Hi Steve,
Of course it will. And I have had to pay attention to fuel levels in every vehicle/vessel/aircraft that I have operated. I don't start across long journeys without filling up or knowing where I can re-fuel. The electric drives are kind of unique in that you can bring equipment that can generate more "fuel" from "free" sources like wind and sunlight. And by adding an ICE generator, you've got triple redundancy that would make NASA proud.
That said, in 10 years of coastal and offshore sailing in my ketch while it was still diesel, Only once did I burn more than 1 gallon of fuel while away from her berth. And that extra burn was my choice, I just wanted to get home a little earlier.
If you're saying that a conversion should be able to be driven under ICE power alone, then why bother with electric at all? It's just extra cost, weight and complexity.
Luckily, the people that have converted (including me) are learning that electric auxiliary sailboats are different than they sound like before you own one. Even my years of EV conversion backgound didn't translate to the electric sailboat experience. Most of my fears and concerns related to range and power limitations just haven't materialized.
Even with this support group, each of us has to make the choices for our own boats alone. We each have to figure out what is important, who to believe and how to convert our boat (or not). I hope that you're getting the information that you're looking for, I know that others here have.
Fair winds,
Eric
1964 Cheoy Lee Bermuda 30, Propulsion Marine 5.5kW drive, 8kWh Lithium batteries
Marina del Rey, CA
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <sstuller@...> wrote:
>
> You can compare your battery bank to a fuel tank. If you are consuming fuel at a certain rate you have to replace it at the same rate or ,sooner or later, the tank (or bank) will be empty. Thanks. Steve S.
>
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