[Public-List] Axillary power

Thu Apr 21 16:05:18 PDT 2011

You will not be able to do electric for $4000.00. This is coming from
someone who likes electric power and is in the process of going electric.
The motor alone will cost you more than 4000.00, You then add about 2000.00
for batteries and you still have to get a good charger and the heavy gauge
wiring for the batteries..In calm conditions you will get about 16 nm range
to 50% discharge.To discharge below this regularly on lead acid will give
short lifespan on the batteries'
  my Diesel was a single cylinder Renault for which the parts are no longer
available so I would not want one if it was donated.
  Sometimes on the yahoo electric boat list there are working diesels for
sale from people converting..
Richard 609

On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 12:30 PM, J B Knapp <jbknapp at yancyd.com> wrote:

> Howdy all:
>
> The commitment is being made to restore Hull 368 currently sitting in Lake
> Conroe, Texas.  Ultimately, we are wanting to move it to somewhere around
> Galveston Bay, so it will be able to spread it's wings, so to speak.  Right
> now it is effectively serving as a "lake house" but it gives me the best
> night's sleep of any boat I've been on.
>
> It was taken in as a donation to our Sea Scout program with the idea of
> putting together one working A-4 from the parts of the 2 that came with it.
>  It has a very good sail inventory and is just a beautiful boat (I have a
> particular weakness for full keel classic boats - witness 3 Kittiwake 23's
> and a Victoria 18 in our inventory).  The A-4's were combined with 2 other
> A-4's from another Sea Scout ship in hopes of building 2 workable examples,
> but to date we don't have one out of the four and the other ship is
> replacing theirs with a diesel.  The previous owner had taken out one that
> didn't work and basically had gone without an engine for years, either
> rowing the boat to and from his mooring on the Chesapeake or sculling it - I
> still have the sculling oar he used, but don't really see where he set up
> the rig to scull.
>
> Here is the start of my dilemma wrt axillary power.  The A-4 sounds like
> the logical choice as that is what was in there and has worked.  BUT trying
> to find one that is in good shape at price that is reasonable (read free -
> if at all possible) and is close enough to pick up refurbish and install is
> proving unfruitful.  I interject here that with whatever solution we end up
> with, we will have to pull the boat from the water, replace all the thru
> hulls, clean up the engine compartment, get the asbestos wrapped exhaust
> pipe out, ........., and do try to find a place where we can set the boat
> and be able to do it ourselves - or at least as much as possible, especially
> the work on the hull, at a cost that won't break the bank.
>
> I have also been considering replacing the A-4 with a diesel.  Its safer
> and supposedly easier to maintain.  However, I am concerned as to how much
> maintenance is really required for a diesel with all the fuel filters, fuel
> scrubbing, bacteria growth that comes with diesel, etc. and the ease with
> which to do the work needed in the space available on the A-30.  I do not
> want to become a diesel mechanic at this point in my life plus I have never
> really been that mechanically inclined anyway.
>
> Next possibility is an outboard.  All our other boats are 25 feet and under
> and we have outboards for them.  At least with the outboards we can pull
> them from the boat with relative ease - in some cases very easily as sailing
> on Lake Conroe we can get by with 2.5 and 3.5 hp engines.  Outboards still
> have their pluses and minuses, but for the organization of our ship and the
> support around the lake, they work out well.  The Kittiwakes have an engine
> well in one of the lazarettes which allows for a short shaft engine to be
> mounted and this works extremely well.  The A-30, though is higher off the
> water and while a modification could be made to accommodate an outboard, it
> would be awkward at best. I have seen what, I think Yves Gelinas, has come
> up with for an outboard mounting system, and am not too thrilled with it.
>  Also, I don't really know how well an outboard would work if the boat gets
> down to Galveston Bay and is berthed somewhere on Clear Lake.  A 10hp long
> shaft, or extra long shaft would work fine for Lake Conroe, but for the
> Clear Creek channel, I'm not so sure.  A 5hp worked fine for the Kiitiwake,
> and we even used a 3.5 on a second one when we moved it from Houston Yacht
> Club to the back of Clear Lake before Gustov made his appearance.  In theory
> it should work since the A-30 is about 2.5 times heavier than the Kittiwake
> and is similar in hull design.
>
> What is beginning to intrigue me is the idea of an inboard electric motor.
>  Pluses - no gas, few moving parts, quiet, decrease in the number of thru
> hulls, cleaner.  Minuses - battery capacity, recharging options, cost, range
> especially the case if taking the boat to Galveston for Gulf sailing, very
> often having to motor all the way to Galveston (anywhere from 3-5 hours
> depending on conditions) as the course is southerly and the predominant wind
> is from the south, or in the winter coming back with the predominant wind
> from the North and the channel flow north to south.  Also for any
> intercoastal motoring that might be needed.
>
> I know there have been some other discussions on powering the A-30, but
> going through them adds to my confusion and apprehension on selecting the
> "right" answer for our situation.  Slapping some type of outboard rig may be
> the quickest solution and one that can be done without taking the boat out
> of the water, but I look at that as a more tempoary fix than the right fix.
>  I'm seeing any solution as costing between $2,000 and $4,000 before we take
> the boat out of the water and come up with a solution there.  As for taking
> the boat out, when Lake Conroe is full and, a bit higher than normal, with
> the right trailer and vehicle we could load it onto a trailer as we do our
> other boats and not need a lift.  At the club where the boat is located
> there is a mast stepper and a sling that has the capacity to hold the A-30,
> so we have a place to work on it.  If we have to use a lift, there is only
> one I am familiar with on the lake and I would just as soon not do business
> with him.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bart Knapp
>
>
>
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