Electric Boats

[Jim Hawkins]

Now that electric boats are becoming feasible, I'd like to see a category added to the forum. I'm building my own electric boat and would like to go all electric in the near future.
Check out these boats.

Perfect for Bass Boats

Electrify your bass boat with the electric Pure Outboard system. Make the switch to quiet, maintenance-free power and join the revolution.

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Electric Outboard Boat Motors | Elco Motor Yachts

Shop for electric outboard boat motors ranging from 5HP to 50HP. These electric outboard motors are an eco- friendly alternative to gas engines.

www.elcomotoryachts.com

Highfield Classic 360 Rigid Inflatable

Co-created with Highfield boats, this durable RIB delivers performance with the clean, quiet power of the Pure Watercraft electric outboard system.

www.purewatercraft.com

Electric Outboard System from Pure Watercraft

Quiet, maintenance-free power with no direct emissions. Join the revolution.

www.purewatercraft.com

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Due to the overwhelming response (Tongue in Cheek) to my post suggesting a category for Electic Boats I'll keep rambling.
So, while I know an electric boat will not fit the needs of the average boater, it definitely has advantages for me.
1. I love my Yamaha 70HP 4 stroke and although it is like new (300 hours) eventually it will need work and I cannot afford (read stomach) to pay someone to fix it and I have learned from friends that trying to fix a 4 stroke yourself is far harder than fixing a 2 stroke.
2. A 2 stroke is easier to work on and lighter than a 4 stroke and that's about all I can say for them.
3. Electrical is easy (for me) and as long as I am satisfied with speeds less that 20 mph, a good choice.

Here's my plan; My first boat, purely for practice will incorporate at least 500 watts of solar to extend my range and require less battery. It will have 3 motors, 2 trolling motors and a center motor consisting of an old Johnson 9.9 with the powerhead removed and a motor from a battery lawnmower in it's place. I'm hoping this setup will give me somewhere around 3hp using four, 6 volt deep cycle batteries and the solar.
After I mess with this setup for a while, I will swap the lawnmower motor for a large brushless permanent magnet motor.This is nothing new and has been done quite a bit before as seen on you tube. Eventually I want to have three 9.9's converted with these motors. At that point, I want to build a 20' pontoon boat with three motors and a roof made entirely of solar panels delivering about 1.5 kilowatts of power. The motors will be DC and no higher than 48 volts. I would rather have 3 motors than 1 big one so as to ease the need for large wire with huge current draw. It also gives me the option to use 1, 2 or all 3 motors. Also, I will eventually switch to lithium batteries.

OK, I'm going to stop here to allow you guys to chew up my plan and spit it out ;-)

Electra Craft | Electric & Solar Powered Boats

electracraft.com

Nautical ventures | Electric Boats for Sale| Electric Boats | Electric Boats Palm Beach | Electric Boats Fort Lauderdale

www.nauticalventures.com

Perfect for Bass Boats

Electrify your bass boat with the electric Pure Outboard system. Make the switch to quiet, maintenance-free power and join the revolution.

www.purewatercraft.com

Electric Outboard Boat Motors | Elco Motor Yachts

Shop for electric outboard boat motors ranging from 5HP to 50HP. These electric outboard motors are an eco- friendly alternative to gas engines.

www.elcomotoryachts.com

Highfield Classic 360 Rigid Inflatable

Co-created with Highfield boats, this durable RIB delivers performance with the clean, quiet power of the Pure Watercraft electric outboard system.

www.purewatercraft.com

Electric Outboard System from Pure Watercraft

Quiet, maintenance-free power with no direct emissions. Join the revolution.

www.purewatercraft.com

 

[Lectro88]

Long Response.

I'm not going to chew up your plan, Just convey my encounters with solar.
Your 3 motor plan is the best idea of all for all the reasons you listed.
In addition to having spare 2 spares should 1 fail or,. 1 spare should 2 fail(thats unlikely)

Now the bad, And solar may have progressed since I messed with it.
For the record, I have 30+ years (lectro88)in the industrial, commercial aspect of the trade, with phone, data and fiber to boot as a bonus.
I have been approached many times to install solar as a dealer.
I wouldn't have my name or company associated with the (junk)at the time.
And half of the companies were mostly scammers operated out of storage units. claiming to have headquarters locally being a storage unit. ,. not impressed.
thats the tip of the iceberg.
lifetime warranty?, warranty isn't crap if they are not in business. these guys popped up and out like popcorn, make a handful money then dissolve, and disappear. Or re-name as a loop hole.
Another thing. the industry is changing and so called improving so fast the technology is outdated before you even get it, and good luck if you need like for like repair parts.
Different animal talking about houses, but its same family.
I know people that spent $15k-$30k thinking they were going to get all this money back.. yea right, they have a system that doesn't work at all now and a leaking roof and a hideous decoration year round.
I promise you 15-$30k will pay "A Lot" of power bills.
12.5 years at $200. per month=30k
The lawn stuff works a few months then it's junk. Kinda the same on a bigger scale for the house stuff.
Game cameras with solar was the same garbage, I had 1st hand, out of my pocket with that little deal. not enough umph=amperage to really charge batteries, and therefore, the batteries developed a "memory" of not fully charging.
I just got a belly full of bad with solar. and still have a bad taste left.
Solar is a great idea, Maybe I'm behind on the current market.
But I'm still not a fan. J.M.H.O.

would like to hear things have turned and its better now.

by the way best of luck in your plans,
do your homework and ask the questions to the issues I encountered.
Save yourself some trouble.

 

[Lectro88]

Let me add what I didn't really convey.

You have a great plan As I Already Stated.

It's the solar network itself that I have little faith in. And that I question
Cheers.

 

[GA_Boater]

Tracker better add more batteries and more power. 24 MPH WOT isn't much for bass boat.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Tracker better add more batteries and more power. 24 MPH WOT isn't much for bass boat.

I hear you GA_Boater, there are some fast electric boats out there but you better be rich if you want one

 

[GA_Boater]

I combined both threads.

We won't be adding an E-Boat section right now, but will take it under advisement.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

by the way best of luck in your plans,
do your homework and ask the questions to the issues I encountered.
Save yourself some trouble.

I used solar on my houseboat, it was easy. Not like trying to meet code and demand for a house. Also, unlike an outboard, parts are far more interchangeable.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

I'm going to need a friend to machine a coupling. The driveshaft is 1/2" but the motor shaft is a hair bigger.
.

 

[Lectro88]

I used solar on my houseboat, it was easy. Not like trying to meet code and demand for a house. Also, unlike an outboard, parts are far more interchangeable.

I'm not taking about meeting code.

And this may be where I'm going wrong.
I'm transposing what I know about solar and power to the boat industry.
or pretty much automotive/DC 12/24/36/48 volt and I know that too, but not like I know line voltage.

I'm talking about dependability, and the inverters and the charging.
And things fit where things were, per say. in tight places, like a cabinet or enclosure, or tucked in a already tight housing. screws fitting holes, alignment and such.
Batteries are just simple voltage, but the AH=amp hours need to match in a chain of batteries.
I figure you know what you're doing.
It's the folks that have to learn all this the hard way.
Forget Code. that went away in the houses and buildings.
BUT you still need to be able size wires and motors and should have overcurrent protection. some ability to look up things and keep it close to safe anyway.
Again I see overcurrent problems with folks just cobbling things together to make something just "Go" with battery power.

 

[KD4UPL]

Lectro 88, If I understand correctly your solar knowledge is from 30 years ago? And you think it MAY have progressed since then?
I'm an electrical contractor and I install solar, mostly off grid, for a living. I've been in business 19 years and I've been doing solar for about 15 years. Solar equipment is probably more reliable than just about any other major appliance in a home. Of all the inverters I've installed over the years the first one I ever put in did need to be replaced 13 years after it was installed. A few others have gone bad after a few years but I'd say 90% of the solar charge controllers and inverters I've installed over the last 15 years are still in use.
I've installed thousands of solar panels. I can think of 4 that have failed. The only one that wasn't more than 10 years old when it failed was replaced under warranty by the manufacturer. By the way, that particular manufacturer has been supplying most of my solar panels for the entire 15 years so far. The weak link is still batteries. They've come a long way but are still nowhere close to the energy density of a tank of gas or diesel.

OP, I think you should be able to get more than 1.5 kw on the roof of a 20' pontoon boat. If it's got an 8' beam that's 160 square feet. Solar panel currently are making around 20 watts a square foot so that's more like 3kW you should be able to get up there. I would use bifacial modules because you will certainly be getting some light reflected back up from the water.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

Lectro88, KD4UPL thanks for the input.

Since we are talking about 4 basic parts, I'll break it down this way,

Solar - dependable, I have a whole house worth of panels I got free off Craigslist and at over 10 years old still put out over 90% of their rated power. I opt to wire each panel separately 1 size higher awg than I need (see photo of my houseboat setup) KD4UPL since my panels are older I'm being conservative in my estimates and allowing 10 watts per sq. ft.

Charge Controller - My Outback C-60 has proved very dependable as are many brands.

Batteries - Dependable. I've used Interstate GC2's and Trojans. Take care of them and they take care of you. (no deep discharges below 12.4) Switching to lithium will be a different story as that market is still evolving and there is good and bad out there.

And last is the electric motor, again buy quality, don't overload it and it will take care of you.

The other parts, wire breakers and switches pretty basic. No need for an inverter as the system will be DC
.

 

[Lectro88]

Sounds like you have a handle on things.

The up size on wire, lowering the resistance and that will never allow the wire to heat up.
And in addition to that,. if you are oversizing motors or strong sizing.
You have at Least 3 things going on in your favor there.
And I will list them, not for you,(as you already know) but for the others reading this.
When you upsize a motor, It doesn't "Labor" to speak of. it's just "Cadilacing".
If it's not laboring or under a severe load. It's not drawing High Amperage..
That does several other things.
The motor runs cooler.
If it's running cooler, it's going to run or last longer.
If it's not drawing high amperage, your batteries are going to last much longer, ALLOWING.. you to hold your desired 12.4 volt max discharge at bay.
The wire isn't heating up, and we covered the up sizing of wire already and its double protected in just these 2 carefully planned acts. (Excellent Call)
All that said,.. Your thermal protection doesn't even feel the motors running at this point, So that part of the system is staying cool also.
So now basically, your thermal or overload protection is only waiting for a ground fault or the failure of a motor. Something major going wrong.
The Full Running Load is not even a factor at this point.
Good job.,
ok, I'm impressed.
That's not easy to do.

so I'm going to follow and be quiet for a while.
I didn't mean to take over,
But I saved you a bunch of typing I guess in my post.

 

[Lectro88]

Lectro 88, If I understand correctly your solar knowledge is from 30 years ago? And you think it MAY have progressed since then?
I'm an electrical contractor and I install solar, mostly off grid, for a living. I've been in business 19 years and I've been doing solar for about 15 years. Solar equipment is probably more reliable than just about any other major appliance in a home. Of all the inverters I've installed over the years the first one I ever put in did need to be replaced 13 years after it was installed. A few others have gone bad after a few years but I'd say 90% of the solar charge controllers and inverters I've installed over the last 15 years are still in use.
I've installed thousands of solar panels. I can think of 4 that have failed. The only one that wasn't more than 10 years old when it failed was replaced under warranty by the manufacturer. By the way, that particular manufacturer has been supplying most of my solar panels for the entire 15 years so far. The weak link is still batteries. They've come a long way but are still nowhere close to the energy density of a tank of gas or diesel.

OP, I think you should be able to get more than 1.5 kw on the roof of a 20' pontoon boat. If it's got an 8' beam that's 160 square feet. Solar panel currently are making around 20 watts a square foot so that's more like 3kW you should be able to get up there. I would use bifacial modules because you will certainly be getting some light reflected back up from the water.

No, my solar is not from 30 yrs. ago. That's how long I've been in the trade.
I too am a contractor and prequalified level III for high rise inspections. through D.O.I.
But my solar never did go, I guess I never got the right avenues,
My customers were in the big city and more likely to install a UPS or generator than solar, like tv stations, hospitals, and high rises as mentioned earlier.
Residential, I mostly stayed away from.
UPS. for those that don't know, uninterruptible power supply. Big battery cabinets with inverter chargers that keep computers and stations from going off air or crashing should they loose power. and then the generators kicked in and switched back till power came back on.
Again Whole building UPS. big stuff.
I had bad luck with yard solar and game cameras. Like I had said.
Anything solar I installed, flood lights on the few houses. I most always ended up going back.
And I guess in addition to that, I only had fly by night shady solar dealers,
not good quality contacts. Is what it sounds like.
So for the 40-50 solar installs that I ever did, I had over 50% call back or some kind of warranty issue. and I'm not talking about big solar panels.
That's what gave me my stance on solar.

So I stand corrected.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

One thing to add, using an old 9.9 I will leave in the old water pump. Studying the store-bought motors I saw many of them use heat sinks and water cooling to keep the motor cool so when I switch out my DC lawnmower motor for a large motor I will add a cooling fan and heat sinks with copper tubing connected to the old water pump.

Headed out to the sandbar today for Funday Sunday and hope to see my friend the machinist.

 

[Jim Hawkins]

testing a mockup, 24 volt motor but running on 12 volts

 

[Captain Caveman]

Love it. Keep up the reports. This is a cool thread.

 

[mike_i]

Keep us posted on your progress. I built a pv solar system for my house with battery backup 20 years ago and with several upgrades it's still in service. This will be an interesting project to follow.

 

[dansmail26]

Here is the future of e boats. This is a company started by some SpaceX (the rocket ship company) engineers that left the company to do this. LOL, only $300k for a 22'er! They are taking $1000 deposits to be on the waiting list...hurry so you aren't too deep on the list. It would be cool though to be skiing behind a totally quiet boat just talking to the driver...
https://arcboats.com/

 

[briangcc]

Here is the future of e boats. This is a company started by some SpaceX (the rocket ship company) engineers that left the company to do this. LOL, only $300k for a 22'er! They are taking $1000 deposits to be on the waiting list...hurry so you aren't too deep on the list. It would be cool though to be skiing behind a totally quiet boat just talking to the driver...
https://arcboats.com/

3-5 hours of use? Are they serious?? Then what? Plug it in at your local marina? Ohh wait....bet they need a special charging station like the electric cars which aren't around yet in any kind of numbers...