Thanks Mike. I agree, EP allows for many different philosophies and I too have thought of EP as a backup to my sails. Sails only work when there's wind though and last weekend was the first time I've ever seen in Okinawa where we had zero wind all day despite the forecast which called for a light steady breeze.
Personally, I'm all about optimizing my system now and I really want to figure out how to extend my range and make my system most efficient now. Next up: better propeller and possibly better batteries.
-Greg
Greg Martin
s/v Intrepid
Bristol 32e
Okinawa, Japan
www.ElectricSeas.org
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Mike <biankablog@...> wrote:
>
> Greg:
> Â
> Sorry to hear about your curtailed trip.  Electric works well as auxilary propulsion but, one must always know its limitations. Electric Propusion also allows for many different philosophies in how you want to operate. From pure battery to diesel/electric. In four years I've come had two times when the wind failed to appear. One was a few weeks ago:
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com/2011/07/fine-day-for-electro-sail.html
> But, because of my method of operation is to have multiple backups I've never felt I would be stuck. Actually the EP system is the backup for my sails. But, I also have a Honda 2000 generator on board for charging at anchor and as a cheap hybrid option to move my boat at around three knots if I need to without touching the battery bank. If you go to a pure electric plan (just battery alone) you need to be aware of the limitations and consider a lot more what if's into your plans. Also your batteries will age and not have the capacity they once had,  the bottom might be a little more fouled etc... So the trip you made before with no problem now has different issues. All this needs to be taken into account.
> Â
> Â
> Capt. Mike
> http://biankablog.blogspot.com
>
>
> --- On Mon, 8/22/11, Greg Martin <ffmagellan@...> wrote:
>
>
> From: Greg Martin <ffmagellan@...>
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Newbie
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Monday, August 22, 2011, 8:45 AM
>
>
> Â
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> I have been of the same opinion, that a "sail"boat should really only need power when entering and leaving the marina... that was my opinion until this past weekend. Despite the weather forecast, which was wrong, we ended up on the open water miles from homeport when the winds completely died on us. There was absolutely no wind for hours and we ended up drifting in a current and we had to get towed back to port, since our battery range wasn't enough to overcome the current. Very humbling experience and it made me re-think my "electric only" cruising philosophy. I'm seriously thinking about how to extend the range under power with my EP system and if I can't, I just might add a genset until there is quantum leap in battery technology...
>
> Anyway, the full story about my saga this last weekend (and I might even post the video, if I'm not too embarrased) is at:
>
> http://www.electricseas.org/forum/topics/is-electric-propulsion-really
>
> -Greg Martin
> s/v Intrepid
> Bristol 32e
> Okinawa, Japan
>
> www.ElectricSeas.org
>
>
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, bill garrison <wagarrison@> wrote:
> >
> > correct me if I am wrong, but if you have a sail boat you usually only need it for entering and leaving the marina until you get to the open waters. If this is true, then you don't have to have a killer system that you will rarely use to its full potential. The exception is if there is a reason that prevents you from using your sails to cruise and need the electric motor to get back home. That is my two cents.
> >
> > William A. Garrison
> >
> > --- On Wed, 6/8/11, pepperwynn <pepperwynn@> wrote:
> >
> > From: pepperwynn <pepperwynn@>
> > Subject: [Electric Boats] Newbie
> > To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> > Date: Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 7:13 AM
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> > Hello, E boaters. I'm fishing for opinions and technical info in my hopefully pending conversion of a 40ft sailboat. Its a big heavy cruising boat (with a dead engine), and I shudder at the thought of putting another diesel engine in the thing. The problem is where I live in Puget Sound the wind is fickle, so i'm trying to reconcile changing my cruising habits with available technology. Now that I can get a powerful enough AC motor, my issue is how to make a defacto diesel electric. I'm thinking lotsa 8D batteries and a 10kw genset would allow me to cruise 3 to 4 hours a time with a 10kw draw at 80% of hull speed.
> >
> > Has anyone out there tried this?
> >
>
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