James, I went with a system from Electroprop, which saved me from a lot of incorrect component choices. I was able to remove the A4 and install the Electroprop system by myself (with occasional help from dock neighbors), with the boat in the water. I'm somewhat handy.
Sent lots of emails and made lots of phone calls, both video (with tape measure) and regular audio, with James Lambden, Electroprop's owner. He's a lot of fun to work with and was remarkably available on weekends, which was the only free time I had. It was a long and very educational process with which I'm very satisfied overall. Drawbacks are limited range. But I'm typically a daysailor so that's not much of an issue. I took a 3-day cruise and brought along my Honda 2000 generator. It came in handy. Also, electric motors are much more efficient with larger props. I balked initially at changing to a larger prop but became convinced to try something larger than the original A4 prop. I now have a fixed 4-blade, but think I'm a bit over-propped. A bit of trial-and-error that I'm OK with. The biggest surprise/lesson is that it takes twice the amount of energy to motor at 4 knots vs. 3 knots. And likewise at 5 knots vs. 4 knots. Motoring at hullspeed is ridiculously costly, energywise. A bit of a different mindset is needed and I am now fine with motor sailing, putting a small amount of energy into the prop to spin it at the speed of the water column, resulting, in effect, in a zero-drag prop. I don't race any more and am prepping my boat for some extended coastal cruising. Battery technology is improving rapidly. Some folks (who seem smart to me) predict batteries will have twice the capacity with half the volume and price in ~4 years. That will be nice. I'm carrying 600 lbs. of AGMs. Early adopter penalty. But, in the meantime, I get to be "The Most Interesting Man on the Dock". :-) My installation has since been tidied up a bit. This was it a month or two ago: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0btSA_J8otuSmRKeEhHWm9CUVU/view?usp=sharing Bob Moriarty Ox 33-1 Jax, FL On Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 9:17 AM, James Nichols via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Bob, > > Did you go with a commercially available election motor system? Or did you > repurpose a forklift motor? > > My Penta is rusted solid on the top half and I was planning on repowering > with electric. > > I have seen some videos on others that have done it and with my background > in electrical and electronics it shouldn't be to hard, but having used > yours what are the draw backs that you have found? > > James > S/V Kristy > 1971 C&C 39 > > _______________________________________________ > > This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you > like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All > Contributions are greatly appreciated! > >
_______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
