A needful read on recycling, Krugman making sense, and in the “a good time to reread The Lord of the Rings” department…
Lately, I’ve been reading up on what passes for the state of EV conversion where sailboats are concerned. Most of which is pretty depressing reading.
First of all, in my experience, everyone seems to want to replace the diesel engine. Sure, I get that because I really detest internal combustion engines. That said, while I want to jettison the 400-pound hunk of greasy metal and associated systems, I realize that I just want the engine gone. However, I don’t actually need to replace it with a reasonable facsimile diesel.
Time to reestablish the need and want factors. So, what do I actually need?
It’s a short list… The only real need I see is simply a means of propulsion for maneuvering at slow speed in tight places. For instance, docking and suchlike.
Think about that for a moment…
So, just what sort of EV set up do I actually need for such an install?
Since I won’t need to achieve hull speed and only maneuver at dead slow, I could use a less powerful motor. With a less powerful motor using less voltage I could get by with a lower voltage battery bank. Better yet, with a 24V motor and battery bank it becomes a lot easier to recharge the system via solar for folks who don’t have space for a solar farm.
Lastly, it pretty much cuts the cost of the system to about half what a basic 48v install would cost.
Actually, when you think about it, the minimal system described is more akin to a bow thruster than a full on EV installation.
Not unlike the electric propulsion I was running on “So It Goes” that worked just fine in 2008…
Something to ponder on these long winter nights…