Great video!!! i love that you are not hiding the changes that you had on the "way" I think a lot of people would only show the results without the problems that are bund to be there!!
Guys I don’t wanna discourage what you’ve done but that 5Kw motor isn’t nearly powerful enough to push your displacement. Keep in mind your testing in no wind and no current and no waves. Out on open waters if you need motor or you have an emergency, that motor won’t move that hull. With sailing and liveaboards redundancy is imperative and safety is paramount. In a head on 20knot wind with 2meter waves you’ll be going in reverse at full power 5Kw at 48 Volts is avg 6hp., Abd the amount of battery you’d burn would be staggering. With a 6 battery setup in ‘ series ‘ confined to 48volt you’d have about 1.5-2hrs of useable power at 3/4 max throttle Your boat is 15,000+ lbs displacement if fibreglass and around 21k-24k if steel You need a minimum of 13hp to achieve 5knots and that’s at full throttle That hull is rated for a 23hp minimum to a 36hp recommended. I have the Volvo 18hp 2cyl and a few weeks back in Lake Erie in 20 knot winds and 6-8ft seas I was maxing at 5.5-6knots head in wind The reason I’m telling you the numbers and details is there are MANY situations where your motor is your LIFELINE. IF it’s not reliable or powerful enough you could easily find yourself praying you live.out the situation I love the fact you guys are fossil fuel conscious, but don’t jeopardize your life on it. An alternative to the noisy inboard diesel ,, which I hate is a stern drive mounted outboard of around 25-40hp ( welded on a lift bracket ) or if you really want electric the Bellmarine Torquemaster variants are the best, but silly expensive I strongly suggest going back to diesel with a Yanmar or Volvo 18-28hp diesel or an Atomic 4 gas and just don’t use it unless you need to. At least you know in an emergency you have the power to outrun a storm or make safe harbour. You can pick up a warrantied used motor for around $2500-4000. Depending on brand and specs. If you were closer I’d sell you my Volvo 18hp model D1-20 ( 310hrs on it ) as I’m upgrading to the Volvo D1-30 ( 28hp ) as I plan a Pacific crossing in Spring, and the Panama Canal adventure. Take Care guys. ps. Keep in mind my comments and suggestions are based on experience and safety and things I’ve been taught. Doesn’t mean it’s dead-on accurate
Thanks for the comments Chris. The motor is capable of delivering up to 12kw for short bursts in an emergency. There's been boats bigger than ours with an equivalent sized motor, such as Sailing Uma, who have used their 5kw motor for five years without issue. We're aware of the limitations our motor has and will plan our passages accordingly and with safety in mind. Plus, if at any point we decide we want something more powerful, our setup is capable of taking a motor twice the size. So not to worry, we'll be careful and upgrade if needed! :)
@@BethanyIvy you seem to be using a belt already, so you could also upgrade by adding a second identical motor. (And a third...) That may sometimes be way cheaper than one bigger motor and especially with bldc motors syncing is no problem. Nice setup!
Same. I have a project boat with an atomic 4 gas I want to rip and replace with electric. Mostly because the prices for resale of inboards are INSANE. You see anything on the used market? Because the prices for the new electrics are double INSANE. What do they think these motors are made of?
i sized a system for a Grinde 27, using one of the newer axial flux motors and got the pack down to 24V ( 25.6Vnom ).....that's the gold, because the system can still be electrically floating.. On Salt, anything over 25.6Vnom ( up to 51.2V Max nominal Li-Ion ), you really need the center tap sea ground, to center reference the pack; but as soon as you put in a sea ground, you need faraday cages, and a way to rote lightning current to sidarcs..
Those motors are great for sailboats they put out 10 horsepower that's a lot of horsepower coming from that little small motor they're quite expensive 5 to $600 for a brand new one but well worth it they will push a boat along pretty good because they have a lot of torque and like I said 10 horsepower is enough to push your boat along pretty decent if you don't want to go water skiing but I've seen them on little small boats and people actually water ski behind them
@@BethanyIvy When you add one, also be sure to move those metal brackets, they are going to cut that belt in no time. Even after that be sure to have a spare belt on board. Be sure to get the batteries sooner than later. Mixing different batteries with different charges is fine for testing but not for actual use. And if you place the batteries in front of the motor be sure to add a ledge so they can not slide into the motor and add terminal covers to all terminals so you can access the motor without the risk of creating a short with your body(it will hurt) or any tools(they may cause fire and may even be welded on there and "may cause" will turn in "will cause") (I do like to say "be sure" right? xD) If you fix those points you will have a nice system going 👍
Lovely conversion, would love to know how it is holding up now three years down the line (and if you would have done anything differently if you did it again?) - Currently building a similar setup but using two 10Kw brush-less (water cooled) motors instead as my boat is a bit heavier. Just posted the first episode on TH-cam of the motor housing design if interested. Keep the good videos flowing:) Thanks!
Thanks! We ended up having to replace the controller, there's a video of the new installation on the channel if you want to check it out. Plus we'll be replacing the plywood mount with a metal one. Good luck with your project! :)
If you increase the Mah per battery it will increase the overall motor output and maximize energy output as well. Also look into a small water pump and some rubber and copper tubing to make a water cooler for the electric motor and controller. Will also help maximize power and help with gains instead of losses.
this is the way to go on a Sailboat i strongly suggest a Honda Inverter/ generator to keep your batteries charged up as they have a 12 volt outlet and you can even purchase a harness with battery clips to charge up or will run a DC. battery charger my next Sailboati plan on doing a similar conversion they are quiet ,reliable , and fairly reasonably priced to do why did i mention Honda ? i’ve owned them and they are Quiet , Reliable , and sort of easy to find parts for World Wide none of my generators ever needed major repairs with normal maintenance either ,the negative of Honda’s are the overall cost of purchase price
Its a great idea, and execution. I'm trying to find here in Brazil one similar project. How its the electric motor work with all wheather condiction that you faced until now? Thanks for sharing.
@@BethanyIvy Tks for replying, what is the specification of the electric motor (Watts and voltage), and how many Amper/hour using on battery set? Regards
@@renanfornasier1725 It's a 5kw 48v motor, currently we only have a 90 amp hour battery bank with 45 of that being usable. But we will be upgrading soon before doing longer passages.
there may be some provisions, in the emerging code, having to do with connections; which may allow for higher voltages than 51.2Vnom. but i think that center tap sea ground may have to be there, at some point; for packs over 25.6Vnom.....and the same connection code Might allow for floating packs, under those regulations, which are a little higher than 25.6Vnom.
This is a very interesting conversion project. Seems so well suited to a wind powered boat. Now if only someone would "invent" a solar panel that doubles as a sail, your charging issues would evaporate overnight. There is a flexible panel material available now, but I doubt it would hold up to wind.... Oh, and the title of your channel gave me a smile... How absolutely "stereotypical" of Vegans to announce their food choices to others! A friendly wave to you, from Cowichan Bay Village BC Canada.
On racing some racing sailboats, they do incorporate flexible solar panels into the sails, but at the present time flexible panels have very short service lives, under a year. Not ready for prime time.
@@MarkWilliams-ix1qf I for one, look forward to the panels being ready. I remember when I first saw flexible or "roll up" panels on TH-cam, and about a year or so later, they were available in the local big box hardware store. Imagine going camping with a tent made of such a fabric. How nice that would be!
Wow, lucky of you to have found that motor! We hope to be as lucky :). Thank you for the inspiration, it is giving us the confidence to go forward with our own conversion, also... we have never met other sailing vegans haha, happy to have found you two. Will be keeping up with your adventures, in food and sailing!
Love this! I am purchasing a boat with a similar set up, but installed very poorly and without proper batteries. I want to do 48VDC with solar charging, would you share your set-up specs and experiences?
Our setup isn't anything special right now, we still just have a few old lead acid batteries. We have 800W of solar and a charge controller from eBay. We plan to upgrade the battery bank to AGMs when we can afford it! It's all working fine so far though, much more reliable than our old diesel.
Did a conversation. 5 kw = 6.7 horse power But that's just engine power. Electric motors have higher torque than equivalent petrolium engines because there's less friction, less heat loss. Less losses basically.
How do you charge the batteries , ? What capacity is your battery bank ? Led batteries , you drawing 50a with 300 ah you have 2 hours of running time ,if you don't run the batteries down to damage them. ?
A chain would be nosier, but hardier and potentially repairable. Just food for thought :) Also.....I hope those batteries were rated for that amp draw, because if not, you basically just did the same thing that cause early mechanical vaporizers to become hand grenades. That controller probably saved your life.
Great spend so far. I guess if you are only going with lead batteries your range won’t be very far, though should get you in and out of the harbour....it is a sailing boat after all Some observations. That very thin ply plate, can’t see that lasting long under full power. Have you used coated cables? I have been following a electric conversion thread on the Junk Rig Facebook, worth a look if you haven’t seen it. One thing they mentioned is the power cables and fittings, they take a lot of current, so need to be up to the job. Is your propeller matched to the power and rotation speed of the new motor. I would make sure all the electrics are as high up as possible, and protected from any splashes when it gets rough and there is water in the bilge. With a longer belt, the motor could be higher? Hope you find this helpful. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to hearing more.
Thanks for all the tips! It's not obvious in the video but there is a metal plate behind the plywood so it should be sturdy enough. Also there's lots of space below the motor to the bilge so no risk of getting the motor wet :)
It is an interesting point about water. Are you able to put the motor in a waterproof housing? Where it is located means that when you do get water in your bilges (which you will), it will likely get splashed by water as you go through swell and waves. The same might also apply to the battery bank when you decide on location - probably best to go with sealed units ⛵️
I almost saw my boat.....I'm in the marina next to you :-) I know a guy who has done the same he has 8 x 130ah batteries and well........He needed to be towed back with a dingy last week. Not 100% sure what happened. Can you guys get the CoffeeCo wifi from there?
@@BethanyIvy Your pretty close so you could try something like this it's a wifi range extender its £116.51. The batton connects from say the coffee shop wifi to the mini router. then your devices connect to the mini router. You can mount the wifi batton to suction cups using cable ties then attach it to your spinnaker pole to get the height. Just remember to take it down while sailing. The coffee shop wifi is unlocked so if you "borrow" movies from the internet the download speeds are great. coffeecoguest is the password. During lockdown I sat on the benches outside to use the internet. Also, I recommend never to admit you live on your boat as many marinas. (including yours) don't allow them. I know people might spend a lot of time. There was a bit of a round-up about 2 years ago at your marina a few people were asked to leave. onboard.....something to do with council tax, commercial waste www.amazon.co.uk/Alfa-WiFi-Camp-Pro-camper-solution/dp/B07JBBCDD2/ref=sr_1_13?crid=28F7P2B1WXTJY&dchild=1&keywords=wifi+booster+camping&qid=1603397624&sprefix=wifi+booster+campi%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-13
@@BethanyIvy thanks, I’ve just discovered your channel so will be binge watching ... so no spoilers ! P.S. I just missed out on two identical motors on eBay for £300 for the pair 😭
Great job guys... looks like you're making good progress! And for not a lot of money :-) I'll be curious to see how it does with the full battery bank. Do you have a meter to tell you how much charge is left in the batteries? I'm sure you've thought of it, but that's something you'll probably want to make sure you don't get stranded with no power.
When we researched how we should drive the prop shaft, it was recommended that most sailboats benefit from 2:1 reduction... half the prop speed but twice the torque. There are some calculations you could do to figure out the best ratio for your boat based on weight, prop size and prop pitch, but we don't know the exact prop specs since the boat is in the water. So we went with what's most common, and if we find it's not optimal for our boat we can easily change out the pulleys for a different ratio in the future :)
Considering installing an electric motor in my boat as well. Are you happy with the Arduino to control the motor? Would you rather have gone with an off the shelf controller instead? Thanks for sharing.
The controller we have is an off the shelf one, the arduino just controls the engine panel. We're only using it because with the way our controller is programmed, we'd otherwise have to press three different switches to turn on the motor! So the arduino simplifies things because we only have to turn the key and that's it. We've been very happy with it so far. Good luck if you decide to convert your boat! :)
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I bought project boat recently with what appears to be the same motor and controller retrofitted. The physical installation was completed but not the wiring. The controller is made by Sevcon but I can't make out the motor manufacturer and model. Any information you can share on your motor would be greatly appreciated i.e. manufacturer and model? DC or AC? Series- or shunt-wound? wiring schematic? etc. Thanks again and good luck.
Thanks for the video. I have a atomic 4 gas I want to rip and replace with electric. I think I can do this BUT you lost me at "I built and soldered my own controller board" 😬😬😬
@@BethanyIvy Haha. We are still lost in the middle of our conversion. I am trying to source a bearing. Did yours work well? There are several types and not sure what will work
Very ingenious. You found a bargain motor and controller. I'm not sure a custom Arduino controller is something the average sailor could build, but you apparently did. I do hope the motor is brushless, otherwise it is a source of spark and you must not use any gasoline or propane onboard.
@@BethanyIvy As some one else suggested the characteristics of your prop need to be different for electric motors compared to an ICE motor.. as it produces its torque more or less from go.. The diameter and sharpness of the blades will also affect the performance and current consumption .. high pitch gives more torque but finer pitch should give you more speed quicker acceleration especially if you can use the E motors free revving nature. th-cam.com/video/4OLbLei-7CQ/w-d-xo.html If you find you dont have enough power as you've used a drive pulley via belt you can mount double motors side by side in a V formation.. its common practice in aero modeling where we gang multiple motors together via a belt drive gearbox to swing oversized props using modest size and priced motors. If you dont want to run regen or cannot then a folding prop will reduce drag. Sailing Umas early expts might help you.🤞🏻⛵👨🔧🤗
Good job. How far can you travel on a full charge and at what average speed? Do you resize/repitch the prop? What is it equivalent of motor KW power to diesel engine HP? Thank you.
We haven't had much opportunity to give it a full test yet due to lockdown, but will give an update in future videos. Travelling at low speeds uses much less power, so we could probably go almost indefinitely on the lowest setting by running straight off the solar.
Great stuff... I hope to do this with a 31' Pierson presently motorized with a 4.5 HP Atomic gas engine. Also, I'd like to rid the vessel of its rudder steerage and replace it with a 'Wheel'. Doable? Thanks, Ken ... happy sailing.
Thank you, good luck with your conversion! :) Adding a wheel is definitely doable, though we decided against it because a tiller is simpler and less prone to steering failure.
The motor would spin twice as fast but that wouldn't double the boat speed I don't think! I seem to remember we used the gear reduction because the prop etc weren't designed to spin that quickly, but I may be wrong...my ex-partner did the conversion so I'm not the expert.
Using an Arduino based microcontroller (ATMega328p). Was going to use the OLED display which you can see in the video, but turns out it's not bright enough so replaced it with an LED matrix. Will likely do a video showing that soon :)
1.5 knots for 400W. You may get 3 knots at 800W of solar you have on a very sunny day. I'd consider doubling your solar as sailing performance also improves if you can motor sail at low power on solar to eliminate propeller drag or point higher with some thrust. And more solar means less load on batteries so they last longer. High current draw is what reduces battery cycle life significantly. If you can afford them Lead Carbon or LiFEPO4 are better for your current draw requirements than those lead acid you show here.
Nice video. What resources have you been using for research? Would love to replace the stinking 4 litre Perkins on ours but suspect it would be virtually impossible without breaking the bank. Recognised the flats straight away 🤣 we’re at CYC. 👍🏻
Thank you! Just did a lot of google searching and referring to recommendations from sailboat motor companies. Also it helped learning about the experiences of others who have done the same with comparable sized boats and motors, such as Sailing Uma :)
I'm new subscriber, what is your boat? displacement? hp of old engine? I'm looking for probably 10, to 15 kwh. replacing 36hp old Volvo. what prop do you have? expect any regen?
Boat is a Roberts 34, displacement about 5 tons. The old engine was 48hp, which was way too big for the boat. We have a fixed three blade prop, hoping for some regen but haven't been able to test it out yet.
Yes ,but not enough solar to charge the batteries in a timely manner,i would have kept the diesel motor ,couple that to the electric motor Generator, a hybrid,and would charge your batteries,🙂
We haven't bought our battery bank yet, currently just using the starter & leisure batteries that we already had, so not getting a lot of miles at the moment. But it's still enough to get in & out of the marina and down the river. Will have another video about our batteries when we get them! :)
Hello guys. Just amazing channel. My wife and I we just get a sailboat and also we are look for “green Sailboat” We are refit our sailboat right now here in Mallorca, by the way you guys are really welcome to visit us. I love do this project in our sailboat, can you help us? Thanks a loooooot
Hey Voyaging Vegans, I just watch this video and loved it. I am currently going electric and would like to ask you some questions if you wouldn't mind messaging me.
We plan to have 3 times that battery power, plus it's rare we would go full throttle, most likely under half throttle most of the time. Plus we have solar & regen so the batteries recharge while sailing :)
@@BethanyIvy Regen will be minimal. As much solar as poss and back off the throttle and use sail (obviously) whenever possible. For comparison my 26 ft Victoria 800, 3.5 ton, used 1kW in calm conditions @ 4 knots. It was all good fun. Converted her with direct drive Lynch at 24V, 8 years ago. A sail auxiliary rather than prime mover. 48 V at 2:1 would have been nice but that meant more cost in batteries. I started with AGM but ended up with lithiums. Good times. Now sold, onto electric mountain bikes now. 😏
way cheaper and more sustainable, you buy a three-phase motor in your next door for 50$ and you make a DIY three-phase AC rectifier and use a DC-AC inverter with second hand batteries. and way cheaper AND NORMAL (GREANER?), you use a pneumatic turbine to attach to the propeller and butane tanks and fill the tanks with a DIY vertical axis savonius turbine attached to a compressor
Golf cart 220 amp 6 volts Trojan clones are popular lead acid battery .They are good for 550 cycles deep cycles 80% or more than 1000 partial 50% cycles . They need topping up with water but are tough as nails However you need 8 of them to do 48 volts . At 100 amps you get 5 kilowatts for one hour 60% discharge and go about 5 NM at 5 knots tides and winds depending . However day time with solar panel should be able to get about 2 knots for 5 hours of sunny day. . Good if you can to get old 2 stroke 10 hp outboard to help in sticky situations and useful for tender for boat. My plan for my 30ft deep keel narrow beam 1969 ssil boat is to hetba 24 volt electric out board and 4 of thr 220 amp 6 volt golf cart batteries.That will make about 2.5 kilowatt or about the same thrust on the prop as 5 hp outboard . That should in calm waters pushme at 3.5 knots full tilt 100 amps or 2.5 knots at 50 amps .Then with 500 watts of 4 of the 120 watt 12 volt panels might be able to get 1.5 knots with solar power. for 5 hours midday times. I will still keep my 13 hp 2006 era yanmar 2ym 15 oily for heavy weather If the inboard breaks complrtly i will probably opt to get a second hand old 10 HP 2 stroke outboard as back up and make a well for it in back hatch aft of the spade rudder.. For me the cost to do the bigger solutions with inboard electric and lithuim and the rest isnt looking intetesting..for my small budget. Keep us posted and good luck
bonjour, pouvez vous me renseigné s'il vous plait je recherche un moteur diy pas cher,voici les caractéristiques du bateau type:vedette modéle:sundowner 205 constructeur:four wins année:2003 poids:1T800 longeur de coque:6,15 métres largeur de coque:2,45 métres moteur inboard fixe volvo modele 225cv puissance en kw 165,6 puissance en cv 24 je ne cherche pas la vitesse mais un moteur avec du couple,je navigue en mer et lac,navigation plaisance,type de recharge quai, j'ai un budget assez limité si vous pouvez m'orientez vers un moteur pas trop cher s'il vous plait. merci bonne journée
Hi Sherine, we just kept searching on eBay until we found something affordable. Maybe you can find something on there too? We're not experts so can't advise on the best motor for your boat. All the best with your search.
Sorry the delivery driver that brought the motor was eating a hamburger on the drive to your stop. You should notate down the line of everything you buy that no one should be eating meat while they stock or deliver your vegan foods or new boat parts. It’s a tall order but I think if we all try we can get to true vegan one day.
Great video!!! i love that you are not hiding the changes that you had on the "way" I think a lot of people would only show the results without the problems that are bund to be there!!
Thank you :)
Guys I don’t wanna discourage what you’ve done but that 5Kw motor isn’t nearly powerful enough to push your displacement. Keep in mind your testing in no wind and no current and no waves. Out on open waters if you need motor or you have an emergency, that motor won’t move that hull. With sailing and liveaboards redundancy is imperative and safety is paramount. In a head on 20knot wind with 2meter waves you’ll be going in reverse at full power 5Kw at 48 Volts is avg 6hp., Abd the amount of battery you’d burn would be staggering. With a 6 battery setup in ‘ series ‘ confined to 48volt you’d have about 1.5-2hrs of useable power at 3/4 max throttle
Your boat is 15,000+ lbs displacement if fibreglass and around 21k-24k if steel
You need a minimum of 13hp to achieve 5knots and that’s at full throttle
That hull is rated for a 23hp minimum to a 36hp recommended. I have the Volvo 18hp 2cyl and a few weeks back in Lake Erie in 20 knot winds and 6-8ft seas I was maxing at 5.5-6knots head in wind
The reason I’m telling you the numbers and details is there are MANY situations where your motor is your LIFELINE. IF it’s not reliable or powerful enough you could easily find yourself praying you live.out the situation I love the fact you guys are fossil fuel conscious, but don’t jeopardize your life on it. An alternative to the noisy inboard diesel ,, which I hate is a stern drive mounted outboard of around 25-40hp ( welded on a lift bracket ) or if you really want electric the Bellmarine Torquemaster variants are the best, but silly expensive
I strongly suggest going back to diesel with a Yanmar or Volvo 18-28hp diesel or an Atomic 4 gas and just don’t use it unless you need to. At least you know in an emergency you have the power to outrun a storm or make safe harbour. You can pick up a warrantied used motor for around $2500-4000. Depending on brand and specs.
If you were closer I’d sell you my Volvo 18hp model D1-20 ( 310hrs on it ) as I’m upgrading to the Volvo D1-30 ( 28hp ) as I plan a Pacific crossing in Spring, and the Panama Canal adventure. Take Care guys.
ps. Keep in mind my comments and suggestions are based on experience and safety and things I’ve been taught. Doesn’t mean it’s dead-on accurate
Thanks for the comments Chris. The motor is capable of delivering up to 12kw for short bursts in an emergency. There's been boats bigger than ours with an equivalent sized motor, such as Sailing Uma, who have used their 5kw motor for five years without issue. We're aware of the limitations our motor has and will plan our passages accordingly and with safety in mind. Plus, if at any point we decide we want something more powerful, our setup is capable of taking a motor twice the size. So not to worry, we'll be careful and upgrade if needed! :)
@@BethanyIvy you seem to be using a belt already, so you could also upgrade by adding a second identical motor. (And a third...) That may sometimes be way cheaper than one bigger motor and especially with bldc motors syncing is no problem. Nice setup!
@@OlafFichtner Thanks for the suggestion!
Very inspiring as I sit here with my seized diesel engine on my narrowboat !! 48 volts and water cooled a must so I hear ...
Same. I have a project boat with an atomic 4 gas I want to rip and replace with electric. Mostly because the prices for resale of inboards are INSANE.
You see anything on the used market?
Because the prices for the new electrics are double INSANE. What do they think these motors are made of?
Exactly what I was looking for!!
Subscription earned, what a likeable couple🙂
i sized a system for a Grinde 27, using one of the newer axial flux motors and got the pack down to 24V ( 25.6Vnom ).....that's the gold, because the system can still be electrically floating..
On Salt, anything over 25.6Vnom ( up to 51.2V Max nominal Li-Ion ), you really need the center tap sea ground, to center reference the pack;
but as soon as you put in a sea ground, you need faraday cages, and a way to rote lightning current to sidarcs..
Veganism with Sailing earned you my subscription.
Aw thank you!
Those motors are great for sailboats they put out 10 horsepower that's a lot of horsepower coming from that little small motor they're quite expensive 5 to $600 for a brand new one but well worth it they will push a boat along pretty good because they have a lot of torque and like I said 10 horsepower is enough to push your boat along pretty decent if you don't want to go water skiing but I've seen them on little small boats and people actually water ski behind them
Great Job! Might want to add a belt tensioner at some point to help with belt stretch :)
Great idea, thanks! :)
@@BethanyIvy When you add one, also be sure to move those metal brackets, they are going to cut that belt in no time. Even after that be sure to have a spare belt on board.
Be sure to get the batteries sooner than later. Mixing different batteries with different charges is fine for testing but not for actual use.
And if you place the batteries in front of the motor be sure to add a ledge so they can not slide into the motor and add terminal covers to all terminals so you can access the motor without the risk of creating a short with your body(it will hurt) or any tools(they may cause fire and may even be welded on there and "may cause" will turn in "will cause")
(I do like to say "be sure" right? xD)
If you fix those points you will have a nice system going 👍
Lovely conversion, would love to know how it is holding up now three years down the line (and if you would have done anything differently if you did it again?) - Currently building a similar setup but using two 10Kw brush-less (water cooled) motors instead as my boat is a bit heavier. Just posted the first episode on TH-cam of the motor housing design if interested. Keep the good videos flowing:) Thanks!
Thanks! We ended up having to replace the controller, there's a video of the new installation on the channel if you want to check it out. Plus we'll be replacing the plywood mount with a metal one. Good luck with your project! :)
If you increase the Mah per battery it will increase the overall motor output and maximize energy output as well. Also look into a small water pump and some rubber and copper tubing to make a water cooler for the electric motor and controller. Will also help maximize power and help with gains instead of losses.
Thank you for the tips! :)
this is the way to go on a Sailboat i strongly suggest a Honda Inverter/ generator to keep your batteries charged up as they have a 12 volt outlet and you can even purchase a harness with battery clips to charge up or will run a DC. battery charger my next Sailboati plan on doing a similar conversion they are quiet ,reliable , and fairly reasonably priced to do why did i mention Honda ? i’ve owned them and they are Quiet , Reliable , and sort of easy to find parts for World Wide none of my generators ever needed major repairs with normal maintenance either ,the negative of Honda’s are the overall cost of purchase price
Its a great idea, and execution. I'm trying to find here in Brazil one similar project. How its the electric motor work with all wheather condiction that you faced until now? Thanks for sharing.
So far it's coping fine but we haven't been out in many different weather conditions yet!
@@BethanyIvy Tks for replying, what is the specification of the electric motor (Watts and voltage), and how many Amper/hour using on battery set? Regards
@@renanfornasier1725 It's a 5kw 48v motor, currently we only have a 90 amp hour battery bank with 45 of that being usable. But we will be upgrading soon before doing longer passages.
I am so into what you all are doing. I asked around and some outfits wanted over $25,000 USD to install an electric motor. I call that insanity.
Wow, that's crazy! Hope you find a cheaper way of doing it :)
there may be some provisions, in the emerging code, having to do with connections; which may allow for higher voltages than 51.2Vnom.
but i think that center tap sea ground may have to be there, at some point; for packs over 25.6Vnom.....and the same connection code Might allow for floating packs, under those regulations, which are a little higher than 25.6Vnom.
Interesting, but im going to use an Oceanvolt system as they generate power using propeller when under sail
Would be cool to see the arduino schema . Loving the huge savings you made. What did you for the voltage/current limit on the board?
Can I use a big knife switch and connect the motor directly to the batteries?
This is a very interesting conversion project. Seems so well suited to a wind powered boat. Now if only someone would "invent" a solar panel that doubles as a sail, your charging issues would evaporate overnight. There is a flexible panel material available now, but I doubt it would hold up to wind.... Oh, and the title of your channel gave me a smile... How absolutely "stereotypical" of Vegans to announce their food choices to others! A friendly wave to you, from Cowichan Bay Village BC Canada.
On racing some racing sailboats, they do incorporate flexible solar panels into the sails, but at the present time flexible panels have very short service lives, under a year. Not ready for prime time.
@@MarkWilliams-ix1qf I for one, look forward to the panels being ready. I remember when I first saw flexible or "roll up" panels on TH-cam, and about a year or so later, they were available in the local big box hardware store. Imagine going camping with a tent made of such a fabric. How nice that would be!
Wow, lucky of you to have found that motor! We hope to be as lucky :). Thank you for the inspiration, it is giving us the confidence to go forward with our own conversion, also... we have never met other sailing vegans haha, happy to have found you two. Will be keeping up with your adventures, in food and sailing!
So glad it helped and best of luck with your conversion! We also haven't met many sailing vegans haha
@@BethanyIvy We're vegans, too!
@@Mafiakitty Yay!
Can you please tell me the name for each parts of the gear reduction.Looking to make my own like you guy's thank you in advance.
I'm a bit late to the party, but I'm doing a similar conversion and would love to know more about the motor specs
Thank you for the great video! How much did you end up spending on batteries in the future after this video? Are you still using that same motor?
I think it was about £500 for four AGM batteries. Still using the same motor but had to replace the controller, I have a more recent video about it.
Love this! I am purchasing a boat with a similar set up, but installed very poorly and without proper batteries. I want to do 48VDC with solar charging, would you share your set-up specs and experiences?
Our setup isn't anything special right now, we still just have a few old lead acid batteries. We have 800W of solar and a charge controller from eBay. We plan to upgrade the battery bank to AGMs when we can afford it! It's all working fine so far though, much more reliable than our old diesel.
Not even going to read the comments I can hear the safety police and the people that want it over done screaming just do what you Gotta do love it
Thank you - most of the comments have actually been very supportive!
How many hps does this motor have? And what kind of motor is this?
Very nice conversion and good skills
It's a 5kw BLDC motor from Mars Electric (now known as Motenergy)
And thank you! :)
Did a conversation.
5 kw = 6.7 horse power
But that's just engine power. Electric motors have higher torque than equivalent petrolium engines because there's less friction, less heat loss. Less losses basically.
@@sausage6984 there max torque is instantaneous too from 0 revs !
How do you charge the batteries , ?
What capacity is your battery bank ?
Led batteries , you drawing 50a with 300 ah you have 2 hours of running time ,if you don't run the batteries down to damage them. ?
We have 800W of solar to charge the batteries. We're planning to start with 120Ah at 48v (AGM batteries) and maybe upgrade later on.
A chain would be nosier, but hardier and potentially repairable. Just food for thought :) Also.....I hope those batteries were rated for that amp draw, because if not, you basically just did the same thing that cause early mechanical vaporizers to become hand grenades. That controller probably saved your life.
Thanks for the tip, we're aware of that and have checked our batteries :)
Great spend so far. I guess if you are only going with lead batteries your range won’t be very far, though should get you in and out of the harbour....it is a sailing boat after all
Some observations.
That very thin ply plate, can’t see that lasting long under full power.
Have you used coated cables?
I have been following a electric conversion thread on the Junk Rig Facebook, worth a look if you haven’t seen it.
One thing they mentioned is the power cables and fittings, they take a lot of current, so need to be up to the job.
Is your propeller matched to the power and rotation speed of the new motor.
I would make sure all the electrics are as high up as possible, and protected from any splashes when it gets rough and there is water in the bilge. With a longer belt, the motor could be higher?
Hope you find this helpful.
Keep up the good work, and I look forward to hearing more.
Thanks for all the tips! It's not obvious in the video but there is a metal plate behind the plywood so it should be sturdy enough. Also there's lots of space below the motor to the bilge so no risk of getting the motor wet :)
It is an interesting point about water. Are you able to put the motor in a waterproof housing? Where it is located means that when you do get water in your bilges (which you will), it will likely get splashed by water as you go through swell and waves. The same might also apply to the battery bank when you decide on location - probably best to go with sealed units ⛵️
@@1962gms the prob with enclosing the motor is overheating needs to be open ideally
Hello, my name is Martin I'm doing the electric conversion diy as you. I'm wonder where do you buy the shaft extention and the pulleys?
I almost saw my boat.....I'm in the marina next to you :-) I know a guy who has done the same he has 8 x 130ah batteries and well........He needed to be towed back with a dingy last week.
Not 100% sure what happened. Can you guys get the CoffeeCo wifi from there?
Oh cool! Nope no wifi in range from here :(
@@BethanyIvy Your pretty close so you could try something like this it's a wifi range extender its £116.51. The batton connects from say the coffee shop wifi to the mini router. then your devices connect to the mini router. You can mount the wifi batton to suction cups using cable ties then attach it to your spinnaker pole to get the height. Just remember to take it down while sailing.
The coffee shop wifi is unlocked so if you "borrow" movies from the internet the download speeds are great. coffeecoguest is the password. During lockdown I sat on the benches outside to use the internet.
Also, I recommend never to admit you live on your boat as many marinas. (including yours) don't allow them. I know people might spend a lot of time. There was a bit of a round-up about 2 years ago at your marina a few people were asked to leave. onboard.....something to do with council tax, commercial waste
www.amazon.co.uk/Alfa-WiFi-Camp-Pro-camper-solution/dp/B07JBBCDD2/ref=sr_1_13?crid=28F7P2B1WXTJY&dchild=1&keywords=wifi+booster+camping&qid=1603397624&sprefix=wifi+booster+campi%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-13
@@serenitycoastUK that range extender sounds dear ?
Can’t wait till I do the same on mine !
Good luck with it! :)
@@BethanyIvy thanks, I’ve just discovered your channel so will be binge watching ... so no spoilers ! P.S. I just missed out on two identical motors on eBay for £300 for the pair 😭
@@SailingPuffin Bad luck, hope you find something else soon! Enjoy the videos :)
Great job guys... looks like you're making good progress! And for not a lot of money :-) I'll be curious to see how it does with the full battery bank. Do you have a meter to tell you how much charge is left in the batteries? I'm sure you've thought of it, but that's something you'll probably want to make sure you don't get stranded with no power.
Thanks! Yes, the battery monitor shown in the video shows our current draw and also how many amp hours we have remaining. Very handy! :)
What made you choose to go 2:1 rather than direct drive ? Is the motor not working twice as hard and using more amps to spin the propeller ?
Interested in this as well... I guess the torque is doubled this way, which may be necessary not to overload the motor?
When we researched how we should drive the prop shaft, it was recommended that most sailboats benefit from 2:1 reduction... half the prop speed but twice the torque. There are some calculations you could do to figure out the best ratio for your boat based on weight, prop size and prop pitch, but we don't know the exact prop specs since the boat is in the water. So we went with what's most common, and if we find it's not optimal for our boat we can easily change out the pulleys for a different ratio in the future :)
Considering installing an electric motor in my boat as well. Are you happy with the Arduino to control the motor? Would you rather have gone with an off the shelf controller instead? Thanks for sharing.
The controller we have is an off the shelf one, the arduino just controls the engine panel. We're only using it because with the way our controller is programmed, we'd otherwise have to press three different switches to turn on the motor! So the arduino simplifies things because we only have to turn the key and that's it. We've been very happy with it so far. Good luck if you decide to convert your boat! :)
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I bought project boat recently with what appears to be the same motor and controller retrofitted. The physical installation was completed but not the wiring. The controller is made by Sevcon but I can't make out the motor manufacturer and model. Any information you can share on your motor would be greatly appreciated i.e. manufacturer and model? DC or AC? Series- or shunt-wound? wiring schematic? etc. Thanks again and good luck.
It's a DC motor but not sure about the other things...if it's the same motor as ours then contact Mot Energy, they can give you the specs.
Great work, thanks for sharing.
Thank you! :)
Nice progress👍
Thank you! :)
Thanks for the video. I have a atomic 4 gas I want to rip and replace with electric. I think I can do this BUT you lost me at "I built and soldered my own controller board" 😬😬😬
Haha Johnathan always has to try and outdo everyone else ;) ~ Beth
@@BethanyIvy Haha. We are still lost in the middle of our conversion. I am trying to source a bearing. Did yours work well? There are several types and not sure what will work
Very ingenious. You found a bargain motor and controller. I'm not sure a custom Arduino controller is something the average sailor could build, but you apparently did. I do hope the motor is brushless, otherwise it is a source of spark and you must not use any gasoline or propane onboard.
Thank you, yes it is brushless!
@@BethanyIvy
As some one else suggested the characteristics of your prop need to be different for electric motors compared to an ICE motor.. as it produces its torque more or less from go..
The diameter and sharpness of the blades will also affect the performance and current consumption .. high pitch gives more torque but finer pitch should give you more speed quicker acceleration especially if you can use the E motors free revving nature.
th-cam.com/video/4OLbLei-7CQ/w-d-xo.html
If you find you dont have enough power as you've used a drive pulley via belt you can mount double motors side by side in a V formation.. its common practice in aero modeling where we gang multiple motors together via a belt drive gearbox to swing oversized props using modest size and priced motors.
If you dont want to run regen or cannot then a folding prop will reduce drag.
Sailing Umas early expts might help you.🤞🏻⛵👨🔧🤗
Good job. How far can you travel on a full charge and at what average speed? Do you resize/repitch the prop? What is it equivalent of motor KW power to diesel engine HP? Thank you.
We haven't had much opportunity to give it a full test yet due to lockdown, but will give an update in future videos. Travelling at low speeds uses much less power, so we could probably go almost indefinitely on the lowest setting by running straight off the solar.
Great stuff... I hope to do this with a 31' Pierson presently motorized with a 4.5 HP Atomic gas engine. Also, I'd like to rid the vessel of its rudder steerage and replace it with a 'Wheel'. Doable? Thanks, Ken ... happy sailing.
Thank you, good luck with your conversion! :) Adding a wheel is definitely doable, though we decided against it because a tiller is simpler and less prone to steering failure.
Have you considered adding a alternator to the motor to aid power generation
The electric motor itself works as a generator under sail because the prop spins in the water.
@@BethanyIvy that's good was just thinking for when you motor.
@@sorehammer no unfortunately it wouldn't work, it would consume more power than it produces
Isn't it so that you would go twice as fast if the motor was connected directly to the propeller shaft instead of the gear reduction?
The motor would spin twice as fast but that wouldn't double the boat speed I don't think! I seem to remember we used the gear reduction because the prop etc weren't designed to spin that quickly, but I may be wrong...my ex-partner did the conversion so I'm not the expert.
@@BethanyIvy you might be right
Is it turning the same direction as before? Maneuvering will be different otherwise :)
Of course!
What kind of Electronics are you using to display the throttle?
Using an Arduino based microcontroller (ATMega328p). Was going to use the OLED display which you can see in the video, but turns out it's not bright enough so replaced it with an LED matrix. Will likely do a video showing that soon :)
Are you using the direct output of the throttle or some output of the Sevcon?
Wow what a fantastic video ....clever boy Johnathan ! Thanks for sharing . BtW did i miss the thrust block set up ? Regards Terry
Thank you! There's a very short clip in there installing the thrust bearing, unfortunately we didn't film any more from that angle
1.5 knots for 400W. You may get 3 knots at 800W of solar you have on a very sunny day. I'd consider doubling your solar as sailing performance also improves if you can motor sail at low power on solar to eliminate propeller drag or point higher with some thrust. And more solar means less load on batteries so they last longer. High current draw is what reduces battery cycle life significantly. If you can afford them Lead Carbon or LiFEPO4 are better for your current draw requirements than those lead acid you show here.
Thanks, yes we're hoping to find a good deal on LiFePo4 as this would work best for our setup. :)
So happy and excited for you both. Can't wait for the next video 💚✌️
Thank you! :)
Nice video. What resources have you been using for research? Would love to replace the stinking 4 litre Perkins on ours but suspect it would be virtually impossible without breaking the bank.
Recognised the flats straight away 🤣 we’re at CYC. 👍🏻
Thank you! Just did a lot of google searching and referring to recommendations from sailboat motor companies. Also it helped learning about the experiences of others who have done the same with comparable sized boats and motors, such as Sailing Uma :)
I'm new subscriber, what is your boat? displacement? hp of old engine? I'm looking for probably 10, to 15 kwh. replacing 36hp old Volvo. what prop do you have? expect any regen?
Boat is a Roberts 34, displacement about 5 tons. The old engine was 48hp, which was way too big for the boat. We have a fixed three blade prop, hoping for some regen but haven't been able to test it out yet.
I have several DC motors laying around up to one horsepower do you know what the approximate RPM would need to be on the motor?
Ours goes up to 2000rpm but not sure what you would need for your purposes - it will differ based on the boat.
That is awesome!!
Wood for mounting the motor - did it work? Looks so fragile.
Yes it's backed with a metal plate so it's stronger than it looks. Will likely also add a layer of epoxy for longevity :)
@@BethanyIvy and fiberglass
I don't see the plywood holding up .
We're planning to replace it with metal, it's just temporary
Yes ,but not enough solar to charge the batteries in a timely manner,i would have kept the diesel motor ,couple that to the electric motor
Generator, a hybrid,and would charge your batteries,🙂
What is the autonomy? How many miles do you get with your battery bank?
We haven't bought our battery bank yet, currently just using the starter & leisure batteries that we already had, so not getting a lot of miles at the moment. But it's still enough to get in & out of the marina and down the river. Will have another video about our batteries when we get them! :)
@@BethanyIvy thanks! Best regards!
Last thing needed is a good diesel generator to recharge the batteries !!
couple panels and a wind generator should do the trick
I get the satire, seemingly skeptical.
There's a lot of factors. Ups and downs to liquid fuel and electric.
Great project.
@@sausage6984 well a generator would be handy just in case 🤔
@@rhett7716 agreed
@@rhett7716 and a back outboard
why add the complexity of the belt drive or just go direct drive
Can you let me know where to get the pulley kit from?
We got them from BearingsRUs, we bought the parts separately rather than getting a kit
Lovely!
Wow!!!
Hello guys. Just amazing channel. My wife and I we just get a sailboat and also we are look for “green Sailboat”
We are refit our sailboat right now here in Mallorca, by the way you guys are really welcome to visit us.
I love do this project in our sailboat, can you help us?
Thanks a loooooot
Thanks so much, we'd love to visit Mallorca sometime! Not sure we can help from this far away, but hope you manage to do the project!
Hey Voyaging Vegans, I just watch this video and loved it. I am currently going electric and would like to ask you some questions if you wouldn't mind messaging me.
Hi, so glad you liked the video. We don't currently have messaging turned on but feel free to leave your questions here and we'll get back to you! :)
How much does your boat weigh wet?
Not sure to be honest! The weight listed in the specs is about 5 tons I think
A 110 Ah 48V battery should run at 100A for around 30 minutes ... does not sound very practicable to me ...
We plan to have 3 times that battery power, plus it's rare we would go full throttle, most likely under half throttle most of the time. Plus we have solar & regen so the batteries recharge while sailing :)
@@BethanyIvy Regen will be minimal. As much solar as poss and back off the throttle and use sail (obviously) whenever possible. For comparison my 26 ft Victoria 800, 3.5 ton, used 1kW in calm conditions @ 4 knots. It was all good fun. Converted her with direct drive Lynch at 24V, 8 years ago. A sail auxiliary rather than prime mover. 48 V at 2:1 would have been nice but that meant more cost in batteries. I started with AGM but ended up with lithiums. Good times. Now sold, onto electric mountain bikes now. 😏
@@JohnRushworth what was yr range like on lithiums John? how many ah ?
@@rhett7716 Depends on conditions and speed, but calm at 4 knots, 1kW. So with 200Ah @24V and not full depletion then around 16 nm.
way cheaper and more sustainable, you buy a three-phase motor in your next door for 50$ and you make a DIY three-phase AC rectifier and use a DC-AC inverter with second hand batteries. and way cheaper AND NORMAL (GREANER?), you use a pneumatic turbine to attach to the propeller and butane tanks and fill the tanks with a DIY vertical axis savonius turbine attached to a compressor
You are a few steps ahead of me and my partner's dreams in owning an electric sailboat what
Good luck with your boat! :)
A bimini,with 8 200 watts panels and 48 volts with a lithium bank and you are off grid and diesel fumes fre
Go on solar power Bank on top
Yes our batteries are recharged using the solar panels and so far it's working great! Will have another video soon about our solar setup :)
@@BethanyIvy thank you for comment.
could you change recording system, microphone especially. the sound is very bad
Low energy, everyone sounds half asleep!!
meeeeeet moooo
what a beefy job¡¡
Golf cart 220 amp 6 volts Trojan clones are popular lead acid battery .They are good for 550 cycles deep cycles 80% or more than 1000 partial 50% cycles . They need topping up with water but are tough as nails
However you need 8 of them to do 48 volts .
At 100 amps you get 5 kilowatts for one hour 60% discharge and go about 5 NM at 5 knots tides and winds depending .
However day time with solar panel should be able to get about 2 knots for 5 hours of sunny day. .
Good if you can to get old 2 stroke 10 hp outboard to help in sticky situations and useful for tender for boat.
My plan for my 30ft deep keel narrow beam 1969 ssil boat is to hetba 24 volt electric out board and 4 of thr 220 amp 6 volt golf cart batteries.That will make about 2.5 kilowatt or about the same thrust on the prop as 5 hp outboard . That should in calm waters pushme at 3.5 knots full tilt 100 amps or 2.5 knots at 50 amps .Then with 500 watts of 4 of the 120 watt 12 volt panels might be able to get 1.5 knots with solar power. for 5 hours midday times.
I will still keep my 13 hp 2006 era yanmar 2ym 15 oily for heavy weather
If the inboard breaks complrtly i will probably opt to get a second hand old 10 HP 2 stroke outboard as back up and make a well for it in back hatch aft of the spade rudder..
For me the cost to do the bigger solutions with inboard electric and lithuim and the rest isnt looking intetesting..for my small budget.
Keep us posted and good luck
Thanks for the tips and best of luck with your boat!
10:1 to 20:1 is a far better ratio, yours is just to small, your working your motor too hard at that low ratio!
You're entitled to your opinion but it always worked fine for us!
bonjour,
pouvez vous me renseigné s'il vous plait je recherche un moteur diy pas cher,voici les caractéristiques du bateau
type:vedette
modéle:sundowner 205
constructeur:four wins
année:2003
poids:1T800
longeur de coque:6,15 métres
largeur de coque:2,45 métres
moteur inboard fixe volvo modele 225cv puissance en kw 165,6 puissance en cv 24
je ne cherche pas la vitesse mais un moteur avec du couple,je navigue en mer et lac,navigation plaisance,type de recharge quai,
j'ai un budget assez limité si vous pouvez m'orientez vers un moteur pas trop cher s'il vous plait.
merci
bonne journée
Hi Sherine, we just kept searching on eBay until we found something affordable. Maybe you can find something on there too? We're not experts so can't advise on the best motor for your boat. All the best with your search.
welcome to the world of electronics ....please don't for get about fossil fuels
She is a very sweet girl, but it is hard to understand her voice sometimes because of its pitch.
Sorry the delivery driver that brought the motor was eating a hamburger on the drive to your stop. You should notate down the line of everything you buy that no one should be eating meat while they stock or deliver your vegan foods or new boat parts. It’s a tall order but I think if we all try we can get to true vegan one day.
Let the man eat he might not even have a lunch break
PETA, People eating tasty animals.