Thread: Just a note from the USA!

Hi Papa,

Nice to see you back and great to see the pics of the boat sitting happily.

Would be great to get some reports about how the electric option goes over the next few months.

How much you use it, whether it fits nicely with your use patterns etc.

Well done!

MIK

Where I launch is a public ramp with public docks. You are not supposed to sail in that
area. So I have to use the motor to clear that area. I motored back the other day as
the wind was light and I was a mile or so from the ramp. It does fine, It has five
speeds and #3 is more than enough power, above that it tries to plane and makes
a large wake. The slight V in the stern part of the bottom is not for motoring. The
power version had a bit less rocker and a flat bottom all the way to the transom.

I also have a very small battery, only 27lbs. It is a VW battery.

I also discovered it is not practical to take the oars when I go sailing, there
is just no place to stow them.

Thanks for the reply.

Here is a better shot of the launch area, you can see it is a bit close to be sailing
in.

Nice work. Great photos Papa. The last time I saw your rudder, I think it was in your lounge room! Thanks for sharing the results of your build. I'm also very interested in small electrics. The really nice high performance jobs still cost a fortune here, but there are some good value smaller units. It's just hard to know how big is big enough.

This is a Mercury Motorguide, it was on sale at Wal Mart around
Christmas for $99. It is a 34lb thrust motor. I don't need near that
much. I shorten the shaft a little over a foot to make it work out
better on my boat.

The total weight of the boat, without the motor and battery, with
dagger board, mast and all is 222lbs.

The big selling point for me was the weight, less that 19lbs.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...#ProductDetail

Also the tilt part works very well and is easy to get to, just
a button to push and raise the motor.

Rob, for comparison purposes I have been experimenting with a 19lb thrust watersnake motor on my guideboat. It has two speeds and does 4kmh on low and 6kmh on high. Rowing at an exercise pace is 8-8.5kmh.

Kelvin

Thanks both of you. It seems pretty clear that it doesn't take much thrust to propel even large boats at slow speeds, and from that point of view, if I just wanted to clear a mooring or navigate through some traffic, we'd be in business. Where the smelly petrol outboard still tempts is making way when it's too windy to sail safely (given my lack of experience...avoiding this situation, but knowing that sometimes things happen!)
What annoys me is that electric inboards aren't cheap and plentiful given the technology already out there, the small weight and space penalties involved, and the capacity to build battery storage wherever you need it as part of the ballast requirements of a biggish rig.

But all this is not intended to be a highjacking of Papa's beautifully illustrated thread.

High jack away!

For less than $150 I have about a ten mile range, about three hours running time.
With the weather here being very changeable I feel it is a safety issue to have some
type of secondary power.

I can always run for a cove or dock and wait it out. I have seen waves on this lake
over six feet. An hour later it was dead calm!

Hi Papa,

the boat looks great - and I really like the name plate. Congratulations.

Mike

Mike;

How is the Hartley doing?


Thanks everyone for the wonderful comments.

Be interested to hear how the electric outboard goes in 6ft waves.

MIK

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Be interested to hear how the electric outboard goes in 6ft waves.

MIK

I won't be out in this boat in that kind of weather.

BTW, we had winds close to 100mph today and nearly two
inches of rain in less than an hour.

An hour later it was clear and sunny!

Amazing weather!

But I am serious it would be good to hear how the boat goes under electric power in a bit of wind and chop. The range will shrink a lot - so be careful - but still might be a very useful and interesting thing to report about.

Best wishes

MIK

Funny all the interest in the little motor. Around here half the boats have them.
Even pontoon boats and some ski boats. A lot of small sail boats use them.
All fishing boat, bass boats as we call them, have very fancy ones. Foot controlled
and even remote controlled. Some of the 36 volt are very high performance. And
costly!

http://www.emarinesupplies.com/index...OD&ProdID=1720

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F0MBRE?...0&linkCode=asn

You can launch your boat and just let it go, park the truck, go back to the ramp,
take the remote out of your pocket and drive the boat back to the shore.
My nephew has one. On his $80,000 fishing boat. Along with every electronic
thing they make. GPS, radar, several fish finders, wireless internet.



His has a 300hp Yamaha.

I take it they are not as common down under?

I will keep you posted on how it does.

Thanks Papa, we'll follow with interest. Here there seems to be a big gap in price and performance between little cheap 'trolling motors' and the ones capable of actually moving a boat against some tidal or wind resistance. There doesn't seem to be much consensus as to how useful the little ones are; I guess it comes down to how much thrust you really need as a reserve against nasty situations. I'm inclined to think that yours will make boat life very restful for you, and free of noise and smell.