Hi all, it has been about 4 months since I converted my Catalina's Atomic Bomb to Electric propulsion. The ingredients were, 9hp AC brush less motor, Charger, 4 AGM Batteries, Throttle, and a computer control/display and of course various cables etc. Although its too soon to know in the long run whether a good or bad investment (reliability) I do want to say that the performance of this installation has been outstanding. What I like is the instant on power, motor sailing against the tides, no refueling, simplicity of the operation and being able to customize the throttle settings. What my wife likes, No noise, no exhaust, no fumes, no oily bilges. Everyone always wants to know the range, it depends on the throttle setting and the type of prop installed. I am working the numbers and hope to post them soon but I get a top speed of 6 knts at full throttle and based on how I use the boat mainly coastal and bay sailing. I have to work hard to get the battery charge below 50%, mainly because I use the motor to get out of the marina and sail everywhere else but have motor sailed out of South San Diego Bay which is roughly 7 miles against the tide. While sailing the prop starts to trail and at 4.25 knts the motor acts like a generator and recharges the batteries. I bought a Honda 2000 generator for AC power and once charged the batteries from a 64% charge to 100% (2 hours) at a overnight anchorage. Anyhow, if anyone has any questions on the performance or the installation please ask, I am interested in other electric conversions.
Electric Motor conversion
- Thread starter MPAPC4
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Any idea on what this type of installation has cost? Would this be a viable alternative to replacing an engine? How does the weight compare to a diesel or gas engine?
Foolproof
The cost does depends on whether you buy a complete system from a vendor and have it installed or buy the parts and do the installation yourself. I spent about $2600.00 on my C27 conversion, assembled and installed myself. Weight depends on the battery bank size. My conversion weighed a little less than the A4 and full gas tank it replaced.
Doug
The cost does depends on whether you buy a complete system from a vendor and have it installed or buy the parts and do the installation yourself. I spent about $2600.00 on my C27 conversion, assembled and installed myself. Weight depends on the battery bank size. My conversion weighed a little less than the A4 and full gas tank it replaced.
Doug
I've toyed with the idea of converting my C27 to electric, and after spending another weekend replacing the exhaust manifold, I'm getting really tired of jacking with engine stuff when I want to sail. Don't get me wrong, the M18 is an awesome little engine, but it is 28 years old and I think of how much room I would gain by ditching the fuel tank, exhaust and such, and I am landlocked, not oceanside.
Ditto.....A few years back a boat neighbor did just what you did with his old C-30 .
At the time he had to do a lot of research to find everything he needed. But now if you google "electric boat propulsion systems" you can get a good selection of some very nice setups. Even west marine now carries out boards and some inboard conversion kit options. Pretty cool!
I went to Electric Yachts online, it was a kit sans the batteries and battery cables. There are various choices of batteries out there, I went with the 4 AGM 12volt 200 AH (8a4d) Delco. they are heavy, i placed two where the fuel tank was and two by the motor. The motor is only 50 lbs and the atomic was about 340 lbs, ea battery is over 125 lbs so it nearly replaced the weight that was in the boat, good news is that I carried the weight fwd by a few inches which is closer to the mast. the entire installation not including the preparation was 2.5 days, the motor mount that comes with the kit fits right in the exact same spot as the atomic foundation pads sat, alignment to the shaft was easy. I did change the prop, went to a 13x12 two blade bronze which drags more but that was the point. I just finished the beer can season and placed 8th, I would have placed higher but I have inconsistent crew so the bigger prop doesnt slow me down.
Forgot, the AGM batteries are maintenance free, and can be installed at angles, the standard wet lead acid batteries are the cheapest but you have to keep the water level up. The other choice was Lith or Nicad, all out of my price range. The Motor kit which included the Motor, Controls, computer and cables cost me $4k, AGM batteries were $425 ea, the charger which is a programmable charger was about $380, battery cables which were built on the spot were $150. As far as cost, I think I went medium, there are options and could have saved another $800 dollars.
Shipwreck66
I was a diesel mechanic in the Navy (24 yrs), I also had my outboard certification for both Merc's Evenrude/Johnsons. I just got tired of spending a lot of time working on the engines, fuel systems fuel tanks so when the Atomic 4 blew a head gasket and the sump filled with salt water I was going to replace the engine with a zero hour engine from Moyer Marine until I found the ad for the electric power conversion from Electric Yachts, based on my use of the boat it made perfect sense. If and when I get a blue water boat, I may do the same. The Universal diesels are simple so keep what you have until it gives up the ghost and then decide.
I was a diesel mechanic in the Navy (24 yrs), I also had my outboard certification for both Merc's Evenrude/Johnsons. I just got tired of spending a lot of time working on the engines, fuel systems fuel tanks so when the Atomic 4 blew a head gasket and the sump filled with salt water I was going to replace the engine with a zero hour engine from Moyer Marine until I found the ad for the electric power conversion from Electric Yachts, based on my use of the boat it made perfect sense. If and when I get a blue water boat, I may do the same. The Universal diesels are simple so keep what you have until it gives up the ghost and then decide.
MPAPC4: Thanks for the info. I think all of us would like one day switch to something that is simpler, less maintenance & cleaner. I too would like to do this one day. Hopefully the battery technology will get a lil cheaper by the time my lil diesel decides to die. Mine is 32 years old & already on its 2nd rebuild. Unitl now I figured there wasn't a battery bank out there that would power an electric engine capable of moving a haus of a boat like ours. Can you post some pics? Ps. Do you still keep a seperate house battery bank for your electric needs while on the hook overnight? Cheers.
That neighbor friend that did the electric conversion on his C-30 Kept his house bank the same and seperate from the 4 new optima yellow tops installed for the new 48v electric motor setup. He has a 48v to 12v charger so has he sails the spinning prop charges 48v bank and then whats left over gets put into the 12v house bank. He has a small honda gen he was keeping on board at first just in case but as far as I know he has never needed it.
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Heading out of marina today, first time since replacing exhaust system, and engine died while heading out. Drifted into a vacant slip and spent the 101degree afternoon SERIOUSLY pondering the electric idea again. Actually, the culprit was a air bubble that got in last week while replacing exhaust, don't ask me how. Took me awhile to find the air blockage, wasn't in the usual places. All is well now and everything runs dandy. But oh how all electric sounds so good.
There is a blog for a electric conversion of a Nonsuch 30 who sails the LI sound. Interesting reading. http://biankablog.blogspot.com/
I feel for ya shipwreck. My old Yanmar diesel on my last boat - an S 2 used to get air in the lines before I took out the buggering mesh stuffed into the fuel pickup tube in the tank. It would run great for about 10-15 minutes & then die in the entrance out of our channel. I was alsways lucky that there was a fellow sailing buddy to give me a push back in, but it could've been nasty otherwise. Funny how the engine never wants to die BEFORE you leave the dock! lol.
yeah, that's the damnest part. I had it idling in the slip for about 10 minutes while checking the new exhaust for leaks, no problem. Back out, start forward two minutes later BLaaaaappp.
I went to Electric Yachts online, they have the entire kit with the exception of batteries since there are so many choices.
The cost for the motor, control panel and wireing was just under 4k, the charger was $380 (you have options here) and the 4 batteries I bought were $425 ea, again you have choices here. The weight of the Atomic 4 as 350 lbs, the motor was 50 lbs, obviously this was a huge change in design weight, so the batteries I installed were about 120 lbs each, I placed two in the engine compartment. The fuel tank was 20 gal, fuel roughly weighs roughly 6 lbs per gal. I took out the fuel tank and placed two batteries there. I had two levels that I placed on the deck to show me any major change in the boats position and moved the batteries around to keep it level. Has it changed the feel of the boat, not that I can tell, I finished 8 out of 13 boats for this seasons beer can race, but have not noticed a change in performance better or worse. As far as choosing motor over engine, that is the owners decision when they come to that point, I was a diesel and outboard mechanic in the Navy for 24 years, my only maintenance checks now are battery charge and occasional shot of grease in the bearing. The trade off is that I don't ever plan to motor anywhere, to me sailing the boat in all conditions is why I bought a sail boat, but that is my idea of sailing, not everyone thinks the same way. I do have the 2k honda generator for AC power and emergency propulsion power if I need it so I am not that much of a sailing purist.
The cost for the motor, control panel and wireing was just under 4k, the charger was $380 (you have options here) and the 4 batteries I bought were $425 ea, again you have choices here. The weight of the Atomic 4 as 350 lbs, the motor was 50 lbs, obviously this was a huge change in design weight, so the batteries I installed were about 120 lbs each, I placed two in the engine compartment. The fuel tank was 20 gal, fuel roughly weighs roughly 6 lbs per gal. I took out the fuel tank and placed two batteries there. I had two levels that I placed on the deck to show me any major change in the boats position and moved the batteries around to keep it level. Has it changed the feel of the boat, not that I can tell, I finished 8 out of 13 boats for this seasons beer can race, but have not noticed a change in performance better or worse. As far as choosing motor over engine, that is the owners decision when they come to that point, I was a diesel and outboard mechanic in the Navy for 24 years, my only maintenance checks now are battery charge and occasional shot of grease in the bearing. The trade off is that I don't ever plan to motor anywhere, to me sailing the boat in all conditions is why I bought a sail boat, but that is my idea of sailing, not everyone thinks the same way. I do have the 2k honda generator for AC power and emergency propulsion power if I need it so I am not that much of a sailing purist.
Ok, new at this, I have 5 photos on my Photo album, can anyone access them or do I have to post them here?
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