Hello Hollis J -
As one of the few here who is both a steamboater and an electric boat owner, I'd like to give you some input.
Yes, that 23' Elliott Bay hull with a large, slow-turning prop will work wonderfully.
Yes, you'll likely need to put a reduction gear (or belting) in place to make that conversion of speed to torque work out.
Yes, there are lots of choices out there, including used golf-cart, fork lift or other motors.
And no, these are not uncharted waters----you should look at what Dan Pence has done with his 23' E.B. hull electric "Ginger".
Ginger: http://www.evalbum.com/97
Dan originally built and launched Ginger back in '98 and his boat was the inspiration for me converting my boat, The Reach Of Tide, to electric. Dan uses what he describes as a 2-speed fork lift motor (nom. 3HP rating?) that drives an inline gear reducer assembly and ultimately pushes a sleek but huge 20" x 26" 3-blade prop that he purchased also from Elliott Bay. For perhaps 10 years Dan ran Ginger with three 36v strings of T-105's. Yesterday, he re-launched a remodeled Ginger now with lithium batteries.
Anyway, email me offline and I can put you in contact with Dan if you'd like.
-Myles Twete, Portland, Or.
From: electricboats@yahoogroups.com [mailto:electricboats@yahoogroups.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2016 3:05 AM
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Electric Boats] almost finished boat [1 Attachment]
[Attachment(s) from Hollis Caffee holliscaffee@gmail.com [electricboats] included below]
I have for the past 4 years been building a 23 foot fantail launch. The original plan was to power it with a steam engine and for that reason I modified the design to accommodate an 18 inch prop. The more I learned about steam power the less enchanting it became and I am now far more inclined to use electric power but I know I have a lot to learn first. Most of what I have done so far has been to look at web sites and make phone calls. I was surprised to see the huge price difference between Elco and Thunderstruck and would wonder if anyone has some insight on that. I have also seen a posting on the wooden boat forum about using a golf cart motor. What other sources are out there? My gut feeling is that the boat should be pushed with a low speed large prop but I do not know if that will require a reduction gear and I would like to learn more about what people use for props with electric power. Can electric deliver the torque for a large prop? The other question I wonder about is the utility of solar panels. The boat will have a roof that covers the entire 14 by 6 foot cockpit so there would be a lot of room for panels. Do they charge well enough to extend cruising range to a full day?
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