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diy solar

Picking brains...help with Engine swap to electric...32ft Cabin Cruiser

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EndlessSun

New Member
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Jun 23, 2021
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Hey guys! Wanted to pick your brain.

I have a 32ft cabin Cruiser 12,000lbs empty with twin crusader 220hp and v drives.

I need to replace 1 engine and freshen up the other one.

It has been a dream of mine to convert it to electric, 2 motors connected directly to the proshafts and lithium behind them, dock charger and some solar.

I would like to cruise the lake between 7 to 10 knots.

What would it take to accomplish that, what size and kind of motors, DC or AC? Any advise, comments or help will be greatly appreciated...


Thanks


Dan.
 
That isn't a realistic expectation. You will not reach 7-10 knots with any kind of battery you can fit on the boat and have even an hour of runtime. You will not be able to charge a battery from solar with the space available on your boat.

If you can accept 3-5 knots and a runtime of a 4-5 hours then it can work. It will be at least as expensive as repairing your current engines.
 
You would need ~2x70kW electric motors to replace the engines, and about 1,500# of batteries for a 1-hour runtime.
 
EndlessSun said:
Hey guys! Wanted to pick your brain.

I have a 32ft cabin Cruiser 12,000lbs empty with twin crusader 220hp and v drives.

I need to replace 1 engine and freshen up the other one.

It has been a dream of mine to convert it to electric, 2 motors connected directly to the proshafts and lithium behind them, dock charger and some solar.

I would like to cruise the lake between 7 to 10 knots.

What would it take to accomplish that, what size and kind of motors, DC or AC? Any advise, comments or help will be greatly appreciated...


Thanks


Dan.
Click to expand...
You can start by looking here: https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us ;and there are a lot of other options.
 
EndlessSun said:
Hey guys! Wanted to pick your brain.

I have a 32ft cabin Cruiser 12,000lbs empty with twin crusader 220hp and v drives.

I need to replace 1 engine and freshen up the other one.

It has been a dream of mine to convert it to electric, 2 motors connected directly to the proshafts and lithium behind them, dock charger and some solar.

I would like to cruise the lake between 7 to 10 knots.

What would it take to accomplish that, what size and kind of motors, DC or AC? Any advise, comments or help will be greatly appreciated...


Thanks


Dan.
Click to expand...
If your waterline length is 29 ft. then your hull speed is 7.2 knots or 8.2 mph. If you can work with that as your top speed then your power needed is much less than trying to exceed hull speed.
 
How much does GM electric crate motor cost?

Retailing at $4,100, it is targeted for builders looking for a transverse-oriented powertrain to electrify a range of vehicles from modern to vintage cars, trucks and SUVs. Each Eluminator e-crate motor produces 281 horsepower and 317 lb-ft

The motor spins at a maximum of 13,800 rpm and comes with a gear ratio of 9.05:1
 
I would defiantly save the original twin motor inboard setup. Docking is do much easier twin screws.

On a budjet maybe motors from larger electric lawnmowers can be used. The HP and RPM is about right and could be tweaked perfect by messing with prop pitch and diameter anyway.

Alot of stuff in the world of e-bikes and electric motorcycles too.
 
Example of a converted catamaran.

A lot more deck space than a trawler to mount panels to regenerate power. Have been seeing more instances of electric boats but using diesel generator as power, basically how most locomotives operate.

 
I converted my 30' 10,000 lb sailboat to electric 2 years ago and am thrilled with the results. I have a 10KW motor with 202Ah of LiFePO4 batteries. It will push the boat to 6.2kts (hull speed is 6.4) but thats using about 200 amps which means that I have only 1hr before I'm out of battery power. However 4kts I only use 35-40A which means that I have about 5 hours. Sofar I have never even taken the batteries down past 20%DOD. I have only solar to charge (520W) This takes about a week to charge back up from a very deep discharge but in general I only use the motor in and out of the harbor so mostly never go below 80%DOD. In your case you can charge from shore power so no problem. You can of course add more batteries for extended range
 
That solar catamaran would be great for parts of the world with little cloud cover. Thinking Baja Mexico, Sea of Cortez.
 
Wow thanks for all the comments and suggestions! Definitely looking into it... I would definitely be happy if I could do 7-8 for 5hrs... that would be enought for a chill day at the lake. It looks like.it might be a trial and error kind of thing. Im looking at Nissan Leaf Engines with a tesla battery pack. as suggested in another website ?...


Will keep you guys posted if I come up with a serious plan.

Thanks again...
 
EndlessSun said:
Its a 1976 Pacemaker 32 Sdn
Click to expand...
So nice starting point for some experimentation. Some may poo poo this idea but how about a hardtop over the flybridge consisting of solar panels? Say 2 350watt panels maybe would have enough coverage. Now I know that is adding 100lbs up high, but that isn't exactly a row boat you are mounting it to. You could use the lightweight flexible panels but they are more expensive and not as efficient.
You could even consider adding panels over your rear deck area if you want to shade that area.

It won't be enough to power your boat but would help to top off.
 
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