diy solar

diy solar

Am I crazy? (Solar Boat Project)

Please submit your opinion about this solar boat project and possible disaster.


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    13
Boat ownership: Has the old saw about standing in the shower while burning $100 bills popped up yet?
- former wooden boat owner (1924 Blanchard - what a sweetheart)
 

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Doing similar project. 96v. Just started a comprehensive Forum to track progress and get advice as I go.

 
You'll have no choice but to use 96v on the motors to push that hull. Most ratings you see advertised are based on no pushback, flat terrain, wind at the back etc etc. If you've spent any time on the open water, you know that wind and tide are a HUGE factor in how much you need to push that hull through the water. And that's just to make forward progress. You should consider selling this boat and picking up a catamaran. Then you have something you can actually consider adding sail to and it's much more efficient in the water. That's a big, old heavy hull designed for slow speed wine drinkers and a ton of displacement you've picked up. I'm sure it's comfortable for living with headroom, etc., but not sure it's the best idea for a fully DC powered option. There are tons of people out there doing what you're aiming for, so I'm sure there's lots of reading to catch up on. Keep in mind, the saltwater is always 4 x the amount of corrosion that you expected in the worst situation. Living on the water for 20 years has taught me that.
 
So according to my family I'm ruining my life, I was just under the impression I got myself a boat.

Anyway, I had the clever idea to make it solar and completely electric.

Here's my plan, I've divided it into 3 stages. All the low voltage electronics will be run through POE. With POE over Cat6 it gives you 35 watts per cable, you can efficiently pick from 18v 12v or 5v and with a POE splitter you get a standard power plug with 100mb standard ethernet connection. This will let me run android tablets through the POE with wifi turned off and ethernet connection only. You can run smart TVs this way as well. All the lights and bilge pump systems will also be run through POE. Each system will have its own battery pack which I am already building and testing. With each system like the bilge pumps on independant batteries, I'll have over a day of runtime on my systems even with the main batteries drained. POE will also give me short circuit protection along with usage statistics through the smart POE switches. You can also turn off individual ports through an API so eventually I'll make touchscreen controls. My main battery pack will be at 48v since the POE switches run on 52v this will give me the best efficiency keeping everything at 48v.

STAGE 1
My goal is to have 2-3000 watts of solar along the flybridge and extended main deck covered in solar panels. The main deck I plan to embed heated floor tubing in order to test pulling off heat and using thermoelectric modules to generate additional power. For this I plan on using two 11.5kw 48v DC hydraulic motors which have very close RPM and torque curves which match the old motors. Just 1 pair of DC motors would only give me tolling speed up to 10 knots but for stage 1 that would be fine. The problem is getting the 48v capacity I need. Was looking at trying to get some old LG 48v Server backup racks. Anything I can get cheap in bulk. Weight is not an problem since I'll be removing 12,000lbs of engine from the hold.

STAGE 2
For stage two I plan on adding solar panels on top of the flybridge and enclose the entire cabin. I hope this will give me enough surface area for another 3000 watts of panels. I can hang them off the end of the boat if I need to extend my wattage. I will then add 2-3 more 48v DC motors using a T 1:1 gearbox.

STAGE 3
I plan on adding wing like masts with solar panels. These will be at least 25ft tall and can extend out almost like a wing. The goal would be to add a minimum of 8000watts and using these wings with hydraulics they can be positioned to act as basic sails.

This is going to be my full-time project starting in February when I will also be living on the boat.
Would love any help or advice.

I'm looking for any 48v DC electronics like heating elements, a dometic 24v microwave, 48v AC units... Trying to save money wherever I can. Already have spent more than I anticipated but I also guess that's par for the course of having a boat. Also any charge controllers, solar panels or batteries. Only looking for 48v completed battery packs. My goal is to try and get as close to 8000ah at 48v. I'm removing 12,000lb of engine so I need to fill that with something. Would love to get a few commercial lithium battery backup units....
Just make sure to leave enough room for all the Bikini models to lounge around, and have fun!
 
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