Maybe despite the cost, this is the responsible thing to do? We must all try to reduce our Carbon footprint, after all. A few thoughts on this question:
1. You already have a diesel engine, presumably working well. You have either a sailboat with a docking and emergency IC engine or a MOTOR sailer. Assuming the former is the case, then you start it only when necessary, but on a regular basis.
2. For electric cars, various figures are given for the break-even point (in terms of Carbon usage) of electric over IC, but it is typically between 100,000 and 200,000 km.
3. If your engine is used sparingly, you will never in several lifetimes reach this break-even point with your boat electric motor. At a roughly equivalent 3,000 to 6,000 hours of running, even if you cross the Atlantic several times entirely under power, it's still going to take a number of crossings.
4. A point that I never see addressed in the electric/IC comparison is the Carbon footprint of the recycling/disposal of batteries. Almost certainly this will happen in isolated corners of developing countries where the smoke of the openly incinerated components and the short lives of the unfortunate operatives will seldom, if ever, reach our conveniently muffed ears. Do you know the fate of your discarded consumer electronics right now?
Finally, I would say that the real, viable substitute for your diesel engine would be a hydrogen fuel cell unit. All the advantages of an IC engine with all the advantages of an electric motor. But until the high cost of storage and resupply stations has been severely mitigated, t'ain't gonna happen.
Second and last finally, any money you spend on a boat must be entirely for your own satisfaction. Resale value? Ha!
www.passagemaker.com
. They need to engineer the special design and build multiple virtual prototypes before testing physical prototypes. Then they go through the patent process as well as the cost analysis and market study.
pubs.rsc.org
