Starside's Electric Conversion

Action, my Perkins diesel only had 900 hours on it. I bartered it to the shipwright at my yard in exchange for carpentry work on my boat over the summer.

He has sailboats & really wanted the engine, whereas I need stern settee repair (rotten boards, sanding, varnish) & I have some rot under my helm windows. I also requested that he install a small wood stove once I find one for the galley.

as we all know, these woodies get expensive to repair, so the barter system works well here.

Awesome!!! I was wondering if the engine just got pitched and you got nothing.

>>>>>>>>>>Action

We are finally making progress after a long lull at the yard. They got busy but are now finishing up my boat, hopefully for an early May launch.

Here's a pic of the batteries & access hole to the stuffing box.

They said they managed to hook the batteries up without me having to disconnect it when I do need access to the stuffing box. It will still be heavy but being able to keep it attached was a good call on their part.

Looking great. Love to see the performance numbers breakdown when you get out on the water. An electric powered boat is a possible future pet project.

I think that's the 4th battery where my old house battery was...

CPseudonym said:

Looking great. Love to see the performance numbers breakdown when you get out on the water.

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Yes, I'm very interested in knowing her range & how she performs. Per Elco, she'll also be much easier to handle.

The sea trial is for 4 hours! I wanted to do it myself but they wouldn't let me! Said they have to do adjustments enroute. I then realized they were all probably looking forward to spending a day out on the water! I won't ruin it for them. LOL

Okay I'm posting this pic again because I see the other 2 batteries on the port side under the passenger seat.



Or is that a tool box? (Tiny pics they sent me but I'm going next week so will confirm...)

Starside, it is good to see and hear that you will be on the water soon.

Pacemaker said:

Starside, it is good to see and hear that you will be on the water soon.

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Thanks, Pacemaker.
Is it just me, or has it been forever?

Starside, I think you are ahead of schedule. I am on year 4 of my latest 2 year project

She just got relaunched after repairing a few leaks. Here she is sitting pretty...

RT Firefly said:

nice!!!!!

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Very!

Congratulations, it has to be satisfying after that much time on the hard.

CPseudonym said:

Congratulations, it has to be satisfying after that much time on the hard.

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Yes & happy to be back in the water.

Engine still needs to be calibrated, but I'll be cruising soon.

Congrats! Enjoy sneaking up on unsuspecting birds with the new power system!

It is great to see Starside on the water again. She is looking pretty.

That's just a Beautiful Boat!..If you ever feel like posting, I'd love to see some interior pics.....Back in those days, folks new how to live.

As requested...interior pics!

More pics!



She sleeps 4 despite her mere 27'.

That is soooooooooooooooo cool, Thanks!

Another...



I'm looking into getting a marine wood stove for her galley. I can upload more pics if you'd like of her head & close ups of her berth & cabin. I'm thinking of turning her head into a closet w her original sink but w a compost barrel (I'm from WV & they have these cool compost heads shaped like a whiskey cask.) then outfit her w a regular closet rod for hanging clothes. She's cedar so it's perfect - even has a porthole in the head so it's a good spot for a closet/head combo.

Just ideas...I'm glad to have her back at her slip.

Re the conversion, I met w the electrician & got an education on my electrical systems...

12 volts
72 volts
120 volts.

Each must be handled separately.

The electrician said although I can get up to 6.2 knots, it's not rec. I need to stay at 5.5 knots & have to watch amps as it relates to battery life. I also can only use 50% of my battery charge, which was a surprise to me. This effects her range - more like 2 hours instead of 4 which I expected.

In other words, I thought I was converting to get 7 knots & 4 hour range but reality is very different.

My disappointment is that she cannot safely cross the Bay. I had hoped to cruise to St. Mikes but was told she can't make it. She's now a river boat.

I was also told that a portable generator will only give her a 20% additional range which means that's basically useless.

Who knew? I'm disappointed in that, esp after the Huge cost to convert. Honestly, I was expecting so much more but now facing a different reality.

Granted, I don't mind that she's now a River boat - probably best for her in the long run, but I do have to adjust my expectations re the conversion...

Anyway, my lesson is next week so I'll know then re her range, charge time & speed. I'll post here with the specs. ?

Starside said:

I also can only use 50% of my battery charge, which was a surprise to me.

Who knew? I'm disappointed in that, esp after the Huge cost to convert. Honestly, I was expecting so much more but now facing a different reality.

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Discharging to 50% is pretty much the standard for long lived battery life.
The solution, naturally, is more batteries. What is your current amp hour capacity?

I think you will find that your range will improve markedly with slower speed. Slow down and enjoy the boat and the ride.
As a corollary of that, your portable generator % of assistance should improve as well. Beyond the ability to top off the batteries with the generator, it also gives the advantage to be able to anchor out for longer periods. I would strongly consider it anyway considering your disappointment with the 50% battery use capacity.

I rather thought that the battery banks looked a bit light from earlier pictures. I realize it is expensive, but is there any room left for a few more batts? Couple more batteries and that generator and you should be easily across the bay.

Also, the 50% discharge limit is a guideline to improve batt life. If you need to, you can discharge further.

But the gennie as a backup is key. As well as reducing speed.

As you go up in speed, the energy expended per unit time increases with nearly the cube of the speed.

Don't sulk. You have a charming boat and the engineering can be sorted.

Starside has a large flat unshaded expanse of roof which begs for solar panels. Add those, a good regulator, more battery if possible, and you could increase range. Maybe more power capacity would permit a speed increase too.

Ski in NC said:

Don't sulk. You have a charming boat and the engineering can be sorted.

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LOL

I'm being selfish mostly bc I wanted to cross the Bay for the classic boat show at St. Mikes to show her off! but I'm truly excited about having Starside back in the water & look forward to exploring her new engine.

Next year, I'll dock her on the other side of the Bay so I can get to the show(s).

One thing I'll say is that after I did the restorations, I think it's normal to want to show her off. It makes the financials easier to take. ?