switching from 1GM to electric

Aug 24, 2016
45
Hunter 1981 Hunter 27 Saint Petersburg, Florida
About ready to switch from diesel to electric and thought about posting here see if anybody wants 1GM yanmar engine and everything that comes with it including fuel tank, hoses and such.
Im in Tampa Bay area. Engine works fine, starts and runs every time, I just prefer electric and avoid engine smell.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
When you pull all the weight of the engine, wire, etc. off the boat how much weight in batteries takes its place?
 
Jan 24, 2009
450
1981 Cherubini Hunter 27 Shipwright Harbor Marina, MD
There was an article in Good Old Boat magazine by someone who did this to their boat. You can get reprints of articles from them, might be good background for your project.
 
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Jun 8, 2004
994
C&C Frigate 36 St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
Very cool! Please post about the conversion here in the Cherubini forum.
 
Mar 4, 2017
40
Hunter 27 Cherubini Seabrook, TX.
About ready to switch from diesel to electric and thought about posting here see if anybody wants 1GM yanmar engine and everything that comes with it including fuel tank, hoses and such.
Im in Tampa Bay area. Engine works fine, starts and runs every time, I just prefer electric and avoid engine smell.
Are you wanting to sell it, or just get rid of it?
 
Jan 24, 2009
450
1981 Cherubini Hunter 27 Shipwright Harbor Marina, MD
Here's a link that talks about what they did and why, also has links to other sites and a forum that discusses it: http://www.sailinguma.com/electro-beke/#why-electric

Too me it looks like if you can figure it out yourself, if might be cheap enough to do, but the quotes they posted for turnkey systems are way more than I would be willing to spend. Coupled with getting about 30 hours of motoring out of a full tank of fuel, I'm not certain that this would make sense for me at the moment, but it is cool that the market may get there.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
30 hours of motoring... That's enough to get me out to the Pacific from in the Puget Sound but not enough to get back to port.
 
Jun 5, 2010
1,107
Hunter 25 Burlington NJ
I looked into this for Diana and concluded that electric propulsion is an overcomplicated mess for a small boat.

How will you charge the batteries? Like the Prius you still need a secondary system for charging; so in effect you need two engine systems on the boat. Why not just hook up a propeller to the charging engine that you need anyway and do away with the redundant electrical system? [brainstorm! :dancing:]

Consider the weight. The batteries are heavy; the propulsion motor, while not large, adds some weight; there is still a bronze prop, strut, and stuffing box; and then there's the generator/charger, its fuel tank and its (necessarily overlarge) alternator. And you're going to fit that into an already-cramped boat?

If you do any regulat motoring at all, solar panels and wind turbines are not enough to keep the propulsion motors' batteries topped-off, least of all the house bank(s). I looked into this and was told by one of the expert techs at Annapolis that 'it's not worth it' to install a wind fan. The guy literally told me to go get two 50-amp solar panels with which I'd have 'more than enough' power.

For me the real attraction is to be able to fit a sail-drive-type strut and prop so as to locate the propulsion system a little far aft and a little to one side as can fit best inside the boat. I even investigated the old OMC saildrive which was, in theory, very tidy and, in reality, a mechanical/maintenance nightmare. I am left with the original transom-mounted outboard setup which, while not elegant and not even very practical, is at least budget-friendly, simple mechanically, and easy to run, maintain and live with (1 qt/hr consumption + 12-gal tank = 48 hrs' straight running time, not counting 2-gal reserve. Beat that with any 25-ft sailboat!).

My best option would be a small diesel with which I can have a big alternator, cabin heat, hot water, and a clean transom, not to mention better fore-and-aft weight distribution. If you have this already, I envy you. :cool: