200130 Building solar-electric 20' pontoon boat system with option to plug into home wiring when not boating

[Ivar Ivarson]

I also stripped out all the couches, as they don't last long in the sun down here anyway. I just use those aluminum padded boat/deck seats and a few cooler seats. I figure with limited electric power, weight savings is important, and what is stopping me from just slapping on some 4x4 wood supports with a 2x6 framed roof.

You're probably right about a wood supported roof; it'd be the cheapest and strongest.

My couches/seating forward of the pilot and dinette table area under the Bimini top are all sun burned as well. I would be ahead just to remove them all and put in porch furniture to my taste. Good suggestion.

 

[Ivar Ivarson]

I've rebuilt many of those MinnKotas and never had one snap the long thru bolts. I did have a small bolt holding the brush plate snap on one though, and had to drill a small hole in it then used acid to eat out the rest of the screw and cleaned it up with a tap.

Good place I found for motor parts is here . I had actually thought of buying that E-drive lower unit to install on a 80lb thrust motor I had laying around. I called up that store and the guy was helpful, saying they have the same shaft diameter and threads, but he wasn't sure if the composite shaft would be strong enough.

Hey, thanks for that https://marinecarpeting.com link. Looks very useful. I notice they had a eDrive motor unit for $350.

 

[SolarRat]

Yeah, the sterns of my pontoon logs are flat also. I wondered whether it'd be worthwhile to make a tapered canoe stern on each out of sheet aluminum to swing down into place. Those sterns always seem to produce a lot of turbulence and gurgling noise. By the way, that little triangular transom hull is open at the back so it lets the water in through three little slots in the bottom. I wonder if I'd get a little more flotation by stopping those slots up and trying to keep the transom hull empty of water. I mention this in connection with those little "canoe" sterns, as I'd planned to allow them to be flooded when in place. How could I seal them if they swing down into place anyway? Probably too much trouble. I also thought about underwater bulbous bows and the "hull speed" of pontoon boats as this is a displacement hull design unless you have one of those fancy set of fins and a large engine. Again, I don't think it's worth the trouble.

I've seen cones for the end of the pontoons, but they would need a good tig welder to properly install so I probably won't bother.

That triangular support is part of the motor mount. Mine was also made for 115hp and is way overkill for an electric...so my thought was to just shorten in by a few inches so it doesn't even touch the water. I think the flat back toons are the bigger drag though.

MinnKota props are very inefficient. They are designed for several sized motors for use on several sized boats...from 1000lb pontoons like mine to 20,000lb trawlers. And being weedless hurts their speed and efficiency too. I know I'd gain a couple MPH with a properly tuned prop. Right now my motor has a max draw near 30 amps, but MK rates the motor at up to 46 amps. So that motor is just loafing along spinning an undersized prop. Problem is, nobody makes a good prop for them.

I've read about a few people gaining a few MPH by using a model airplane prop, so I tried it. I had a bunch of RC props laying around, so I started with an 11x7 composite prop. Took 5 minutes to bore out the center hole and add a slot for the shear pin. I jumped on the boat hand headed up my canal with the stock prop and recorded top speed. Then I quickly pulled up the motor and swapped props, took less than a minute. I swung the motor back down and turned it on and.......I went backwards, doh! I need a pusher prop, not a puller. So those tests are on hold for now.

That motor you linked to looks like a beefed up brushed golf cart motor. I had thought about just picking up a used golf cart (they are under $500 with old batteries here) and using the motor and speed controller from it. Ideally I'd like a brushless motor though.

https://www.goldenmotor.com/ sells brushless motor kits, and they also sell large electric outboards. Someone here bought one a while back...maybe if he's reading this he can chime in and tell us how it's working out.

Solar Pontoon Boat Controller Parameters

Hi. I'm new but very interested in figuring this out. I have watched William Prowse's videos and I got inspired to make my own solar pontoon boat. I have a big flat roof on the boat that is perfect for solar panels so I put 8 of them up there. I have it all wired now but I have questions on...

diysolarforum.com

 

[Ivar Ivarson]

Took the plunge and ordered an MPPSolar LV 5048 from http://usa-mpp-solar.com/. I'm worried about disruption in Chinese supply chains although I figure the market for panels is not as impacted (other countries actually make them and there's the used market). Apple was probably glad of the excuse for their latest write-down.

Unfortunately, I've been out with a sore back for a week that just now is mending.

 

[Ivar Ivarson]

Dang! MPP-Solar USA out of Utah moves quickly. My LV 5048 order has been in less than 12 hours:


'Estimated delivery date:
Monday 2/24/2020 by end of day

Shipping label has been created. The status will be updated when shipment begins to travel.'

I had a 7 week wait when I ordered from BatteryHookUp last November.

 

[Wolffy]

I've seen cones for the end of the pontoons, but they would need a good tig welder to properly install so I probably won't bother.

That triangular support is part of the motor mount. Mine was also made for 115hp and is way overkill for an electric...so my thought was to just shorten in by a few inches so it doesn't even touch the water. I think the flat back toons are the bigger drag though.

MinnKota props are very inefficient. They are designed for several sized motors for use on several sized boats...from 1000lb pontoons like mine to 20,000lb trawlers. And being weedless hurts their speed and efficiency too. I know I'd gain a couple MPH with a properly tuned prop. Right now my motor has a max draw near 30 amps, but MK rates the motor at up to 46 amps. So that motor is just loafing along spinning an undersized prop. Problem is, nobody makes a good prop for them.

I've read about a few people gaining a few MPH by using a model airplane prop, so I tried it. I had a bunch of RC props laying around, so I started with an 11x7 composite prop. Took 5 minutes to bore out the center hole and add a slot for the shear pin. I jumped on the boat hand headed up my canal with the stock prop and recorded top speed. Then I quickly pulled up the motor and swapped props, took less than a minute. I swung the motor back down and turned it on and.......I went backwards, doh! I need a pusher prop, not a puller. So those tests are on hold for now.

That motor you linked to looks like a beefed up brushed golf cart motor. I had thought about just picking up a used golf cart (they are under $500 with old batteries here) and using the motor and speed controller from it. Ideally I'd like a brushless motor though.

https://www.goldenmotor.com/ sells brushless motor kits, and they also sell large electric outboards. Someone here bought one a while back...maybe if he's reading this he can chime in and tell us how it's working out.

Solar Pontoon Boat Controller Parameters

Hi. I'm new but very interested in figuring this out. I have watched William Prowse's videos and I got inspired to make my own solar pontoon boat. I have a big flat roof on the boat that is perfect for solar panels so I put 8 of them up there. I have it all wired now but I have questions on...

diysolarforum.com

Have you thought about 2 trolling motors one on the back of each pontoon. I have been thinking about making an electric pontoon also and that's what I was planning on doing my boat is going to be a 16 foot as our lake is a small 600 acre lake in northern MN. I was going to put the panels on the top of the folding bimini. batteries under the seats.
sounds like a fun project keep us up to date on it.
Ron

 

[SolarRat]

Have you thought about 2 trolling motors one on the back of each pontoon. I have been thinking about making an electric pontoon also and that's what I was planning on doing my boat is going to be a 16 foot as our lake is a small 600 acre lake in northern MN. I was going to put the panels on the top of the folding bimini. batteries under the seats.
sounds like a fun project keep us up to date on it.
Ron

I toyed with the idea of using two trolling motors in the back on a homemade mount stretching between the two pontoons (after the factory mount was removed). Mounting on the toons themselves would be too difficult to get to (on my particular boat) while the boat is in the water, but would be no problem if they were more inboard. I have two identical MK 80lb thrust Riptide motors I could use.

I scrapped the idea because the two motors, each about 1000 watts, would be equal to just one of the new china brushless (better) trolling motors that you can find on Alibaba for about $300. And they would have twice the drag, twice the wiring, twice the maintenance and more complicated steering and throttle etc... Also, with the way these motors are under-propped, two motors doesn't push me much faster than one, and my one higher voltage 36v 101lb goes faster than the two 24v 80lb motors (higher voltage on these MK's means more RPMs to the prop).

The price of the chinese 4kw+ motors are getting low enough that I think that is the way to go. I'm just not ready to remove the very fuel efficient EFI 4 stroker on the back yet, so for now I'm stuck with the front mounted 101lb Riptide (which I will probably keep there as a backup for whatever electric I end up going with on the back).

 

[SolarRat]

My couches/seating forward of the pilot and dinette table area under the Bimini top are all sun burned as well. I would be ahead just to remove them all and put in porch furniture to my taste. Good suggestion.

Down here as soon as the vinyl starts to dry out and show faint cracks in it they are weeks of normal use away from totally disintegrating. Every time someone sits on it you'll hear more cracks forming until they rip open. Recovering them properly is an expensive job.

I waited till mine became a wet, butt-soaking eyesore before I decide to sell them. I was still able to get $400 for all the plastic seat bases with destroyed cushions, but probably could have gotten much more, much easier, if I sold a few months earlier when they still looked halfway decent.