Hi hanermo and Bill,
On this subject, hanermo, you and I are in 1,000 percent agreement! 1,000 percent means I would multiply Bill's costs by a factor of ten, based on the high-end sports car maxim - if you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it.
OK, Bill, I'm being facetious and don't want to depress/dissuade you any more than you may now already be, but, hanermo is pretty much on the mark. I would seriously investigate recycled almost everything, but, as hanermo said, you'll need to do a lot of footwork to find them. If you've seen the TV news footage of the Bangladeshi ship-breaking beaches (they're not even yards), you may be able to imagine just how cheap things like heavy-duty electrical cabling, brass/bronze/stainless fittings, etc., can be. Of course, these materials have almost certainly been exposed to extremely hazardous substances (as the footage shows), so, you may need to invest in a military chemical warfare Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) suit, or a used NASA spacesuit (I hear these multi-million dollar items are actually going _up_ in resale price, despite the end of the Shuttle program - damned geek collectors ):
Electrical components that meet current codes in the developed world are going to be too new to get off ships being broken up, but, during periods of economic contraction, the amount of surplus new or lightly-used materiel (yes, that's the correct spelling for this meaning) generally increases substantially, so, prices should have dropped, and at least you may be able to find some better deals than a few years ago. Even governments are now using on-line auction sites to sell off surplus materiel.
In addition to high-end recreational vehicles, I've done much less-extensive/expensive restorations/conversions on much smaller (sail)boats (in the 25 ~ 30 foot range) than what you're contemplating, and I'm in the process of doing some sailboat electric and/or hybrid conversions. Even that can get relatively expensive pretty quickly if you're not more tight-fisted than a broke sailor of one of certain ethnicities in a cathouse a couple of days before payday. As a tiny example of what's possible, the three-pronged, twist-lock, AC power plugs used to connect boat AC circuits to marina shore power outlets have one slightly narrower prong blade, and the outlets/sockets have a corresponding slightly narrower slot, than the otherwise-identical (in terms of electrical characteristics) non-marine versions, e.g., what you would find from a typical on-line or retail discount hardware vendor, but, the marine versions cost up to five times as much as the non-marine versions. It's a ten-second operation to trim the excess width from the non-marine plug prong so that it fits into a marine outlet/socket, and this doesn't affect the current-carrying capacity of the plug (the narrowest cross-section of the prong closer to the plug base is identical in both versions). There, I've just revealed to everyone how to cut their cost of shore power cable connectors by up to 80%! You're welcome and, yes, I do make house calls ;)
Recycled wood and metal sheets/channels are additional examples of where you can save large wads of cash, particularly if you stay away from retail marine sources. It's nearly impossible to find some larger dimensions of new, quality, solid teak, mahogany, and similar woods typically prized for their nautical/marine qualities, especially at a reasonable price (well, "reasonable" decades/centuries ago, but, paid for with today's currencies). If you're quick to descend on a recently-junked older hulk before the other inevitable vultures show up, you might be able to score some very nice material, but, the yard owners/denizens are also becoming aware of the worth of such things, too. As hanermo suggested, if you can accept things like veneers of such woods laminated over much less costly cores (preferably waterproof materials, such as fiberglass, rigid foams, etc.), you can save money up-front as well as downstream in maintenance/repair costs.
Anyway, it will be very interesting to see what you decide to do, and observe your progress along whatever paths you may choose. If others here aren't interested (especially about the aspects not concerning electric drives), please at least keep me on distribution for your communications about this project.
All the Best,
Jim
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "\"hanermo\" - CNC 6-axis Designs" <gcode.fi@...> wrote:
>
> FWIW, as I have studied the subject for the last 8 years, almost full
> time .. re building yachts, on a budget and not ..
...
> > Hey folks,
> >
> > I have posted occasionally but follow the discussions on the list with
> > great interest in advancing battery and solar technology.
> > I am still looking to build my live-aboard cruiser in the 40-60 feet
> > size range.
...
> > Kind regards,
> > Bill
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