Conversion to Electric

[PonusNick]

My 27 Sport Cruiser runs very well on its almost 20 year old Yanmar diesel...but I've started to gather information on a conversion to electric. We're very happy with our 8 to 9 knot cruising speed so it should be simple. I am open to any and all comments or insights the community may have.

[DCatSea]

Sounds very intriguing - I will follow this thread with interest. Shouldn't be impossible, but range might be an issue.

[Norseman]

I had an Electric boat for a few years, a Duffy Balboa 18’, with 8 golf cart batteries.
Endurance was not a problem, but speed was: 5 hp motor, max 5 knots but would usually run at slightly reduced power. Endurance about 10 hours on a good day.
Most of the parts can be had from a fork lift or golf cart place at much less $$ than a marine place. (Controllers were made in Italy and cost $1,600 at Duffy, but $400 at a different place. Same with chargers, etc.)

[DCatSea]

Most (read all) electric boats I've seen are running on rivers and canals.My biggest worry would be getting caught in weather with limited power. Perhaps a diesel electric setup (per older submarines) would be the safer way to go, with a definite charging regimen.

[Dieselram94]

My 27 Sport Cruiser runs very well on its almost 20 year old Yanmar diesel...but I've started to gather information on a conversion to electric. We're very happy with our 8 to 9 knot cruising speed so it should be simple. I am open to any and all comments or insights the community may have.

My comments would be...
Why?? If your engine is in good condition what’s the point? Maybe it’s a dream you have? As far as costs, get ready to spend more then you plan on and have some downtime with your boat. I would suggest don’t attempt it unless you are knowledgeable and have a good skill set and tools to back it up, as after install problems will for sure pop up. You can buy lots of diesel and still have excellent range and no hassles if you just stay with your current motor.

[kerrye]

If you're cruising plans involve moving from electrical outlet to electrical outlet, go for it. Otherwise I wouldn't got that route (and I just bought a fully electric car) Cruised the North Channel a couple of years ago with a group which included an electric sailboat. Completely dysfunctional. Couldn't keep up with the group and couldn't travel the distances necessary to the next anchorage, not to mention the ire from everyone else at a generator running endlessly to charge the batteries.

If I fail to deter you, you might consider pulling the battery pack and charger out of a wrecked Leaf or Tesla to power the vessel, but be aware that cooling the pack is necessary for a long life.

(as an aside, one of the most surprising things I learned from purchasing an EV was the number of publicly available chargers which are broken and remain broken for months on end)

[Treeman]

t's a noble notion, to be sure, but if your intent is ecological in nature, please consider that the energy embodied in the building of your existing engine is mitigated more every hour that you run it. Replacing it before the reasonable end of its life is a net negative followed by adding the environmental impact of manufacturing your new system. The electricity that you would use would need to be generated and most of our power still comes from fossil fuels and converting those into and conveying that power to your charging station is a big net energy loss. I've been a boater since I was a toddler and an environmentalist most of my adult life and our style of boating is an environmental exemplar to the boating community.

[sail149]

A kit will cost about $10k plus 5k for install , I follow sailboat guys doing it. But you still need a charging system .
If your engine is knaked and you want to replace it you could go with less HP , 35-40 range and go just as fast ( read slow) as you do now.. a modern engine with the fancy third rail stuff are incredibly fuel efficient , no smoke even on start up , run like a car engine , just turn the key, much quieter . Can't see any advantage in an electric drive unless you are doing 'diesel Electric' like cruise ships with pod drives.
Cheers Warren.

[DesertAlbin736]

Agree Warren/sail149. Our Yanmar 3GM30F is over 30 years old with at least 3,500 hours on in & still runs like a top with virtually no smoke & very little oil consumption and burns less than 1/2 gallon per hour at 6.5 knots. Unless your boat was a submarine I can see very little advantage to going diesel-electric. Maybe with small a sailboat you could go pure electric with a Torquedo electric outboard or trolling motor. But not a power cruiser. Marine engines run mostly at steady state RPM, not stop & go like cars in city traffic, so gains in fuel economy with diesel-electric would likely be minimal. And unless you added excessive amounts of weight in batteries you wouldn't get much range on electric only.