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Has any body done a electric conversion for a yacht , what battery back up does one need and solar panel area needed , and is it ideal for world cruising , can you have a normal house battery life etc

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How long is a piece of string.

Whenever I have looked into it I have come to the same conclusion: if your boat already has a functioning diesel it doesn't make a lot of sense. If you are ripping out a dead diesel it would be a fun exercise. But unfortunately the second hand boat market just isn't sophisticated enough so at resale time you will be hammered. No problem if your boat represents a small enough fraction of your net worth that you don't care but that not my case.

Is it possible to cruise with an electric drive? Absolutely and there are people who are doing it now.

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I am not doing it I have a new diesel and love it , but I see on the net Many are having a go ,I did the sums charging required to run the thing and it’s huge all for 20 nm of motoring , 8 battery’s total weight 600 pounds , solar panels 600 watts total 6 panels about 6 square mtrs I don’t think it would be good for long range cruising.

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It would only work if you didn't have to get to work on Monday. i.e. you'd need to be happy / confident sailing an engineless boat. In effect the storage capacity for electric drive is only useful for getting in and out of marina's, or other key navigational tasks such as no wind and a strong tide around a hazard.

 

Without mains power, you just don't have the square area for solar panels, and you can't store enough power for the average size boat to get any substantial range (yet).

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The idea is fun, but it is still terribly expensive and the big issue is that because you will be using a large amount of current capacity, you need a huge source to put the power back into the Bank. So far, no one has been able to safely harvest a lightening bolt, so we are stuck with a generator to get the current back. If you have a genset, you may as well have a diesel engine.

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Or, as I would, use wind solar and water to regenerate and accept the limitations.

 

If you are starting with an engine less boat costs aren't a lot different from putting in a diesel, but hard to make apples for apples comparison. Hardly matters though- if you like the idea do it.

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Fish is correct I am aware of a few early adopters who have since come back and purchased a conventional diesel, range issues being the thing, cool if your cruising is town to Issy bay or Motuihie but unless you have a significant solar array and no timetable issues we are not there yet, a rum racer may be the ideal boat. 

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Agreed KM, In my experience a LARGE proportion of crusiers are really motor sailors. In some places its useful, like around the top of Borneo, where it is often absolutely calm - the area is known as "the land beneath the wind". Many cruisers carry up to 1000ltrs of diesel, and run a genset every day...

 

Me? Well, I carry 120ltrs of diesel and don't have a genset! But with jerrycans, we once motored for 1300nm, as it was dead calm for 10 days.....

 

NO solar system that you could fit on a boat could currently power an electric engine to do that. Yet.

 

However, if you are a purist, and only use engine to get in and out of marinas etc, and are prepared to wait for the wind, and restrict your on board electrical use, then it can be done.

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That is a Jack Cropp boat and saw it being towed in Westhaven this week.

Why on earth would an electric boat need to be towed into a marina? Perhaps their diesel filter blocked? ran out of fuel? air in the fuel line? Glo-plugs not warming up? Problem with the lift pump?

Oh there are sooo many things to go wrong with a diesel engine, lucky they didn't have one...

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I can’t see the Farr bit in the design I’ve known it as a cropp some one has spent a fortune on it trying to give it some worth , no galley , the floor seams to be stepped and an electric motor wow

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