Re: 15kW electric motors for Sailing Catamaran
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Hi Steve/Rob, Totally possible to use existing sail drives and add a motor on top. While doable its not trivial and at the end of the day, you may find its just better to go with something already on the market. The devil is in the details which may not be apparent at the onset. Another tricky aspect is getting the motor/reduction/prop just right for efficiency. Electric motors are most efficient near their upper rpm range, and props are most efficient when spinning slow. A typical motor may be anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 RPM.? Once and awhile you will come across a motor designed to spin at low RPM's which are closer to prop RPM, they are generally big and heavy.? As per the retractable drives, I'm betting you will keep them down most of the time. Regen on a cat can be significant due to the speed, if you don't need the regen and want to reduce drag, you can spin the props to match the speed of the boat and make the prop "invisible", that doesn't take much power at all.? And adding just a little more power will give you a nice little boost under sail. I find myself motor sailing most of the time, with an electric boat, there is almost no reason not to. Some may call it cheating.? Matt Foley? Sunlight Conversions Perpetual Energy, LLC 201-914-0466 
On Sunday, April 26, 2020, 11:24:49 PM EDT, Steven Chmura <contact@...> wrote:
First of all, wow, what an incredible daunting project. ?Do you have a website or info on the progression of your project? Not really able to offer advice, however, I am working on the planning aspect converting my 44¡¯ FP from ICE to electric. I¡¯m now about 1 yr from conversion. But looking at around 10-12kw motors connecting to my existing sail drive. Based on conversations,
considering 20-25kwh bank. I also am planning around a 3kw solar array.?
Anyways looking forward to following the progress and direction you go.
Steve On Apr 19, 2020, at 5:23 PM, Rob Cave via groups.io <rob@...> wrote:
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