Inspired by Bianka we are Going Electric. In four years of owning White O’morn we have put only 30 hours on our Westerbeke Diesel, most of that was just letting the engine get up to temperature before shutting her down. Even with such light usage we still had to change the oil and filter every year and winterize too. Did ?I mention that I hate changing that oil filter? So this year we have decided to go with the Electric Yacht QT 10.0 Sport. We are halfway through the install right now and are awaiting battery cables before proceeding.
So far all has gone pretty well with the exception of removing the old fuel tank and the old engine control cables. Once we got out the sawzall the tank only took about two hours. The control cables took two days. I’ll post a few photos of our progress.
How timely is this message? I am around 2 to 3 weeks behind you. I received notice today that my Electric Yacht QT 10 has been shipped. I am pulling Crackln Rose in the next two weeks. I have a bunch of questions that I will contact you directly on but first, did you use the wishbone and a gantry to hoist out the Westerbeke and how difficult is it to move that diesel forward to get a lift on it? Thank you. Tom
The first photo shows the rig that we used to crank the engine forward. We left the engine mount angles attached to the engine. We payed the engine up and slid a 1"x1/16" steel bar underneath the engine mount bolt heads and let the engine slide forward on the steel rather than let the heads of the bolts dig into the stringers. We used a heavy duty ratchet strap to actually lift the engine once we had it almost into the cabin. I was afraid to use the wishbone, but luckily our harbor has a front loader that we were able to use. The engine is really quite easy to move. We did have to remove the exhaust elbow to slide the engine out into the cabin. Fire away with your questions. We actually have the engine in place, but not yet bolted down.
Howard,'I have two friends at Friday Harbor, David Paterson aboard an Alberg 29 Navigare (?) and Wolf how lives on the island. Yes this is a NS 26U. Fuel tank removal on a 26C would be much easier.
Congratulations on your starting your conversion. Nice custom frame you built to remove the engine into the cabin. I actually enjoyed taking the “iron pig” off the boat. It was a major step in the conversion process and doing it myself felt great.
As you pointed out some things make the boat a more pleasant experience after the conversion. I certainly don’t miss those cold November afternoons and evenings doing pre-storage oil changes and winterizing with the boat and my clothes smelling of diesel, oil and antifreeze. Besides no longer having the expense of the procedure. Now a half hour winterizing the water system is all I need to do.
Keep posting on you progress always good to see another Nonsuch added to the electric fleet.
For the Batteries I screwed down three 2x8 cut down to 7" width to match the batteries. I spaced them 1/2" apart to allow for battery straps and a 3/8" x 3-1/2" “retainer boards. Be sure to get the batteries securely locked in place before doing the wiring. I used 2/0 wiring and that is so stiff that if you have to bend it into place it will rotate the batteries rather than bend. I did not place the batteries all the way to the back , but I positioned them far enough aft that I could easily access the stuffing box and hose. In our case the old propeller shaft was to heavily scored to reuse, so a new shaft, new cutlass bearing, and repacked the stuffing box. I also had the new shaft made 4” longer than the old shaft to provide better access to the stuffing box. It really only needed to be about 2" longer but there is so much room forward of the motor that I could have gone 8" longer. Going longer provides more room behind the motoring moves the weight of the motor a bit further forward. The old engine weighs about 400# and a full fuel tank weighed about 150# for a total of 550# or so. The eight 6V batteries at 60# each weigh 480# plus the motor at about 40# totals out at 520#. The way we have it positioned the weigh will shift a little aft as we wanted to correct the chronic “bow down” floating position and the standing water on the cockpit seats. I am a little concerned about the port to starboard balance, but that can be corrected with the 12 volt system batteries. Here are a few more photos, including the pieces of the fuel tank.:
PS
I assume you are using 220 amp hr golf cart style batteries which if my calculations are correct gives you 220 amp hours at 48 volts.
Has Electric Yacht given you run time predictions? Will you be chasing out the prop to take advantage of the different torque characteristics of the electric motor.
Mark Powers
Yes, 220AH Golf Cart AGMs (GMS because I know my lazy ways, this is safer for me and we do get a bit more usable amps.). Range has not been that important to us, we typically motor out of the harbor, about 200 yards, then we had to let the diesel run for 20 minutes or so to get up to temp. I chose the golf cart batteries because the “only” weigh 60# each, even that was a struggle for these old bones. We did load the batteries and the motor into the boat while it was still in the water, MUCH easier than hauling them 10’ up a ladder while the boat is in the cradle. Here is the run time predictions for the batteries:
I have pretty well drained my available boat dollar account so we will go with one of the props we have, either a 15x12 sailor 2 or the 15 x 10 Gori folding prop. We will try those for a year and them decide which way we want to go. We sail more than motor so I think any folding prop will be better for us.
Here is the Hinterhoeller drawing for the fuel tank on a 26C. On a 26U the tank is shorter but it is 19" tall and it would not clear to get it out of the space without cutting it up.
I wonder why some pictures post and others don’t, some post but then later disappear??
What was the reason you decided on lead-acid batteries rather than lithium iron phosphate batteries? I have recently replaced my house batteries with these and have been very impressed by the way they perform, especially the speed of charging and the internal controller that prevents over-discharge. Previously I had three lead-acid batteries but now two lithiums have the same capacity in identically sized casings.
Bob Illingworth
Nonsuch Luck 30U #367 (GBR1262T)
Moored Brightlingsea, Essex, UK; cruising the rivers of East Anglia, and, the North Sea.
Some things with the prop you might want to consider. A folding prop might not allow you to take advantage of any regen charging when under sail and other advantages of having electric propulsion as auxiliary power. I kept my original 3 blade prop on BIANKA when I convert to EP. I discovered that with minimal power from the motor I can eliminate any prop drag. It gives you a nice bump up in speed especially in light winds and is as very quiet compared to turning on the diesel. I also recently upgraded my system controller and now find the EP system starts to regen at 3.5 knots which is an improvement from the previous controller. I still get a kick watching the amp meter go from negative to positive when under sail.
Bob,
I would have loved to go with the Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries but money was the deciding factor there, lithium is just too expensive over here. The weight and available amperage sure makes them desirable, maybe if I win the lottery.
Tim, did you try to sell your diesel? I see on ebay that they are going for up to $4000, I would imagine it would have to be a local buyer which makes it difficult to market. Tom
We decided to go ahead with electric no matter what happens with the diesel. So far there are no local buyers. The ones that you see on eBay ore ASKING $$$$, what they are getting is something else. A Yanmar might bring some serious money, a Westerbeke - not so much.
About 6 years ago I got $800 Can for my Westerbeke 13 with 2700 hours. I had a video of it running for potential buyers to look at. I put it on Craig’s List. I had no calls for a couple of months and then they started to come in.
Mark Powers
We are about ready to test the new install. We just need to connects the last two battery cables and then plug in the throttle, display, and current sensor wires. I do have a question for you guys though. We have the 48V system for the motor and we have a 12V system for the house loads. Does all of this get grounded together? Where did you fasten your ground? I’m thinking that one of the motor mount bolts might be a good spot. Any ideas or helpful info would sure be appreciated.
