BYYB Forums

Ahoy,

No, we don't have this particular motor, but we do have a 24 volt system, intended to provide enough power to get us away from the dock, and get us home should the wind fail.

However, since we bought our version, newer and improved models have been released. Consider, for instance, the Torqeedo motors, engineered and built by a German firm.

You need something equivalent to 6 HP, capable of moving a boat with some 3 ton displacement? Take a look. There are smaller versions, too with the added capability of being folded for storage.

Quote:With the thrust force of a 6 HP combustion engine, the Torqeedo Cruise is the emission-free alternative for sailing and motor boats with displacement of up to three tons. Equipped with the latest torque technology, an optimized drive train and an optimized propeller, the Torqeedo Cruise is not only the most efficient but also the most powerful 24-volt outboard available on the market.

http://www.torqeedo.com/us/hn/home.html


Here are some photos of what have done. Our 24 volt system will be a dedicated system for the motor. The other system is a puny 12 volt system, complete with electrical panels and solar panel.

Here is an early photo of the motor and aperture. According to Paul Riccelli, the edges of the aperture must resemble a fish. If you look closely, you should also be able to make out the Riccelli modified keel. Even if you don't look closely, you should be able to see the Riccelli modified keel.




Here is another photo. The bungee cord, of course, has long since been removed. Otherwise, you could get cluttered up with kelp, sea weed, and other unsightly hanger-ons.




Here are a couple of photos of interior electrical panels and switch. These, of course, represent the more puny 12 volt system.




I really wanted a true electrical panel just so we could impress our friends, if we should by chance happen to have any friends foolish enough to go for a sail with us. I enjoyed making the box and door, and then, mounting all the instruments.




The next photo is none other than our fearless sea dog, Sheba Girl. As you can tell by her anxious look, having enough power to launch forth and to get back into a safe harbor is one of her chief priorities. You know never when a Portugeuse Man-of-War, or some giant squid may suddenly attack just when you are trying to tack and the wind dies.

Looks like a nice setup Jim. I'm curious how you plan to recharge the 24 volt system? I have my 12 volt system trickle charged from the solar panel, it keeps up with the small demand I place on it (radio power, nav & cabin lighting). I'd worry about running out of electical power, just when it's most needed. It would be great if the electric motor could somehow recharge the batteries, while it runs. That would be cool!

Greg

If the electric motor was configured properly, it could charge the batteries when not in use. The prop would free wheel while the boat was underway, which would cause it to act as a generator, trickle charging the batteries. A small gas engine (a chain saw motor for example) could be used to top up the batteries if an alternator was V belted to it. You'd need only run the gas engine when necessary to freshen the batteries, maybe 5 minutes per hour or around a half hour per afternoon outing.

Jim your boat is looking Phenomenal, Your electrical box looks better than my kitchen cabinets. I like the idea with the lid.
Brian.

Thanks for the encouraging comments. All of the photos are of earlier building stages. I wrestled with the electrical system, and even thought about a setup in which I could charge 12 volts with the solar panel, and then switch to 24 volts whenever we needed to run the motor. I later abandoned the idea because of the length of the cable needed to run the motor and the attending power loss.

What is intriguing now, however, is that some of the newer motors are much more powerful, and so are the batteries. My motor is under 100 pounds thrust (whatever that may mean), but the German motor is boasting something equivalent to a 6 hr power engine. Wow!

Maybe in a few years such motors may be more affordable and even more suitable for boats such as ours and larger vessels. I believe some of the larger sailboats use electrical motors for power. I think that I have read something like that. Our motor is very puny; hopefully, though, it will have enough power to move us away from the dock, and take us back to the dock when the wind dies on some of the lakes we have around here.

Greg, I think there should more than enough charge in the batteries to do that. Otherwise, I suppose, we could use a small generator to charge the batteries, or perhaps, just switch the batteries with those powering the 12 volt system.

None of this may work, Greg. Pardey circumnavigated the earth without any engine or motor whatsoever. He's a much better sailor than I am, however.

Brian, I saw a photo in a book about yachts, and decided to copy what I had seen. Shameless, I know, very shameless, but I rather liked the way the door looked on the yacht.

Oops, somehow I did not see Paul Riccelli's posting. There's another idea. with promise

I almost always make a fuse or breaker panel on a drop down door similar to what you've done Jim. It provides easy access to the wiring and I usually install it on the back of an instrument panel if a helm station can afford it. Sailboats usually don't have this type of "station" but still require access from time to time.

The new German made trolling motors are surprisingly powerful and use motor and control assemblies that are relatively new to the market. This new technology has been dropping in price, but not very quickly. Batteries too have had some advances in the last decade.

Your 24 VDC (Volts Direct Current) trolling motor will be limited by its prop dimensions as all typical trolling motors are. These props are setup to propel about 1,500 to 2,500 displacement craft to around 3 MPH, which is trolling speed for most fishermen. I've had some success making composite props for Minn Kota motors, increasing boat speed substantially, but at the cost of running time (of course). I can get 6 MPH out of my 46 pound thrust motor, pushing my 2,400 pound sailer around. With the stock prop, I could only get about 3 MPH.

To convert pounds of thrust to HP you need to know the wattage or amperage of the motor. 746 watts is one horse power. About 70 to 75 pounds of thrust (depending on who's math you want to believe) equals one HP. An average 12 VDC motor that draws 60 amps eats (consumes) about 720 watts. Of course the higher the voltage, the higher the power. 12 VDC motors to around 55 pounds of thrust (about 3/4 of a HP), 24 VDC motors to about 75 pounds (1 HP) and 36 VDC motors to a little over 100 pounds of thrust (about 1.5 HP). Put another way, you're best suited to get one pound of thrust for every 35 pounds of boat. This provides you with a healthy margin to punch through chop.

For those of you that think your Weekender displaces 500 or so pounds, think again. In full sailing trim, battery(s), cooler full of beer, yourself, a well fed friend and the even better fed boat dog Rover, anchor and its rode, dock lines, and all of the other gear you've forgotten is stowed aboard the little lady, you can easy triple the 500 pound bare hull weight, lightly mentioned in the plans. Weekender's hull form, with the transom two inches immersed and the bow one inch under, displaces about 1,000 pounds. Most sail with the transom 3 or more inches under and the bow trimmed down (batteries, ground tackle, etc. for ride comfort). This condision will be around 1,300 to 1,400 pounds of displacement. This means you need a fairly good size 12 VDC motor for a Weekender, though you could get by with a smaller one, just not have much "reserve" for getting through currents or chop.

Ahoy,

Thanks, Paul, for the helpful suggestions.
Easy access must be a must. I would like to tell you that I thought of that all along, but that was really not the case.
In my case, I suppose, it was all more of a matter of God protecting fools and drunks. Since I do not drink, that leaves only one category.

At any rate, we had planned to install a radio and a CD player.
There would only be a few wires, and we could hide everything behind closed nautical doors. That was the plan, Stan.




I was even able to install a storage shelf underneath everything.
Things were looking a bit more promising.
I took a deep breath and decided to take a look at the back of the units.
Here is what I saw.



"Plenty of room," I thought. "Plenty of room." We had a few wires to go, though. Eventually, this is what happened.




Things really look a lot more cluttered than they are.
Easy access must be a must.

OK Jim I see what a great job you did with your electrical but what you haven't show us is where on the boat did you do all that. Is it the forward bulkhead?

Keith

Ahoy,

My original intent in the posting was to focus on the newer electric motors and some of the promise such motors may offer us in the immediate future.

As to what I did, I'm not sure whether we did it right or wrong, or even indifferent. Time will tell; the proof is in the sailing.

Keith, either bulkhead would work. I would suggest maybe the forepeak bulkhead on port. That would work. Most likely, folks would want to include a plastic box as a cover for the wires just for added protection. The cabin bulkhead offers maybe even a better solution. Here, if the door is mounted high enough, you could probably make use of some wasted space, the area between the hull and cockpit wall.

In our particular case, we did neither. We installed the door on the far side of our galley. Here is another early photo.



So far, everything seems to have worked out just fine, but then again, we had yet to set sail. I do plan to work on the boat some today. We have hawses and kevels to think about.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Keith, you'll especially like this next tidbit. I made the nautical door on the galley to fit just as if might in a kitchen. It looked great, and then, it rained. The door swelled shut. I thought I would never get it to open. Tolerances on a boat, and a kitchen are very different, I suppose.

I'd hate to have to work on wiring in the confines of the forepeak, so the aft cabin bulkhead would be a better location, in my way of thinking.

Jim, you should shorten the antenna lead(s) so you don't have that coil of wire, nested among all the ambient electrons that will be flowing through the rest of the electrical system in the general area. You could cover it (the coil) with tin foil, which would serve about as well too.

Anyone interested in a custom pitch (and diameter) prop for their trolling motor, should drop me an email. I'm also working on a "hooded" prop for the same type of motors.

That's a fine looking cabinet Jim, with proper fiddles too. Many fiddles aren't tall enough to be effective, yours don't have this issue. 1/8" gaps are standard for opening pieces on yacht cabinetry, which eliminates the likelihood of a piece swelling tight in an opening.