My project to build an electric boat
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:35 pm
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, I couldn't find forum that applied so I picked "General."
First I'd like to apologize for my recent silence, there's been a lot on here and we've moved house and <INSERT=EXCUSES> and <INSERT=MORE EXCUSES> so...</(MORE) EXCUSES>
So anyway, I have spent some months building something between a raft and a boat. It's a 5 meters long and 3 meters wide catamaran. The hulls are made from polystyrene foam which I've cut/glued/shaped and painted with a special protective coating. The deck is made from the same kind of wood you would normally use to build a veranda. It will eventually have a home-made mast and sails and I'd like to put a motor on it.
I'd really love that motor to be electric, they're so lovely and quiet and, being a boat, I suppose I don't have the same weight concerns as a car builder would have. I know there are a few electric outboards on the market but I've not seen one powerflul enough to shift anything bigger than a canoe, and they are very expensive (cost is a big thing in this project.)
So, I'd like to build one myself. Here's where the fun starts. The most advanced thing I've ever built that's electric powered is a radio control car from a kit. I don't know aything about what motor to choose, what kind of battery is the best option for a boat, etc etc. Can anyone help me here? Here are some things I've noted that I need to think about when choosing equipment:
1) The boat is heavy and it will be in a slow moving river - I need something with a bit of oomph, I want to feel like I'm really getting somewhere, but this is not a speed boat. I suppose something like 5-10 horsepower would be fine.
2) I want to be able to travel for hours on a single charge, running out of power would be a bad thing since the way home is upstream.
3) I can charge the batteries from it's mooring since I can just run an extention lead down there from the shed, so they don't have to be super light and portable...as long as the boat floats...
4) It doesn't have to be an outboard, it's probably easier to build an inboard motor I imagine.
5) I do have a friend who's an electrician if expertise is needed in the installation.
6) The winter can be as low as -20 degrees celcius here (but not likely to go that low these days, although below zero is very common). I don't know how much of an impact that makes on my options.
Any help would be very much appreciated! As I said, I'm totally new to EV building so...
--
Ed
First I'd like to apologize for my recent silence, there's been a lot on here and we've moved house and <INSERT=EXCUSES> and <INSERT=MORE EXCUSES> so...</(MORE) EXCUSES>
So anyway, I have spent some months building something between a raft and a boat. It's a 5 meters long and 3 meters wide catamaran. The hulls are made from polystyrene foam which I've cut/glued/shaped and painted with a special protective coating. The deck is made from the same kind of wood you would normally use to build a veranda. It will eventually have a home-made mast and sails and I'd like to put a motor on it.
I'd really love that motor to be electric, they're so lovely and quiet and, being a boat, I suppose I don't have the same weight concerns as a car builder would have. I know there are a few electric outboards on the market but I've not seen one powerflul enough to shift anything bigger than a canoe, and they are very expensive (cost is a big thing in this project.)
So, I'd like to build one myself. Here's where the fun starts. The most advanced thing I've ever built that's electric powered is a radio control car from a kit. I don't know aything about what motor to choose, what kind of battery is the best option for a boat, etc etc. Can anyone help me here? Here are some things I've noted that I need to think about when choosing equipment:
1) The boat is heavy and it will be in a slow moving river - I need something with a bit of oomph, I want to feel like I'm really getting somewhere, but this is not a speed boat. I suppose something like 5-10 horsepower would be fine.
2) I want to be able to travel for hours on a single charge, running out of power would be a bad thing since the way home is upstream.
3) I can charge the batteries from it's mooring since I can just run an extention lead down there from the shed, so they don't have to be super light and portable...as long as the boat floats...
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
4) It doesn't have to be an outboard, it's probably easier to build an inboard motor I imagine.
5) I do have a friend who's an electrician if expertise is needed in the installation.
6) The winter can be as low as -20 degrees celcius here (but not likely to go that low these days, although below zero is very common). I don't know how much of an impact that makes on my options.
Any help would be very much appreciated! As I said, I'm totally new to EV building so...
--
Ed