[Public-List] Axillary power

Thu Apr 21 16:38:11 PDT 2011

You can purchase a Moyer a4 for around 2500.00. Drop it on the same mounts and you have a new motor for a lot less time and money invested in rebuild or other options

Larry  
501

Sent from my iPhone

Larry Morris

On Apr 21, 2011, at 19:05, Richard Mair <ramair49 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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