28.5 electric

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Charlie

Does anyone out there have a 28.5 (1985) with an electric motor??? I am considering trading my 23.5 for one and know absolutly nothing about this arrangement. I would like any information... Thanks...Charlie
 
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Bob

This is a joke, right?

I have a 285 and I've never heard of one having an electric motor! I'd say it would need a lot of battery power.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Makes you use your sails a lot!

Bob: There was actually an article in one of the sailing magazines where someone did this. One of the big advantages of this is that you will end up sailing a lot. I do not know why anyone would remove a perfectly good (or bad) diesel and replace it with an electric motor (unless the parts and batteries where free). And even then it does not make much sense.
 
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Mike Hartmann

I don think so

I own an '85 28.5 and I would say there there are not enough voids in the boat to accomodate all the batteries you would need to power an electric motor. Hec I am still trying to figure out where I can safely mount a 2nd battery, let alone a whole pile of them! Unless you replace the Yanmar diesel with a generator...but then you will not have enough room left for the electric motor! Properly maintained, these diesels should last upwards of 30 years. Yeah they are a bit noisy when running, but not intolerably so. The cutting edge in marine electric motor tech is currently being used on those mega cruise ships, powered by gas turbine engines. This tech is not going to see the pleasure craft market for many years to come. It'll be cool when it arrives in affordable fashion, if ever...... meantime, keep the diesel.
 
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Charlie

It is true

This boat has had the diesel replaced with an electric motor... sounds crazy to me too.... it is on a lake here in fla. ....but still i am concerned ... thanks for the comment
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
If you get it cheap!

Charlie: If you get this cheap, it MAY be a deal. You need to pay somewhere around $8k under market price ($10-12k may be an OKAY price). This boat is basically worthless if you plan to move it to a coastal cruiser. A new engine is going to cost big time. What happens if someone does not have a dock (needs a mooring) so no access to electricity. Personally I'd let him find another sucker!
 
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Clyde

Electric Sailboat

The previous owner may have been forced to use a non-polluting engine if he sailed on a freshwater lake because of the environmental laws in Florida. If he had the conversion done recently by a professional, then it could have been done by a company located in Benedict, Maryland call Solomon Technologies that sells a "State of the Art" electric motor replacement for gas engines on sailboats. The company has been demonstrating its gas engine to electric motor conversion at the big sailboat shows like the "Miami" boat show. The biggest sailboat they have converted is a "Conser 47" catamaran and the smallest sailboat had been a "Cal 29", per their web site. If you use AGM batteries and their electric motor, it looks like you can get about 5.5 hours run time at 5.5 knots based on the "Cal 29"(which is close to your 28.5), if you can find space for the batteries. Most of the time a sailboat uses its "Iron" Genny to leave a slip or mooring. If you aren’t planning any real long ocean cruise where electrical power isn’t available or don’t care how long your wind generators and solar cells takes to recharge your AGMs, than get the sailboat and sail. Sailing is another form of renewable solar power! Clyde
 
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J. Tesoriero

I saw one at the Boat Show

Maybe four or five years ago, at the Boat Show in Atlantic City, NJ, Hunter was showing smaller boat, (25'?) with an electric motor. I don't think it caught on because I never saw it offered again.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
How many batteries?

Charlie: How many batteries on this baby? Are they flooded, Gels or AGMs? Just think about this. If they are flooded and say there is about 8-10 of these at $50 each. You probably need to replace them every 2-3 years ($400-500). If they are AGM or GEL you probably need to replace them every 6-10 years ($1000-2000). This is going to be a very expensive boat to maintain.
 
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