8, 2009

[Electric Boats] why not a golf cart setup?



We want to replace the 11 hp diesel in our 27' sailboat with an electric drive and want to use the motor as a generator driven by the propeller rotating while under sail.

The commercial vendors seem to charge thousands of dollars. I'm wondering why an electric golf cart motor and controller wouldn't do the job? Supposedly a 6 hp motor will drive her at hull speed. But we think 3.5 to 5 hp is all we need as we only use the engine leaving and returning to the dock.

Some golf cart motors are wired to use energy from braking to regenerate electrical power. I also have the idea that any motor can be used as a generator, but am ignorant about the circuitry requirements, probably some kind of diode in the field circuit, but maybe you need some kind of sophisticated controller?

We'd be grateful for any guidance.

Many thanks!

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