Electric Boats

Read About My Electric Fishing Boat Project

Submitted by Capt. Fred Saas (209.102.149.83) from ALABAMA on 10/18/05 10:30:50 pm:

My electric sailboat motor has turned my sailing life into a pleasure almost beyond description. No diesel and all the filth, exhaust, hauling fuel, repairing, maintenance, noise, stink, heat, expense, salt corrosion, slime, oily bilge ad infinitum. I can silently motor out of my slip for 10 minutes, then make up the amperage use in less than an hour by sailing and freewheeling the prop. I can motor against tide and current if necessary without using the batteries for days at a time by plugging into my 45# silent portable Honda 2000 generator which gets over 12 hours on a gallon of gas. If my transmission goes out, Its only a $2 toggle switch. Parts are cheap and replacable in a few minutes. All the parts except the AGM batteries only weigh about 30-40#. A 90% effecient 15hp 20# electric motor equals about a 20% effecient 350# 40-50hp diesel. Been sailin it hard since June 2004 just tweakin the adjustable controller and having a ball. Any questions?

Respectfully,

Capt.Fred, an old sailor

1. 3/19/06 3:47:04 pm DOC SCHULTZ (66.163.158.96) from NORTH DAKOTA says ELECTRIC BAOTS

   HI Cap. Fred: I plan on getting a Norsea 27 next year and have been thinking about electric power. Do you have any information available on the subject? I sure would appreciate any input.

   Thanks,

   Doc

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2. 3/24/06 8:54:58 pm Leon L. Shaffer (64.13.14.194) from OREGON says DC MOTOR INSTALLATION ON AN OMC SAILDRIVE

   Ahoy Captain Fred Saas -

   Since our OMC 15 HP Saildrive has gone kaput, we are trying to work out the details for installing a DC motor on the lower unit of the drive (which resembles an inboard/outboard, only is fixed through the hull). Our catboat is easily driven, so with a 2:1 gear reduction in the lower unit, we figure about a stock 3/4 hp motor ought to do the trick. We have a choice of either a 2-bladed or 3-bladed, 11" x 8" pitch prop. Any suggestions on this installation?

   Many thanks for your response,

   Old Salt Lee

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3. 7/17/06 7:48:27 pm Roy Bradley (71.240.226.80) from Virginia says Electric powered sail boat

   Capt. Fred:

   May I inquire as to the details of your installation?

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4. 8/27/06 11:15:23 pm pci1 (68.18.131.154) from FLORIDA says Electric sailboat 48VDC Southern Cross 28

   Hello Capt. Saas. I am interested in the details of your electric sailboat. I have a 35' 11ton sailboat that I want to make electric. Could I get some details about how you fit your sailboat? Thanks.

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5. 3/21/07 02:48:11 am Dennis (67.124.200.139) from CALIFORNIA says Electric sailboat

   Did you use a system from a vendor or design your own. What battery specs do you have and how about time under battery power?

   Thanks

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6. 8/01/07 6:39:28 pm seators (87.234.250.2) from says homegrown electric sailboat motor

   I built a home grown system.. not sure he can run forever on that honda gen (as it only outputs 15 amps and for me (30 ft tartan) it takes about 50 amps at 48v to run around 3kts.

   but i agree, its nice to not have to deal with a big clunky ICE.

   http://www.atlantecgroup.com/oldblog

   Christian

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7. 8/11/07 08:43:18 am Jim Spaulding (72.94.34.177) from says Electric Sailboat

   We've been electric boating since 2001 in ROSE, our Gaff-Rigged Atkin 25 ft packet sloop. Not only is silence great, but the extra storage space (where the old clunker used to be) is very handy on a small cruiser!

   See the book REBUILDING ROSE vor pictures and details as well as the while bloody story of getting everything working correctly!

   Jim Spaulding

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