Trying to understand your needs, Luke :
I think that your boat is a 30' sailboat.
Forget about money, if you are engineering a new concept.
You have an ongoing new project.
If you can't afford it, just forget it.
If successfull, and you get the BEST things money can buy, you MAY be happy (maybe not).
You will have a silent life, going electric, when the waves are not there.
And no fumes.
But - weather determines, if you'll ever get back to shore. So prepare for the power.
SAILS are a much better engine, than a project electric engine (or 4), if you know how to use them.
Spend more time at sea in another boat, while you're make your project.
That's what sailing is about.
Get out on the water.
A good 4.5 meter sailboat will make you happy too. No engine. Just fun.
I did a lot of sailing in China, Dianshan Lake, in a small boat, with my wife. Tons of fun !
Now I have a 29' swedish Maxi 87, but wife don't join me at all.
So - now I'm singlehanded.
My daughter is 5, but will in a few years join me sailing the Maxi, which carries her name.
Until then, we will do small boat sailing in the nearby lake.
The difference between having a diesel and an electric is so much better though.
You're on the path.
But - it shouldn't take off your time spent on the water !!!
Did I make a point here ?
Cheers,
Carsten
On Tuesday, 4 January 2022, 02:37:29 CET, Luke Johnson <jukelohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks Kev and Ryan -
@kev - I'm not really looking for an outboard, since I don't need the steering an outboard offers or the speed an outboard is designed for. About the only part of an outboard I'm interested in is the waterproof motor on the bottom...which is why trolling motor bottom ends fit the bill perfectly. If I can get a waterproof brushed DC motor + prop for $300 and stick it on the bottom of the hull, I can provide a DC PWM controller. The rest of the problem is really just a matter of sufficient power. If you can find me a torqueedo bottom end for < $1000 I'm all ears :) The added redundancy of having multiple pods to provide enough power seems to be an added feature of the system (I think).
@Ryan - the through-hulls are a good point. You got me thinking - it may be less scary and more serviceable to run wires along the hull to the back of the boat, and bring them into the boat above the waterline. The motors would be mounted on threaded rods mounted to a base plate, which is in turn glassed onto the outside hull. That way we have 0 new holes in the hull.
One of the main selling points for me is the modularity and redundancy. If a pod stops working, I can keep a spare for $300. Simply dive down, unscrew the old pod, screw on the new pod and drive on. Also, if 1 pod goes down I can still use the remaining 3 until it's safe to stop and do the swap.
Likewise, a simple 60 amp PWM dc motor controller is less than $100. Also a cheap and simple swap out. Much better than carrying a spare $1000 sevcon. I understand sevcons are pretty bulletproof, but I've seen enough forum posts to know that they can and do fail from time to time.
4 individual throttles to the cockpit for the controllers would offer a lot of options for speed/manuverability, and you'd have 4 parallel dead-simple systems:
battery -> PWM controller -> throttle -> drive. That it - no belts, pulleys, mounts, couplers, contactors - it seems pretty simple if I'm not missing anything?
Certainly trying something new and different and the learning that happens in the process is one of the biggest motivators for this thought experiment :). I love boats, electricity and thinking outside the box - I'm eager to see what I can learn from this to apply to other projects I'd like to tinker with like SUP projects, repowering my blown dingy motor and who knows what else?
I haven't heard any deal breakers yet - - unless I'm still missing something.
I can probably stroke efficiency off the list of benefits above per Kev's comment. That's too bad, but not a deal breaker for me.
Can anyone offer any good arguments against any of the other benefits listed above? Or any other drawbacks I haven't thought of?
Thanks!
@kev - I'm not really looking for an outboard, since I don't need the steering an outboard offers or the speed an outboard is designed for. About the only part of an outboard I'm interested in is the waterproof motor on the bottom...which is why trolling motor bottom ends fit the bill perfectly. If I can get a waterproof brushed DC motor + prop for $300 and stick it on the bottom of the hull, I can provide a DC PWM controller. The rest of the problem is really just a matter of sufficient power. If you can find me a torqueedo bottom end for < $1000 I'm all ears :) The added redundancy of having multiple pods to provide enough power seems to be an added feature of the system (I think).
@Ryan - the through-hulls are a good point. You got me thinking - it may be less scary and more serviceable to run wires along the hull to the back of the boat, and bring them into the boat above the waterline. The motors would be mounted on threaded rods mounted to a base plate, which is in turn glassed onto the outside hull. That way we have 0 new holes in the hull.
One of the main selling points for me is the modularity and redundancy. If a pod stops working, I can keep a spare for $300. Simply dive down, unscrew the old pod, screw on the new pod and drive on. Also, if 1 pod goes down I can still use the remaining 3 until it's safe to stop and do the swap.
Likewise, a simple 60 amp PWM dc motor controller is less than $100. Also a cheap and simple swap out. Much better than carrying a spare $1000 sevcon. I understand sevcons are pretty bulletproof, but I've seen enough forum posts to know that they can and do fail from time to time.
4 individual throttles to the cockpit for the controllers would offer a lot of options for speed/manuverability, and you'd have 4 parallel dead-simple systems:
battery -> PWM controller -> throttle -> drive. That it - no belts, pulleys, mounts, couplers, contactors - it seems pretty simple if I'm not missing anything?
Certainly trying something new and different and the learning that happens in the process is one of the biggest motivators for this thought experiment :). I love boats, electricity and thinking outside the box - I'm eager to see what I can learn from this to apply to other projects I'd like to tinker with like SUP projects, repowering my blown dingy motor and who knows what else?
I haven't heard any deal breakers yet - - unless I'm still missing something.
I can probably stroke efficiency off the list of benefits above per Kev's comment. That's too bad, but not a deal breaker for me.
Can anyone offer any good arguments against any of the other benefits listed above? Or any other drawbacks I haven't thought of?
Thanks!
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