Anonymous wrote:

I don't remember what made me decide but decide I did. To take a different direction. Costly but I'm enthusiastic.

One of the reasons I have been dragging my feet on Hobbit's refit is the fact I hate diesel engines. It seems everyone has a story of grief concerning their diesel. How it broke down in the wrong place at the wrong time. Delays, delays. So many parts. What spares to have on hand? The noise, the smell, the dirt the mess....

I've decided to remove my Yanmar YSB12 (10Hp) engine and replace it with a QuietTorque 10.00 Sport Electric Motor from Electric Yacht.  48V using eight 6V batteries in series, a type often used in golf carts, from Surrette, known in the US under the brand name Rolls. They are located nearby in Springhill. World wide, they have an excellent reputation.

(Meanwhile, the engine is in good shape and will hopefully put life back into an ageing Contessa somewhere.)

Propeller: 13 x 11 x 3, right hand turn.

My 30' Benford dory has good space for batteries. They will displace the equivalent volume of 25 gallons of water. However, the diesel fuel tank can be modified to carry water. A bladder perhaps. There is another built-in tank meant for kerosene but not used, on the other side which could be used for water.

I intend to buy a Honda EU2200i portable generator, fitted with a three-fuel adapter so it can be run on gasoline, propane of natural gas. According to Electric Yacht, Hobbit can be propelled by a 2Kw generator at 3 knots in calm water, indefinitely. Essentially, we are looking at a hybrid boat

Where to store fuel? Working on it. Propane tanks could be stored on fore-deck, attached to forward side of the cabin bulkhead.

My intended use is local and coastal cruising. Range is limited so one needs to "live within ones means." There will be solar panels. A wind generator, probably not.

Anyway, it's all very exciting and I feel a renewed enthusiasm for this rather drawn out refit. I think I might try living aboard for a year and sublet my apartment. That will pay for the conversion.

  Pake' my NA29 has had an electric auxiliary motor for a number of years. 400 watts of solar panels OR 1000w/15A portable generic generator will propel Pake' at 3 knots indefinitely (if wind or sun are not available). If I could put 30 amps in with a larger generator I would increase speed a knot or so. Weight is 12,000 Lbs (on the scales) with only 5kw motor. Recommended size now is 10kw or more. I believe if you want full hull speed for length of time without overheating the motor, a larger motor or cooling, or both are in order. I would not hesitate to go offshore with extended cruising in mind with the set up I have now. The shore is the hard part. The electric motor is usually motor sailed off of the solar panels when every one else is ghosting with a big genoa or just motoring. The second use is to get in and out of the harbor in traffic.

  I have no needed maintenance other than cleaning the solar panels and have had complete reliability. My "best quality" set up including 4 x 8d batteries for 48 volts, 440 watts of solar panels , motor/transmission, larger 4 blade prop, larger Sevcon controller plus all the "best" bits, pieces and cables cost less than any 10 to 15 hp diesel system I could find. I did the whole switch on a mooring by myself. All the components are relatively small and light. The old dirty stinky md7a 's 400 lbs clean up was the hardest part.The little electric motor was a perfect fit.

  Also, my large 2x 6 volt Surrett (rolls) house batteries are still going very strong after 12+ years of use. They still look new inside and out. Rolls/Surrett  are almost impossible to get unless you are in the NE USA or in England. I believe they are made in Newfoundland but am not sure. I have been using SURRETTS for over 35 years. They come very highly recommended for wet cell batteries

  I think you would really appreciate the switch.

As usual with our forums lots of robust discussion going on here. I will put in my two cents worth based on experience. I can certainly see the potential attraction of electric power, and Kurt on Mehetibel seems to have made it work. But even in sunny New Zealand there are times when I would be concerned about the reliability of the electric engine when one really needs that power on a dark and stormy night. Sure, having a generator to provide back up power is an option, but that seems to be adding complication.

Based on my outboard experiences with 'Footprints' an appropriate 4 stroke outboard would be my number one choice of auxiliary engine, provided there is a suitable and effective means of mounting the engine. On 'Footprints' I had 10 years of completely trouble free service out of the 9.9hp high thrust Yamaha outboard, and this with maintenance limited to the occasional oil and spark plugs change, and one water pump impeller replacement.

With our current yacht  we inherited a 30 year old marinised 18hp Kubota diesel. For the first several months I regretted the shift back to a diesel engine and its complicated add-ins such as shaft seals, and the engine seemed a smelly old thing. However with some basic DIY maintenance the engine is now running well. I used a fuel system cleaner additive in the fuel which seems to have helped a lot with the performance of the motor, so now I am quite happy with the engine, and it is very quiet. I saw the exact same engine on a Kubota ride-on lawn mower a few weeks ago so I know I can easily find spare parts for the motor should they be needed.

A well maintained and correctly installed diesel engine will be very reliable and can be depended on when the going gets tough.i have also had previous positive ownership experience with a 18hp Yanmar engine (2 GM), and a 10hp Sabb which was crank start only. Sadly these engines are no longer manufactured, but there are lot of good small marine diesels available. I would suggest that any failings with a fitted diesel engine are most likely the result of poor installation, and lack of suitable ongoing maintenance.

That Sabb was also a rusty, smelly, dirty old monster when we first purchased the boat in which it was installed. But we cleaned it up, added an alternator for battery charging, and learned how to use the motor, and had 8 years of good service from it before selling the boat.

Alternatively, Arne, you could just switch off the fuel cock as soon as you dock, leaving the engine running and run the carburetor dry while you are sorting out the docking lines.

At end of season, drain the carburetor and use the drop left in your car or someone else's, maybe?

I wish I'd come across this when I was looking for an outboard for Weaverbird.

https://golehr.com/

Jim,

Well, if your diesel «is in good shape», as you say, why on earth sell it? This is a sure way of keeping you high and dry for another long time. Is that what you want?

Unless the diesel is rusting away from you, I would advise you to keep it. CO2-wise diesel engines are more efficient than a petrol engines, and after all, you decide how much, and how hard to use it. Hobbit II is a sailboat.

If I were to take over a sailboat with a diesel, and wanted to improve its reliability, I would...

1.      ..install two diesel filters in parallel with cocks to choose one or the other. This lets one replace a clogged filter while the engine is safely running on the other one.

2.      In case the boat is sea-water-cooled (with or without a heat-exchanger to freshwater), I would have two water inlets, one on each side of the keel. In case an inlet is clogged by some plastic or whatever, the other inlet will ensure cooling.

Note: Both the fuel filters and the seacocks for the cooling water inlets must be easy to access. 

It is easy to decide ‘I don’t like diesel’, but it is quite a job to convert the boat. I have seen one friend going along this path, just because his (single) fuel filter was blocked. It turned out to kill the whole rig conversion project, and he ended up selling. He is now just sailing his armchair...

Arne