100% Solar Electric Catamaran, Interview with owners from Indigo Lady
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- Living off grid is a dream that is attainable. And being able to sail and live at anchor without using fuel is something that many of us which to attain. Join us as we interview the owners of a Voyage 440. They converted their catamaran into a fully solar powered one and now sail the Bahamas.
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Another Episode with the Electric Cat
• 3 Months in the Bahama...
Connect with Dave and Lisa from Indigo Lady 100%Solar powered Catamaran
Facebook : Indigo Lady Conversion to Solar
daveonindigolady@gmail.com
Instagram : @lifeonlady
www.lisamarchi.com
#electricboat #oceanvolt #solarenergy
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If my wife looks at me with such adoration when I am that age, I will be very happy.
You're not thinking big enough man
You should also have a bunch of live-in 18 through 22-year-olds who look at you that way.
Just because men peak 35 to 45 doesn't mean that women didn't peak at 24
A man grows older. He gets more successful and attractive, it's crazy for him to only settle for a woman 20 years past her prime when he's just hitting his
This guy's now passed his prime too, but that means that his woman is way way past
I dunno how old she is either, but that old lady can still get it. sexy.
This man is an engineer with all his heart. 👍
He sure is
Dave is my hero for getting that lovely teacher to come along with him and for building that ingenious Cat! You the man Dave!
Dave and Lisa are wonderful people with a ton of knowledge and skills. We are grateful to call them our friends.
The teacher is a motor mouth and will drive him nuts.
@@grancitodos7318 Bit harsh and unnecessary, they both seemed lovely to me.
They are the nicest people
@@grancitodos7318their both teachers 😂
US Navy sailor here, I have designed your boat down to the redundant gensets and wise choice on 48v as your system voltage. In my head and on paper anyway, but you have actually done it and I am impressed sir. Bravo.
We all know you’re a bot.
I take it this would be no good for blue water stuff?
So, as a Navy sailor, you also know how this would not work in blue water. This is for coastal cruising when you can wait for sunny days.
@@JayRSwan Ah, ty for answering my question, tbf the op didn't mention blue water sailing?
@@helphelpimbeingrepressed9347 True
Mr. Dave, as an engineer/builder myself I have to say: Hats off. Just rigging the roof/rack for the panels and make it work like a Faraday cage to conduct the current of a possible lightning hitting is awesome. Congrats. I worked in one of the places of the Continent with the higher probability of lightnings (Monagas, Venezuela) in the oilfields and I could see the spikes-like systems working. We used to measure the current going down to ground with an ampmeter clamp, and this is the suggestion I dare to give. Attaching an ampere meter can't hurt and will indicate that the system is working.
Dave is the man imo. Lots of great ideas and engineering . That must be one hell of a clamp on meter to measure the lightning strike. I have one that is only max of 100amps. Cheers.
Love the conversion. And, as they don't want to sail, it makes a lot of sense. For those that do enjoy some sailing, I recommend at most removing the mainsail and keeping a jib. Plenty of solar real estate without a main and often plenty of wind power with just a jib. It's often windy when not sunny after all. Plus, there's that redundancy of having 2 propulsion sources.
Well said Someguy. This works in their situation but it's amazing how much just a jib can propulse you ahead. Fair winds!
@@WildlyIntrepid look up kite sails
well said. At 5 knots and 20 miles a day, adding sails make a lot of sense.
Not everyone wants to sail. But for a sailor it definitely makes sense
Interesting point re insurance etc tho.
For a jib, a mast & rigging is required. However, there's ways to sail without a mast, kite surfers do it.
This is exactly what I want to do. So glad someone has cut a path and explained how.
That's awesome glad you found it informative. Are you doing a power cat too or sailing one?
@@WildlyIntrepid I have converted my catalina 22 into a solar boat using trolling motors. But look forward to scalling up into something that I can really cruise on.
That's cool. How fast can you get going with those trolling motors? Keep us posted on your refit.
It is done! Wait for it get rd's!
❤ I'M SHOCKED at how affordable their setup is. INCREDIBLE! ⚡️
Same 🤡 stuff as on land with good old fossil energy if you really need to go somewhere.
I’ve been contemplating this for years. I didn’t think it was possible just yet with a boat of that size. These people are awesome for showing it is. My thoughts were I could do it but almost half that size, I’m glad the sky’s the limit
If you can see it and dream it anything is possible. it really is interesting seeing what others come up with.
I have been researching the conversion of catamarans to solar powered for a few years and consider this RUclips video to be the most informative that I've seen. I would like to learn more from this couple who have done a lot of thinking and great work. Thank you.
Wow thank you so much Gary this means a lot. We have the info for David and Lisa in the description below.
I like the idea of the stability of a cat, ease of powerboat operation, and quiet of electric
What a joy watching this. Thank you. What an amazing couple. What an amazing gentleman.
Some of the coolest people!
Awesome catamaran, huge amount of shade too!
This is the future, they are my inspiration!
I'm going to try doing this to an Endeavor powercat that has shot engines over the next few years ❤
Awesome. Let us know how your project goes.
We also converted a small yacht into a pure solar powered boat. We use it to do expeditions on the largest inland dams in South Africa. It works just perfect! Well done and enjoy your trips at see!
That is awesome. What kind of boat? How much capacity and solar do you have in board?
Phillip! Please add some links to your build!
I love your approach to lightning, and redundancy. You clearly have an engineering background. You could grab a 2 burner induction stove as a separate add on. Stow it when you don't need it, use it when propane is difficult to obtain. They tend to be a little slick, so you use a silicone pad to keep the pits from slipping, with no burning of the mat.
Good interview. I have looked at sites for companies that sell new cats "all solar powered" and they spend more time on how the diesel gensets can push the boat through the water for so long, at top speed and no space on what the performance is on just solar or just battery or combined solar/battery. In this case just solar is the standard operational mode with genset as pure backup... but solar and battery is dual for redundancy anyway. Cool project and it seems one of those things that are better owner built than factory. Wish I could follow them but face book is one of those don't touch sites.
Thank you Len. Sometimes people that use their boat/ system on a daily basis put more thoughts into what will serve their needs. Everyone has different needs, especially when it comes to traveling and performance. It was really interesting to hear what Dave and Lisa came up with and how it all works. They are also on Instagram, web and have an email. We have put all the links in the description.
I love this and even more love with the fact batteries and solar panels are rapidly getting better AND cheaper. I wouldn't ditch the sails though. And I've been looking to do this with a mono instead. Still bench racing and not building yet so we'll see what happens when I get started. In the meantime I'm busy doing as little as possible here on and island in PH with my girl and our dog just enjoying time.
Love to see this life being lived though, congrats on your boat good sir!!!
You might be limited on the mono with the total surface area.
You'll want at least a jib and kite sail for cloudy days.
@@nostradamus7648 especially in the ocean, were the clouds form a lot due to moisture.
Saw this boat parked at the fort pierce city marina on our cruise down the coast. Super cool boat and I've dreamed of copying this ever since.
It is a neat boat and cool idea. We are in fort Pierce ATM actually.
Love to see two separate energy sources, i.e. diesel and solar electric, working together to achieve a common purpose of moving this craft. This is where our motivation should be in the next generation of vehicles. Hybrids make way more sense. And proven too.
I think adding wind power would make a ton of sense, often there's wind when there's not sun. I'd make it so the turbine could be raised when in use. I bet there's a way to get power from the waves lifting and lowering the boat. I'd still want some sort of diesel power too.
I agree. Solar is great but having a backup is needed imo. For those who harp about all alternate energy do not understand what it actually takes to move a vessel long term.
Wind is a nice option for some. As you said having it retractable may be a nice option but imo solar is just so much better. For the most part as cruisers who island hope we do not spend enough time in areas with heavy enough wind to make a turbine worth the cost. We find protected anchorages which means less wind output. Plus personally I'm not a fan of the sound and even the output is far from great.
This is wonderful. Seem like great people. I hope they get to live the dream forever!
They really are an amazing couple which we're happy we got to meet
I wish i had someone in my life that looks at me, the way she looks at him.
Great boat, great video. Long time solar fanatic (since about 1965). I am looking forward to the day where you don't need to build a beefy supporting roof. When the panels bolted on, or slid into a frame, will form a lightweight, watertight roof, saving tons (literally) of materials and cost.
Thanks. Technology is constantly evolving so all we can do is wait and I'm sure it'll be very different only a few years from now.
@@WildlyIntrepid I have seen a few carpark installations in Townsville, Australia where solar panels do slide neatly into aluminium tracks to make suncover roofs. The technology is growing all of the time. I have been trying to convince my son to convert his Seawind 1000 XL to solar powered as the engine conversion to EPropulsion electric outboards would be relatively easy. For extended cruising, the ability to desalinate water with solar power and no need for refueling is a no brainer.
Best of luck with that transformation if it does happen. Not having to rely on diesel would be great.
This has always been possible. Whilst some form of support (posts & light truss) will always be required. Flat ali strip siliconed/riveted between panels. A 2nd (or more) layer of panels can be on a roller frame (similar to a draw) pulled out when no clearance issues (has a large tile/shingle look, so rain runs off, or caught).
I'm rebuilding a Hughes 40 ketch and I converted it to electric. I have an 18kw 96v system but I only have 800w of solar and I'm currently have 21kw of battery power..but they're golfcart batteries so my usable kw is about half. I'm still working on it trying to maximize the system but so far I love it. Great video and its an inspiration, he did a wonderful job on that boat.
Your boat sounds like a cool project as well. Maybe I'm wrong but isn't 800w a little low for solar? Keep us posted on your project.
@@WildlyIntrepid I found that I can run my boat functions(lights, fridge, freezer, microwave, coffee maker)on 800w indefinitely. Since I barely motor I find I can keep my motor topped up by charging off my house bank on sunny days. I also have a portable generator for longer trips ( if I can't sail)
Nice! Ya if you don't need to motor it makes all the difference.
Why not be the first to build a full solar roof the length of your boat. With 40ft you would surely be able to get 5Kw of power probably a lot more with the latest high efficiency panels.
@@marviwilson1853 thats a beast of a boat. If you’re suggesting keeping the sails it would shade most of it. If you remove the sails you destroyed a really expensive boat. I have no doubt you could push it along. Not nearly as fast as the sails would. Next you have to consider physics adding that extra weight above your head is bound to make you tippy. Don’t get me wrong, I think you could make a pretty fun coastal cruiser. It’s definitely a worthwhile endeavor to the right person. You should probably start with a broken hunter though.
Love the t-shirt!! Let's trip to life fantastic!! You are kinda living my dream folks thanks for sharing !!!!! Amazing design
Glad you liked it. Thanks for the nice comment.
This boat is certainly the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything!"
Absolutely so cool a solar cat !!! I like that alot
It really is a cool concept. Thanks John
Absolutely love it!
Thinking of building or getting one?
This was great, I'm near 60, solo, thinking about a sailing cat, but this has really got me reconsidering now, cyclone damaged cat conversion 🤔
Hearing about others and what they've done is always useful for those new ideas 😊
Solar panels and LiFePO4 battery prices have dropped a lot since then - in fact you can now buy 600W solar panels for the price they paid for their 300W panels. The battery (2 x 16 cell) of 3.2V/340Ah ( ± 35kWh) would cost around $3000 !
Agreed, If you are willing to go used batteries, it can go as low as $50 per kilowatt
Coming from an aviation background, redundancy is a good thing.
I love the fact that they did this retrofit. I am concerned about how low the boat sits in the water though
Great to see the conversion. I also have a solar electric cat but a lot smaller. I will be using mine to cruise the canal systems in Ontario.
Awesome! Are you going down the Erie, Welland, Champlain? That will be a fun adventure for sure.
@@WildlyIntrepid I am actually doing the Trent Severn Waterway this Aug which is part of the Great Loop.
Nice we've heard it's a fun one to do. Enjoy Phil.
Theres the Uk channel sailing Cahodia they have a friend who has a small electric Catamaran That is electrically powered ..
Theres also a guy on Hawaii heavily into designing and building his own electric cats.
A folding or telescopic mast with a Nonsuch/Catrig sail boat, see capt Q, would be a great way to go and easy single handed.
Lots of ideas floating around. Always someone trying something new
this is the first "oh we live on a boat" video i have seen where the people didnt look like they had leather sunfried skin lol. really cool idea, he speced it like i would have. mabye a bit more solar for given area but idk
The old marine saying "one is none and two is one" is super important to remember when at sea. Everything breaks so if you have one of something you are screwed. You are very wise to have two separate and redundant systems. I wouldn't change a thing about what you did.
I couldn't agree more. The sea tends to speed up the deterioration of everything. And when parts are hard to get by you're really happy to have this this kind of backup.
@@WildlyIntrepid Amen brother amen.
16 kw seems like a very small amount of storage, I imagine with the prices now you could double that or more for the same price. Im not an ocean loving type but this looks like a great lifestyle and I could see it approaching 100% free power and transport with emerging technology.
Battery prices keep dropping.
You are right. I think at this time you could almost double the capacity for the same cost.
@@WildlyIntrepid The boat selection, design and overall plan was well conceived and well executed. Congratulations on your success.
$150k is a lot of money for how little generation and storage he has. The roof has a lot of wasted space
@@nirodper
Yep, solar panels and LiFePO4 battery prices have dropped a lot since then - in fact you can now buy 600W solar panels for the price they paid for their 300W panels. The battery (2 x 16 cell) of 3.2V/340Ah ( ± 35kWh) would cost around $3000 !
Great to see another all electric boat. Ours runs off of Tesla batteries and we only have 900 watts of solar. Maybe one day we can upgrade to more solar and better electric motors. Love your boat!
It's a diesel hybrid.
Kraken! Please add links to your build!
Why am I just seeing your channel now. You guys are awesome. I'm gonna binge watch you guys
Hahaha funny how RUclips shares or not. Thanks a bunch glad you enjoy it and happy watching
Thats an epic setup!
Been sailing my solar boat "Suntiano" for 9 years now.
You made a 5:38 wonderful dream! 😊
That's great. What kind of boat is it?
Love this project ❤ oil industry must be hating.
Dream it build it and enjoy every minute of it awesome 👍👍
It is pretty impressive what they accomplished
Great interview & information. Thank you
Glad you liked it. Cheers
Lovely setup.
I would have Most certainly put more powerful motors in, not for speed so much, but to be able to get out of a spot of bother. - such as:
Being able to steer the boat in strong winds and go against a strong wind. (to be able to relocate or even allow yourself to have another chance at getting a good anchorage)
Having an over specified motor has literally saved the lives of our family a good handful of times.
Enjoy your boat, would love to have done a build like this
Amazing example of what is possible. if you replace the solar with modern ones you should get like 35% more electricity. They did some breakthrough on solar cells in the last months - which should be soon in production.
If you are lucky and Avalanche works out (a company) then you can take this whole setup, scrap it and put an Orbitron on each side of the hull and have more power, 24/7 and can run the engines full power as they together give you 30kw++ (I hear designs up to 100kw each are being worked on for a unit small enough to fit on a desk)) using ridiculous amounts of fuel (100kW, 24/h is around 0.2 GRAMS).
Until then - AMAZING thing.
Great people, project and video! Thanks!
Glad you like it David
Greetings Dave and Lisa, kudos and accolades to you both for actually building and doing what to most of us, is a very challenging project. The concept of an all solar powered boat that is practical and liveable in, is awesome !! Just one query, in monitoring the power output of the solar panels, how often do you have to wash/clean the panels ?
Cheers
Kin
excellent proof of concept. I have dreamed of a similar idea, of course the solar system is not as practical for long distance versus a sail. Good job.
Great to see someone who has done this solar conversion at reasonable cost. "Silent Yachts" building on the success of the Solar Wave project seem just way too expensive. He just had to be a physicist! An interesting project from the point of view of energy management. Solar capacity, battery capacity, energy consumption at various hull speeds and off course internal energy usage from domestic appliances. Physicists love getting their teeth into such things. Someone should try a similar thing with a mono hull vessel. Another interesting calculation between possible solar area, battery capacity, motor size and hull resistance with speed. Certainly a lot cheaper
We found it very fascinating what he managed to do. It goes to show how everything is possible when you put some thoughts into it and just go with it.
You guys are inspiring, this is something I want to do, and also own a catamaran. I currently have a 35 Columbia boat which I test and try out project for this. Also yes technology is always changing, sodium battery is coming out also when it comes with air conditioning some runs through solar panels and doesn't use much energy.
Glad we can inspire. There really is a lot of different things constantly coming out and it's fun to test and find what works best for your needs. How do you like your Columbia?
Thank you for sharing about sodium, I had no idea. Alternatively, wouldn't it be great if we could simply make power from the salt water our boats are floating in.
What a dream build. Congratulations!
It's good to see a CONSTRUCTIVE "You did WHAT?!" on this thing.
Interesting project. I was sadly surprised that they can get only 15-25 mi range running on batteries alone. Since they don't have sails anymore, that means they are limited to short coastal trips. I hope to see the technology evolving in my lifetime.
I have thought about this alot.i though to run off jet drives powered buy electric motors.cool build
whau...respect ! Im also engineer of inovative projects , and that is the way, how I like it .-) greetings from CZ !
Awsome boat!
I would love to have a cat like this awesome
Happy I found this video, with all that real estate I've always wondered why nobody goes all out on solar panels and hybrid conversion. My only question here is, how does that large solar panel roof behave in strong winds?
Glad you liked it. It seems like it does well but that would be a good question for the owners.
Finally getting a real word answer on what kind of kt speed the *solar only* power can deliver is really helpful. IE if not pulling from batteries, have clear skies and direct sun, no generators or other electrical loads, 7.2kw of solar will move that boat at 4-4.5kts. Thats fantastic. I was expecting that figure to be closer to 1-2 kts and relying a great deal on batteries for reasonable propulsion.
It's a question we all want to ask I think. We were expecting lower as well. Are you looking to build one?
@@WildlyIntrepid not build from scratch like this vessel, beautiful conversion though, that solar arch is exceptional work. I'm looking at vessels like the HH44 and trying to get an idea what kind of "sustainable" cruising it could pull off under solar alone for circumstances like becalmed on clear days when you don't want to dip into batteries or kick a diesel. 3.2-5.5kw of solar and 42kwh bank though so lots of potential.
Dave really did a great job. We love how much solar he was able to get on that vessel and still make it look good. The HH44 looks gorgeous. I'm sure milage will vary like anything else but I would be happy with 3 knots extra just on solar. But I imagine with battery tech moving faster and becoming more affordable and safe we hopefully can pack more energy in less space. Cheers
brilliant and an inspiration. Beware, the shade from the radar, etc will reduce considerably the output of all the panels in that series
I was first person in my area to have solar. Have done everything myself never paid anybody.
That was back nineteen ninety eight.
Now I.
Have thirty two kw.
My neighbors used to call me the scientist guy LO.L
Have saved over $40000 just by doing it out-of-pocket.Never took a loan for anything.
have helped Many people in the area figure out how to do their place.
I never had them on my roof I have on my backpack property
on big arrays.
Awesome boat, love all theheart and engineering you and you wife put into the boat.
Wonder if they're looking at Starlink, it would be a useful addition for emergencies at least.
I wondered. I see new multi-million dollar all electric yachts and wondered if anyone would try a conversion with a solar roof and here it is.
It is great to see it can be done with less.
New Solar Electric Boats, $2,000,000+, used cat plus conversion, ~$350,000. Well worth the effort.
Mad repsect, fantastic build!
Agreed
I met this guy a few years ago in deltaville. It is interesting, suggest: 1) kite power, 2) remove diesel generators (they should not be installed) 3) use larger diameter slower propellers for better efficiency.
Maybe I'm not up to speed on my physics but I've heard a couple people say things about using a larger diameter prop. I have yet to see it work in practice. I do not see how moving a larger prop through all that water even at lower speeds would be any more efficient. I think I'll leave the hydrodynamics to the professionals why design props and not try and reinvent the wheel.. or prop. The kite is an interesting idea but comes with its own share of problems. And removing the gensets in my mind would be reckless unless you never go offshore.
@@WildlyIntrepid The larger diameter really is much more efficient. Look at cargo ships, submarines etc. The most efficient pedal powered boat uses a 16 inch propeller on a boat barely big enough to hold 1 person. Further look at fish, dolphin, whale etc.. why is their tail the size it is relative to the body? Your system is roughly 25-40% efficient from shaft to thrust. Other solar boats have 80-90% efficiency here. Check out also "MS Tûranor PlanetSolar" (a very powerful solar boat) they tried different drives to get better efficiency, and race to alaska pedal powered all must use larger propellers. It is a huge pain to spin a huge propeller for a bunch of reasons but the efficiency tradeoff is huge. Sail drives are intended for boats that sail (in theory) so are optimizing for other things like reduced drag/weight/cost/durability/feasibility/convenience and so on and the efficiency is not maximized. If you dont have lots of energy from a fuel to compensate for this low efficiency, the other tradeoffs seem less worthwhile (to me anyway). With the doubling in efficiency in propulsion it would transform the ability of your boat, but you would need to spin 60 inch propellers. You would maintain enough speed on solar (and wind) and could remove the generator with confidence or alternately, only run the generator on bio fuels, but inevitably hardly use them, or produce green hydrogen/ammonia with the excess solar power (and hydro power when under kite) if you want to be early adopter and produce fuel.
That all sound great but as a cruising boat anchoring in shallow waters I'll take a so called less efficient prop over something that snaps off or bends shafts any day. Also how are you ment to get a 6 ft prop on a sailboat? Your shaft would be at least 3 feet down on a very steep angle so it doesn't hit the hull. Your thrust would be mostly downward. Then your deepest point would be your spinning prop... Sounds sketchy to me. Would love to see someone successful do it on a boat that is actually being used for something other that deep water. It just doesn't seem practical for a cruiser.
@@WildlyIntrepid First of all, I love what you have done.. dont get me wrong here. Thanks for this. A larger prop may not be right for your intended use but it is hard to ignore the huge potential here. You really have to think outside the box to make this work. I dont think inboard or saildrive will work as you said there is no way to run the shaft at a reasonable angle. It would need to be an outboard that can run at higher levels (prop out of water) for shallow water, or keep the existing drives for shallow water (and backup or high power) and have a high efficiency cruising outboard for 3-4 knots and 24 hour use. I built a prototype that pushes me 2 knots using 120 watts. I improved it now and need to make more video/test ruclips.net/video/XgMlcdPjUc4/видео.html
@@seandepagnier Lager diameter props would certainly help, but I was retrofitting a boat with diesel saildrives. The distance from the prop OD to the hull is a limiting factor, and too close means hull vibrations. The full torque at zero RPM is great for big, high pitch props. At least the motor is a vertical shaft motor so there is only one 90 degree gear to the prop, unlike the two in diesel saildrives. Another interesting option would be a paddlewheel catamaran with the wheel between the sugarscoops.
Wow… love everything about this video, well done .. I’ve been waiting for someone like you guys to do this, if ever you need a crewmen I’m your guy … I’ve been dreaming of this very thing and want to learn all about it … thank you 🙏 for sharing this, to me it’s important and would love to meet you both one day… to be honest I’m truly surprised more aren’t doing this type of thing or haven’t come forward highlighting the possibilities of it all… again thank you and looking forward to your next video, just subscribed to see more…
Thank you very much for the offer. Hopefully your dream will become reality soon. As of now we do not need crew but we will keep you posted if we do. Keep us in the loop about your journey
very cool something to think about ❤️
It's always great to see and learn about different setups
3:10
Cost or boat: $200,000 USD
Solar conversion: $150,000 USD
Time: About a year
Good for you I am shipwigth and I totally agree with you .good luck enjoy the sea with out destroying it
20 miles can you imagine that ,I hope some day i can Travel
Really interesting! Thanks for some good ideas for future projects!
Really happy we could share this amazing conversion that Dave and Lisa did.
Electric boats should be the default form of propulsion for leisure craft like cats where they have plenty of space for solar & battery. If there is an engine at all, it can be small in-line one to charge the battery or drive the motor in exceptional circumstances.
You guys being into efficiency, looking into Sharrow props be worthwhile. Much less noise cavitation, and vibration.
I missed his tshirt the first time I watched this. Awesome. I hope to find more data on this conversion and long term results.
Haha awesome. All his contact info is down in the description.
Here today as U.S and world tensions rise to gauge the feasibility of going full water world 😅
Fantastic!
Thank You!
This is a neat prject. I'm currently converting a monohull to electric. Mostly for convienience (I despise working on marine diesels). I'll have solar panels and a small gas genorator on board. Lets be honest withourselves though about what is a isn't a vanity project. When you take the sails off a sailboat you have not "gone green". Learning to sail would be going green.
Sounds like you are working on a cool project yourself. Sometimes our bodies decide before we do. If I couldn't sail anymore I think an electric conversion would be the greenest and best option to continue living this lifestyle. But I won't argue that sailing is the best option imo.
@@WildlyIntrepid agreed sailing does a number on the body. I'm already saving for electric winches and roller furling.
Great project
It would be nice to have some sort of wind turbine to charge the battery bank. I know there are are marine boat mounted wind turbines which have a very low capacity to charge drive batter banks.
This gentleman needs to design a boat from scratch and sell the plans. He's obviously brilliant.
Dave is truly brilliant. I think he is helping others with their builds as well.
It’s a nice practical experiment yet ultimately he has created an off grid aquatic mobile home. As cats don’t lend themselves to carrying weight I doubt it serves well as a passage maker. Though as he says, he uses it for short trip island hopping only. I would want a very stable battery bank that has zero risk of fire yet think those are next level tech that cost mini fortunes. Ultimately when we can achieve 3 times the energy yield for half the carried weight at an affordable cost will be the day such craft become a practical reality.
Envious :)
That's my plan, to get a "small" (something I can singlehand comfortably) sailing cat to do coastal cruising around FL and into the Caribbean as I'm closing in on my early retirement.
While I like the solar/wind power (which I'll have to charge batteries, and run systems on the boat), I'd miss the sailing aspect as I enjoy sailing! Not ready to completely ditch diesel sail drives either.
Enjoy living the dream, cheers!
I can agree personally I would miss sailing too much to do a full conversion. But I can understand with back issues wanting something easier on the body.
Battery Capacity typical for power cats, I am really impressed about solar
282 kW 564 kWh
Speed Range Range
4 kts 131 nm 263 nm
5 kts 98 nm 197 nm
6 kts 59 nm 118 nm
Seems like it could use more battery n bigger motors. But still soo cool! Great idea. I've been dreaming of an electric solar cat since I seen a vid on the silent 55, 2 or 3 years ago. Great you could make your own with only 350k! Ever thought of a kite sail!? Bet you could cruise 7 or 8 with one.
Probably suitable for its intended area of use .
Wow! I’ve learned a great deal about solar powered boats on RUclips. You all did your homework. Can you please describe the battery banks. I heard it but plz break it down….8 200amp battery’s, etc?? I am finding that available sq footage for panels is key, and a limitation. Your panel setup is a beast! Lesson Learned…Start out with the best and ya just buy it once👍
Just awesome!
Well done.
Hell yes, this is awesome.
A catamaran is a boat for sunny day (doesn't handle tall waves well) so this makes a lot of sense.
We've never sailed a catamaran before but I'm sure that it handles the seas differently than a monohull.
Being retired means not having to beat into head seas, just wait them out. Big swells are just what their name implies, swell.
That's the beauty of it. Go with the flow
You should add a couple of wind turbines if they are well battened down for wind
hmm love this, i would add a wind generator as well
Thanks for making the videos.1 thing im interested in.with current technology why not use twin jet drives and instrad of useing petrol engines use dc motors
You could pull sleds of solar panels behind the boat.
🌴 I’m a retired boat ,yacht builder , I’m and old salt that’s so old when I fart dust comes out ! This guy & gal got their schit together , he is highly intelligent and has the know how and skills to pull this off , so l understand that using a Cat , gives you the space especially for the solar , the boat definitely got lighter getting those motors out and sail rigging , your battery bank seemed small to me but I’m not a solar guy that’s why I’m watching this vid to further my knowledge, would a larger Tri hull worked out better ? Could you of used say a Tesla wall battery ( don’t know the cost 🤔) worked out better , just wondering, could or would you us any say vertical wind generation? And what about distance ? Is it capable of being infinite 🤔 ? Self sustaining. Have you taken it on long cruises, how far , what would or will you change to make it better . ( I’ve thought about doing a houseboat , a lot smaller scale but thinking of how to make it totally off grid to use as a mother ship to tow my fishing skiff to crazy fishing places ! )
Your ideas are all good. I think Dave made his choices based on what he could source at the time. As it has been some time that he has been cruising with his vessel. If I recall the batteries he has were some of the better batteries on the market at the time but very expensive compared to what we have now. We also have more options for charging sources.
Love the idea. Would love to get a tour of the cat.
And I especially love your t-shirt.
I named my 11 meter cat "42" and as a geek who builds superconducting magnets etc. I would love to remove my standing rigging etc. and go full electric. I currently have 1.2 Kwatts of solar and a single 25HP yanmar diesel engine.
Now I'm working on getting a bucket full of money so I can move closer to full electric.
calm seas and following winds... or full sun.
Personally Alex and I love to sail so we wouldn't get rid of our rig and a working diesel is more redundant than a electric motor on a all electric boat. That said. If I didn't enjoy sailing and had a diesel I couldn't repair then the all electric option would be preferred. We all decide what's best for each of us. what are your biggest draws on a 1.2kw of solar and what size bank do you have with that?
@@WildlyIntrepid I motor sail solo mostly. So I use my retractable drive leg/diesel and normally the furling headsail.
I have 480AH 12V carbon lead acid sealed batteries with a 3.6KW 230VAC inverter. My hot water can be from heat exchanger on diesel engine or inverter 230VAC or in-line LPG instantaneous water heater. I use a bread maker, a toaster, a oven/air fryer, a sandwich press, a 42 inch flat screen with a gaming level PC, a 230VAC AC, a slow cooker, chargers for laptops phones cameras etc.. Like you I selectively use things to avoid drawing to much current. I live on the East coast of Queensland Australia and usually never go below 75% battery charge.
My last job was building a 265KWATT 48KG electric motor that was used to power a light plane. And am currently on a MRI build for brain scans.
So I'm going to need a BIG bucket of money to convert to electric propulsion. I've lived aboard for 5 years so far with 1 year in a marina and am currently in NZ on land working on getting that bucket full.
I would love to have fully retractable drives outboard style to reduce fouling and drag when sailing.
This gives meaning to the saying, "Older and wiser". LOL.
Absolutely. It is great to talk to anyone who has more knowledge and experience.
42 love it
Very nice boat.
16kwh of battery...
Meanwhile I'm over here planning to put 15kwh in the bed of my truck. Shit.
Now that solar panels are at the printing/film stage of development, I can envisage a day....not really too far away, when the sails, the mast, almost every surface, are solar panels.....WOW, wind and sun, how cool will that be? Very very cool
I believe solar sails are a thing already but I wouldn't want that much money installed on something that can tear. Lots of new tech coming out tho
Already exists, sunreef 80 eco! (believe they will make it in the 60 at some point, but they have the 80 built out already)
Thanks for sharing.
@@WildlyIntrepid Great improvements are always built on sequential steps. Ours is one step in the right direction, and if that inspires someone to make the next great idea, wonderful.
Awsome! but needs more battery capacity and larger inverter.