Starside's Electric Conversion

I'm somewhat new here (both on the Forum and on the water), but I wanted to show the process of converting a boat to an electric propulsion.

For those of you who are interested, this is for YOU. I know that not everyone would go this route, but for the few who are considering...here it is in process, as I'm experiencing it.

This hasn't been easy. Part of the hardship, though, is that I have an antique vessel, so the pain has also included her restoration. Still, it was at that time when I realized that converting her to electric made sense...b/c I had already dropped so much time, money & mental energy into her restoration that I went ALL IN, so to speak...

Understand that I'm still a bit raw...but I'm also a Steward of Starside and I'm sincerely trying to give her my best.

Here's a pic of Starside when I first purchased her. She was in Jacksonville, FL "on the hard" when I fell in love...

So, I had her transported to the Chespeake.

As a newbie, I was sad to see that Washington, DC (where I live) does NOT allow wooden vessels. This is important for those of us who own "woodies." I say this only because as a newbie, these are hard lessons to learn. We want our boats to be near us, but we also must compromise, despite our shock of being rejected.

That said, I transported Starside to Galesville, MD. This is a location about 40 mintues from DC, and after being there for a few seasons, I like it. The West River is beautiful.

Love the boat. Just curious why Wash. DC has a ban on wooden boats?

Okay, so now we are in her restoration mode.

Here are some pics...close up of her helm...

Billyfeet said:

Love the boat. Just curious why Wash. DC has a ban on wooden boats?

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Don't know...surprised me...

but I think a lot of marinas have a ban on wooden vessels.

When I asked James Creek & Gangplank, they all had a similar response, basically saying that wooden boats are more of a liability... I think some people buy woodies b/c they are cheaper and then let them sink. That's what they said to me...

I reminded them that Sequoia was a wooden vessel...but I guess that's different, being commercial...

I'm still very sad by it...perhaps others can ask around...

Okay, here's another pic so you can see my dedication to the boat, as a historic vessel...

Sequoia immediately came to mind! Just for fun I want to introduce you to a fiberglass version of your boat, or a near sistership. Google Scout 30. I have wanted one since first seeing one 25 years ago. My Pilgrim is a much larger version.....

Billyfeet said:

Sequoia immediately came to mind! Just for fun I want to introduce you to a fiberglass version of your boat, or a near sistership. Google Scout 30. I have wanted one since first seeing one 25 years ago. My Pilgrim is a much larger version.....

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Sweet, Billyfeet!

So, here she is now at the boat yard being restored.

These are also harsh lessons...at least in finance, but I suspect ALL boat owners go through this "hardship."

Still, they are beautiful...AND why we do these things, yes?

good thing you moved her from washigton d.c, everything goes over budget

Okay, now for the nitty-gritty.

Here are pics of her restoration...

AND my advice to new wooden boat owners, DO IT IF YOU LOVE HER, but only just, b/c you need to understand that costs will be 4x greater than what everyone else says it will be...but if you can get your finances around that...even when you have to skip meals & get really skinny...

Just know what you got yourself into...but if you love her that much, then there's no regret...

Just saying...

How long do you expect the whole restoration to take?

jimbob said:

good thing you moved her from washigton d.c, everything goes over budget

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Um, it was just as expensive in Jacksonville...

Seriously, wooden boat shipwrights are expensive...
no matter where you are!

Okay, here are more restoration pics...

She's been out of the water for basically a year as she has undergone her restoration.

Here is another pic...

You have seen her hull resfastening, but there's so much I haven't shown...

A frame split that I've addressed...

Oh, and here's her hull crack!!!

But there is Beauty!

Here she is being caulked!

AND her paint-job! both top and bottom!

AND now, for the conversion...

I have yet to upload her engine departure pics (more later). She was a 3-cylinder diesel that everyone thought I was crazy for removing, but honestly, she was loud and rattled...plus she caused so much heat, I barely crossed the Eastern Bay without sweating...which just attracted flies...

Okay, that was me being a little weird and trying to be creative in my writing, but here we go...the actual conversion, which has also been a hardship...but I truly wanted to share so those considering this will understand reality...which I did not...

Meanwhile, here we go!

I call this one, IN THE HOLE...

Starside said:

Okay, here's another pic so you can see my dedication to the boat, as a historic vessel...

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http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=36681&d=1421868937

That's fantastic. I am glued to this thread, I think what you're doing is awesome. Good luck!

So here we go...being surprised b/c they had to expand to get the batteries in...which is another cost...so when you go through this conversion, you really need to understand that the estimate is going to be much higher than what you were told...

Anyone who is going through this MAVERICK CONVERSION must accept the CREATIVE UNKNOWN...

...this is...nothing better than messing around on boats...nothing better...um, nothing better...

I'm now reading...

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS...

In between engines...

Go Figure!

This site keepx crashing on me, so I haven't been able to upload all the images...BUT that's okay.

I'm still here and will come back later as the conversion goes forward.

What I couldn't show you was that they had to change my throttle, but I had the choice to keep it the same, true to her pedigree, but it was SO EXPENSIVE, so I opted for changing it to the modern, but I asked the yard to keep her original throttle so I could still display it on her helm...

More later...

Looks like a Hooper Island Draketail in the shed with you.

Billyfeet said:

Looks like a Hooper Island Draketail in the shed with you.

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Classics hang together, YES?

NOTE the lack of water line. I learned this after I saw this boat next to mine. The water line costs me $1k -- but the bottom paint isn't that expensive.

LESSON LEARNED: paint the bottom the waterline color, but without the extra cost! Just have them expand the bottom paint up by 4 inches.

IS THAT WEIRD? I'm still reading the Willows...just seems like what Rat would do...

Swallows & Amazons are fun also,

Swallows and Amazons (Swallows and Amazons, #1) by Arthur Ransome — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Oh I haven't read that one. Thank you! I'll look that one up.

The Wind in the Willows is charming. My first time reading it...

No Mast said:

How long do you expect the whole restoration to take?

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It is on-going but she will be in good shape this Spring. I then have to address her varnishing but I can do that while she's in the water.

My goal is to enjoy her for the next year or two before having to haul her out again. She's mostly been on the hard since I got her over a year ago, so I want to cruise her for a bit before tackling anything else. I do think I've done the pressing stuff - she's in decent shape now.

Here is her Diesel engine before it was removed.

The piece in the upper right corner of this pic is the wooden model they created at the yard. I'll get a better pic of that soon.

I wanted to actually remove the name panels on her transom but the cost was too high. The different shades is in the wood so the yard recommended I keep the panels. To save money, I am doing my own varnishing & renaming. Wish me well.