SolGato -a Solar Electric Sailing Catamaran - Please read the Description for Build Details
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มี.ค. 2022
- Some highlights of my adventures and design features of SolGato, my Solar Electric Sailing Catamaran.
SolGato is a converted Hobie Getaway featuring a pair of Caroute 1.5kW brushless 24V electric motors whose forward and reverse independent thrust are used to maneuver and steer the vessel via a handheld wired remote, allowing for piloting from any position on deck.
For power, SolGato also uses a pair of 12V 100ah LifePo4 batteries in Series with a pair of Victron MPPT 75/15 solar chargers and 600 Watts of SunPower solar panels which provide autonomous charging and slow speed cruising at about 4MPH on sun power only. Top speed with a pair of 2-Blade props is 8MPH.
SolGato’s motor mounts are made from Ipe to help absorb vibration, and they bolt to the transoms via the factory rudder mount points, so no additional holes were added. The mounts are two part with a stainless hinge. The upper board doubles as a trim adjustment by catching adjustable clamping collars that are positioned along the motor arms. This allows for the setting of preset positions using the collars, and I run 3 collars to allow for a trailering/launching full tilt up position, a mid shallow water position, and a full deployment position. The motors stay down under their own weight, but can kick up at any time in the event of an object strike or running aground, and the bottom motor mount board doubles as a cavitation plate to help keep the props from sucking air. The motor mounts are now adjusted via remote using linear actuators instead of manually via the original collar clamp system.
Electronics are housed in a NEMA enclosure with a DPDT master power switch and USB charging built in. The box contains the solar chargers, a pair of 24V to 12V DC converters, and the remote controller for the Bimini top’s linear actuators and Trim and Tilt controller.
The wired remote for the motors features a potentiometer to control each motor independently, a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor which displays real time energy use and generation via a shunt, a pair of DPDT rocker switches for independent control of motor trim and tilt, and a pair of switches for LED lighting control which can also be controlled wirelessly by Bluetooth via the Load Output feature in Victron’s Connect App.
All Victron products are networked together and can be monitored and configured remotely via Bluetooth as well.
SolGato’s propulsion and charging system has been designed for my specific use of exploring the many navigable rivers of the island of Kauai. Typically that involves an afternoon of cruising up a river drawing partly from the batteries, then dropping the built in anchor to chill during which time the batteries recharge to full capacity before heading back down and sometimes out and around a Bay.
The boat was also designed for use as a tender to get to and from my Trimaran while on mooring during the Summer.
Whether on trailer parked in my yard or on the water, SolGato is always fully charged and ready to go every day thanks to our consistent sun here in Hawaii, and the boat can also serve as a trailerable solar electric generator in the event of a power outage by plugging in a DC to AC inverter.
Other features include the remote controlled linear actuated hardtop which is independently adjustable front to back to reduce windage, better harness the sun, and allow for sail clearance, a built in anchor system operated by a hand cranked winch, an Ipe center console with cup holders that splits the trampoline area into two lounges, a curtain camping enclosure that hangs from the Bimini top track, a removable center emergency/sailing rudder in case of a single motor failure, USB charging and LED lighting, a swing away BBQ mount, and a hybrid Lateen/Crab Claw sailing rig that is supported by an A-frame mast that can be stepped and struck while on the water.
And lastly, SolGatos trailer has been modified with underslung cross supports and rollers to allow the boat to sit low reducing the center of gravity for better towing and to make launching and retrieval, even from off the ground, very easy.
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Ha, I had done a power catamaran out of a Tornado 4 years ago and now have a power hardtop on my current Seadoo Challenger 180. We must have been twins separated at birth 😃
How did those hulls work out for you with the added extra weight?
Tornado hulls are definitely one of the better to use since they have pretty good volume
@@kauaislash5 the tornado hulls have extra volume towards the bow, but little volume at the stern (designed for sails pushing the bows downward and they were fantastic for sailing, never pitchpoled it). For using them as a powerboat the weight needs to be shifted forward a lot, past the forward crossbar. I tried to predict how much and placed the seats close to the crossbar, but it needed even more. Ideally the centers of the seats will need to be exactly on top of the front crossbar. As far as ride quality- fantastic, they cut the waves instead of craching into them and everything always felt super smooth. Enough to make me look for another catamaran and get rid of my Seadoos. Currently looking at a Skater 24. Fastest I went with the Tornado was 17mph (modified the 9.9HP outboard). The Seadoo went 70mph and the Skater can do 120mph. Good incermental progression 😃
Great 🤨, not even done with my custom camp trailer build and now I’m planning a Solgato. Great job 👏🏽
Thanks! Glad it inspires. Your custom camp trailer building skills might come in handy if you decide you want to build a Camp Cruiser. SolGato has a shower curtain like enclosure that turns the rear seating area into a tent and there’s a side mount for a marine BBQ, but for a while I had a long bed high top camper shell mounted that was strong enough to sit/stand on, with the big back window opening forward and out onto the trampoline. It was mounted with Jeep style rubber hood latches and easily removable. There’s a video on my channel for reference. Some food for thought…
Very nice. I specifically like the tilting motor mounts.
Thanks! I will be adding linear actuators to the system soon which is something they were designed to incorporate from the start. I’ve gotten too lazy to walk the hulls or reach back to grab the tilt/trim arms, and my new solar top is now wider than my original which makes the journey more challenging and a bit of a scramble. Plus it will be nice to be able to adjust both at once with the push of a button.
thank you for showing your great work it is inspiring - now I feel I can do;)
"You got it made, in the shade"
What a treasure to find this video! I will be studying it
This is so awesome ! Love it from Maui !
WOW, seems very promising !
Simple and effective I like it
Excellent build. Really like the decisions u made building the solcat. Hope to see more.
Thanks Tom. Will be applying the lessons learned from building and enjoying SolGato and incorporating a lot of similar features into SolLeon, my 30 foot build
great job, you could also post links of product supplies for those of us who wish to make a similar craft.
So cool well done
Nice build 😃
Very 😎.... a few tweaks and up the range power and this could be a great tender for live aboards.
yes
Pretty cool 😎
cool looking boat
I'd like to have heard some commentary
about the build. I'm going to see what else you posted
Е... й южный Урал где я родился! Самое главное в этом видео что люди могут привязать катамаран к пальме!
am finishing my shop soon and will be posting video of my solar cat that I designed and built last year.
beautiful. dreaming of an 8Kw version in the 30f range.
Thanks! Have just acquired the 30’ hulls for the scaling up of this boat. You can find footage of the hulls in another video on my Channel.
that shoukd he gôd range
Very cool!
Awesome. 🍻
God I wish I could make that or buy something like that out here on the East Coast.
Fantastic! I have been thinking of electric propulsion for our Corsair F31 on Oahu. It would be nice to mount one on each ama for maneuverability. Where did you get the brushless drives? Are they built for marine applications or did you build a housing? What kind of tri do you have?
Aloha
Cullen
Corsair F31, Delta Vee, Honolulu HI
Thanks! My last Tri was a folding Farrier and I have already spent a fair amount of time thinking through the same idea you have for your F31.
I assume you want to do this for slow speed cruising and maneuverability in harbor docking situations?
The challenge is adding a system that doesn’t interfere with the performance of the boat during sailing and during folding/trailering while permanently modifying the boat as little as possible.
Since the F31 has pointy sterns on the Amas which can partially submerge when pressed hard that tuck when folded, I would suggest you instead mount the motors to the outer inside ends of the Akas. Those should just be structural covers molded around the Farriers folding hardware? At least it still was on the F27 and 24’s, I think the F31 was the same and now maybe the arms are all composite with aluminum struts?
Anyway the point is instead of drilling holes in the Amas creating a point for water intrusion and mounting them where they could drag in the water or obstruct folding, just mount them to the rear backside of the outer Akas. This will protect them from windage and spray during sailing and keep out of the way during folding/trailering and will still provide the same maneuverability you are looking for.
Now for the second part of the challenge which is to make as little modifications as possible, for this reason I would suggest you consider a pair of EPropulsion Spirit motors. The reason being they have their own built in battery and they can be wirelessly controlled via Bluetooth. So that means all you would have to do is mount the motors and no additional wiring for power or control would be required.
As a bonus, you could go with their Evo Spirit motors which can provide Hydrogeneration about 6kN, so during cruising you could leave the motors deployed and they would recharge all on their own without the need to remove the batteries for recharging! They can also take in solar power for recharging if you have already panels and a solar charger onboard you F31.
If you decide to go this way, the only real challenge is fabricating a motor mount adaptor that works like a swing up trailer tongue wheel. Something that rotates to allow the motor to rotate perpendicular to the boat versus in the parallel plane. It could be something as simple as the mounting plates those trailer tongue wheels use with a block attached for the motor mount to clamp onto. However you would want to fabricate it out of aluminum or stainless.
Anyway, that would be my suggestion. 2x1kW brushless motors mounting at the inner ends should allow the boat to do 360 using forward and reverse independent thrust without loosing a lot of ground and give you a cruising speed of 5mph.
For reference, I used a single 55lbs trolling motor on my 20’ folding Tri to get on and off and around the morning fiend in Hanalei for a few seasons instead of the outboard. Worked fine except in strong winds. With a single motor you need the centerboard down, but with two, you could prob leave it up which would be handy for shallow water navigation and beaching.
Great job. Please can you tell me where you got the hulls from. Brilliant. If you don’t mind posting here
The hulls are from a Hobie Getaway
I can’t afford a Silent Yacht(although I did ride on one Biscayne Bay Miami) but this one seems doable. Are those motors off a trolling rig or you build the housings?
Build details can be found in the video description. The motors are basically trolling style less the shaft, transom brackets and tiller, clamped in custom bracket mounts with remote wired control.
Without reading anything I recognized that Hull shape.
Ya, if you know Beach Cats, the rotomolded hulls are pretty easy to identify. Not the prettiest lines, but they do float a lot of weight and are low maintenance and nearly indestructible which makes them the perfect platform for a conversion like this.
Great boat! How do the motor-mounts handle reverse thrust?
Thanks!
The handles/arms are just for lifting and deploying the motors for trim/tilt adjustment.
The forward and reverse thrust of the motors is then controlled by a potentiometer on the wired remote which can be operated from any position on deck by rolling the potentiometers with your fingers kind of like a computer mouse.
There is no tiller for steering like an outboard, instead forward and reverse thrust are used independently to steer much like a tank.
@@kauaislash5 you indicated that the motors are free to kick up, do they not tend to lift/pull themselves out of the water in reverse?
@@williamfraser Due to their weight and the angle of the mounting boards being greater than 90 degrees which means they have to swing back and up on an arc, the motors only really kick in reverse when too much throttle is applied (more throttle than one should apply). If I “hit the brakes” and come to an abrupt stop from full speed, they kick a little. I hit logs, drift wood, water logged coconuts, and some times run aground, and the system works great, but the soft FRP props take a beating. I will be adding linear actuators soon for remote tilt/trim so I don’t have to walk the hulls or reach back, and they’ll tie into the existing arms and be able to scissor a bit to absorb any kick on impact.
This is beautiful ! what river is this?
Hanalei River and Bay on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai
If you use a sabertooth controller you could use one joystick to operate that entire boat steering each motor like skid steer etc.
True, but I have found having full independent control of each motor works better for a variety of reasons.
@@kauaislash5 What I think is the coolest is how the roof/solar array is lifted making it a sunshade as well. The best of both worlds...
PS this video motivated be to buy a hobiecat as well. Only paid $400 for it and a trailer! Mine is for seafloor mapping but will likely set it up to be a pilot optional system so I can ride it or send it...
Is this filmed on the north shore ?
Yes, most of the footage in his video is of Hanalei River and Bay.
@@kauaislash5 one my favorite spots. Ty
beautiful set up if you ever want to sell it I will buy it.😊😊❤
Which company makes those motors?
Caroute N200
Where did you get the props?
The 2-Blade props are from Caroute and available for their motors provided they are used on a light displacement vessel. I have also successfully modified Torqeedo 2 blade props to fit the larger shaft and shear pin on these motors by reaming them and running the motors in reverse for forward propulsion since the Torqeedo 1001 motors/props are opposite rotation.
@@kauaislash5 Thanks. Do you have speed vs power use figures?
It wouldn’t really translate unless you had same boat in the same conditions. If you have a motor and can measure current draw under load, see if your motor is pulling its full rated max amp draw under load at speed. If it isn’t, it’s a good indication you can go with a bigger more aggressive prop. Most trolling type motors are designed to push large displacement boats so they are fitted with mild general purpose props to protect the motor controller. Generally speaking the bigger prop will hurt slow speed maneuverability, but give you better cruising speeds and a little more top speed in light displacement applications. The main advantage of playing with props on small electric motors like these is to be able to find/better dial in the most efficient cruising speed. For example, with the stock 3 blade props my cruising speed on sun only was about 4mph, and with the 2 blade props it’s closer to 5mph.
Around how much did all the parts cost?
Don’t know. Many were custom designed and made.
Can I get some more info on the motors and controller, please?
Details are listed in the video description
@@kauaislash5 I was hoping for a manufacturer. I'm working on a "Yakimaran (version2)" and am looking for something with a little more power. Check out the link: th-cam.com/video/8kBy7cF853s/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=NotOSHAapproved%21
A new style propeller is promising twice the efficiency, it should help a lot with battery range.
I don’t think there will be any big breakthroughs for an application like mine. There are a lot of other things that one could change that would increase efficiency, but eventually you reach a point where a design suits your needs and you begin to reach hull speed limitation, so you call it a day.
I could get more speed and efficiency out of the boat, but then slow speed maneuverability would suffer, and that is one of the great benefits of using independent forward/reverse thrust of a pair of spaced motors, and a primary design feature I make use of every time I take it out.
At this point, the best improvement I could make would be to step up to the next size motors which would give me higher max RPM and go to a 48V system.
I mean he only has $400 and maybe 15-20kg of batteries in that thing, he could easily get many times the range by just increasing the amount of batteries.
Are you in kauai?
Yes
What gave it away. The huge freaking volcano in the background?
Hanalei River?
Yes it is
How’s this a sailing cat when it’s not got a sailing rig?
Please read my reply to Shawn L for a description of SolGato’s sail rig
Sailing?
Yes, SolGato has an A-Frame masted Lateen Crab Claw sail setup that mounts to the outer ends of the forward cross beam. The top sprit of the sail then becomes the 3 leg of the mast eliminating the need for stays, and the lower sprit then tacks inside the A-Frame for light wind cruising. The removable center rudder is dropped in and the solar hardtop is then lowered at the front to create a wedge and minimize windage while allowing for tacking of the lower sail sprit above. To drop the sail, you actually lift the lower sprint up to the top to close and spill the wind like a traditional Polynesian Crab-Claw. This keeps it off the deck when not in use and like a traditional sail, puts the volume of the sail up high to grab wind in swell and allow for headroom. You can also motor sail or raise and lock the motors in the trailering position. If you’re not familiar with an A-frame style mast, check out the AquaCat. It’s a great setup that makes trailering and stepping a breeze.
Sailing catamaran? Where is the sail
Did you read the details in the description? The sail rig is covered in there. If you want to see what the A-Frame Lateen rig looks like, there’s a mock up video on my Channel. I have other sailboats that I sail and only built the sail rig for SolGato for long distance trips where half of the leg is downwind. But 99% of the time I use it as a power boat.
Make it autonomous 😅