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Is that 1 hr at 50Mph? or is it 1hr till Flat battery, which means the power and speed would have tapered off in performance during say the last 30mins. Plus I imagine that is a light boat trim, what about if you load the boat or want to waterski and so on. They don't really tell you those things eh.

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Range is just a function of battery size, add more batteries - go longer, but with added weight. So maybe double the batteries and go 45mph for 2 hours.???

 

What intrigues me is that the technology is improving in leaps and bounds. The same company do hybrid systems with a generator that works for sailboats.

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I am not so sure "improving technology" is really key here. The "high performance" Electric motor has been around awhile and has broken some records with electric race cars and so on. All that has happened here is that someone has placed an electric motor on top of and outboard leg, which has been done before, but just not of this size of outboard.

Most certainly the Battery and speed of charging is improving.

But I am thinking that they are barking up the wrong tree. OK, so I understand the reason why they do this in electric racing cars. It is about the ooo's and arr's of the technology. But for an outboard, you have to look at what the market is here. This is a major difference to the Cruising scenario. This kind of outboard is about performance. Family wanting to go Skiing, out for a quick fish and back again, etc etc. A boatie would want to be able to go to the Kawau at 50kts and return at 50kts, not progressively getting slower. Or a Family wants to go for a days waterskiing, not just an hr or two. Sure it's a cool idea and all, but would there be a market? It's kind of like the Yanmar Diesel outboard. Awesome idea, don't really see them around much.

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Wheels, the technology is improving. It doesn't just pop out mature - it takes time, as with light bulbs (look at LED lights today), diesel engines (driven a new BMW/Merc/Audi turbo diesel lately), batteries (my current laptop lasts a full day on 1 charge) and many other areas.

 

The ability to use it in the family pleasure craft will come, but it's not just going to pop out of nowhere.

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Yes its exciting. Just read of a taxi that goes 200klm and takes 15 minutes to recharge!
Yes but at what cost to the battery. Super fast charging often means super low battery lifespan.

 

Go suss the price of a nice big battery for one of those elctric outboards. I know what the answer will be and it'll shock many. One of those batteries will cost more and have a short life span than if the same money pumped into a old school 2 stroke outboard. Also electric isn't green, far from it. It's just easier to hide the environmental nasty it does than it is exhaust fumes.

 

I spend a day being 'the control' boat for a pile of electric OB testing. Was interesting but did show lectric propulsion still has some big issues to overcome. Lectric will happen for sure but it has a far ways to go before it changes from Flash Harry into good ol basic day to day substance.

 

Quiet, it was spooky only hearing water off the bow wave and zero motor noise. Torque on the electrics is huge which is damn fun as you can go from full ahead to full reverse without stopping. That was a fun game :)

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Yes its exciting. Just read of a taxi that goes 200klm and takes 15 minutes to recharge!
Yes but at what cost to the battery. Super fast charging often means super low battery lifespan.

Heat is the killer when it comes to battery life. It causes things to warp, gaps to change and generally interferes with the physical and chemical aspects of operation.

 

Go suss the price of a nice big battery for one of those elctric outboards. I know what the answer will be and it'll shock many. One of those batteries will cost more and have a short life span than if the same money pumped into a old school 2 stroke outboard. Also electric isn't green, far from it. It's just easier to hide the environmental nasty it does than it is exhaust fumes.

Again. These things will take time. Build an outboard with technology from a few decades ago and see how it fares.

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Absolutely MS. They had one of the first models of the OB's down there and man oh man was it primitive. The latest model was sex with a prop. There is less than 8 years between the 2 models, it was quite astounding to see how fast they had changed.

 

Them lectrics, or something similar, are the future for sure but they still have a ways to go. But as MS suggests, if we revisit this thread in 10 years time I have no doubt we'll be having a different conversion.

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Well I can't help but post here.

I've been involved with electric boats since 2006. I was involved in two of the Fresian Solar Boat Races, and then developing my own range of electric boats. More info here if you are interested:

http://www.tcdesign.co.nz/TC_Design/Ele ... Boats.html

I've seen a lot of claims of high speed electric boats. While it is technically possible to go fast, with current battery technology it is not for long. Or using really expensive batteries is a slightly less short boating experience.

Battery technology cannot compete with petrol or diesel right now for high speed. End of story.

But for displacement speeds in sheltered waters it is completely viable. Boating in near silence under power is pretty cool, especially on a lake or canal system.

Also, if you were looking to re-power your older (read low value) keel boat, and didn't want to put a $12k diesel replacement into a $10k boat, but had the inboard workings, it is really woth looking at electrics.

Anyone wanting a quite, environmentally friendly lake boat, I'm happy to help!

EloTri 584 Lake fshr 110711.jpg

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Thank-you TimC. Exactly what I was trying to say.

 

Personally I don't think Battery power will ever "get there". I think technology is fast approaching the limits of this technology. It's expensive, due more to cost of the rare metals used and they are life cycle limited. Plus they need special and expensive charging control.

I really think an Electricity Producing Fuel Cell of some kind of description will be the possible future. Electric motors are mostly there already. I mean, how much can you improve a wire winding around a magnet. But where I see future improvements in Electric motors will be in digital power control with multi segment windings. Kind of like stepper motors, or like the "F&P smart drive" type design. It gives greater control and efficiency of power delivered when it is needed and thus the saving of total consumption. Plus it means Brushless DC motors.

 

batteries (my current laptop lasts a full day on 1 charge)

Although a lot (granted not all) of that has come from the Hardware and CPU designs resulting in much less power draw. But yes I hear what you are saying MS.

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I really think an Electricity Producing Fuel Cell of some kind of description will be the possible future.

 

I totally agree wheels, there has been some very creative chemistry done recently. Some of it a little problematic due to the toxic nature, but other systems look like they may work.

 

Sorry dont have the details to hand, but from memory a process using alluminium conversion is showing promise.

Sure the smelting process is not so good, but compared to lead based batteries, and the necessary additions of antimony to make the lead hard enough for use in a battery , may make this technology cleaner.

 

(( PS to people thinking of using battery plate lead for fishing sinkers or even keel weight..DONT !! Antimony is very poisonous and home smelting of battery plates is a big NO !)

 

My guess, is that we (they) will develop an "organic" battery.

Sure this is an "idlerboat prediction" but my success rate on this stuff over the last 30 years is about %95 !!

(So why havent I writen a scifi novel, and aint I drippin in money ? :) )

(Ogre..I looked into the drone vid of real estate property two years ago, anyone doing it in NZ yet ? :D )

 

The idea is that a generated cell structure grows rapidly in the presence of electricity and oxygen, and perhaps some other nutrient, But then is capable of giving off that electricity under a "change of state".....

This structure may be even combined with a kind of photosynthesis organism. Replacing solar panels. The panel becoming the battery as well.

A total package could be engineered to scavenge all environmental differences such as temperature change.

Esoteric perhaps at the moment, but engineered cellular organisms is just starting to ramp up. It also could be another "genie out of the bottle"

 

If you think this is crazy....remember that RIGHT NOW...

we are successfully using three dee printers to , literally , print some human body parts. (Some of it done here in Melbourne, Oz).

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