?

William Atkin designed a couple of paddlewheel riverboats. Lady of the Lake is one that comes to mind. Designed for a 10 hp diesel IIRC. I think it’s perfectly suitable for an electric motor.?

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From what you describe, electric is economically viable, but marginal depending on what you value. My reasoning is that your fuel bill is ~$1000/mo and that would support roughly $70k of investment @12%.

How much do you have to carry, and do you have to go over 32 mph for an hour?? 75 hp for an hour would take about a 60kwh battery.??
That is heavy and costly enough to be questionable.
If you consider
-a lower speed
-a lighter more efficient boat -long stabilized mono (tri) operating at a lower multiple of hull speed or a foil assisted cat (lighter, higher speed)
you could dramatically reduce your power needs and cost.?

The kicker is that those big batteries could be very useful to your off-grid villa when not powering the boat.

If this boat must be big, heavy, fast, and conventional deep V, electric may be cost prohibitive.

Hello
I have recently joined the forum and have been following the topics with great interest.? Within the next few months, I would like to purchase a boat (new or used) for use in a fairly large river with the average trip being 30 miles and other shorter trips.? I have looked at the boats in use now, and generally they are all 20 to 30 foot length with outboard engines - 75 hp to 200 hp.? It takes about 50 min to travel the 30 miles depending on how rough the waters are, and while there is not much traffic, there are some vessels which have 2 200HP engines and makes quite a big wake.? The gas is about $120 USD.? I expect to use the boat twice per week for the 30 mile trip and twice a week for shorter trips and this is likely the maximum use; it may be less, not more.
Gas is likely to continue to increase in price.? I will be operating in a completely off-grid environment with full solar capability for the villa - PV panels, charge controller, battery bank, inverter, backup generator.? We get sun pretty much all day.? Everything including groceries and gas is a 10 min boat ride away.? No roads.
I am considering electric engines and have begun to ramping up my knowledge. Since I am starting completely from new, I figured this may be an advantage but perhaps not.? A few very broad questions and any guidance, input, feedback, cautions would be most welcome:
1. Should I go electric?
2. Is there a specific boat design for use with electric engines and river travel.
3. Budget - No idea. What can I get for 30k, 50k, 70k?
Thanks kindly for any input
Raj

On May 16, 2023, at 21:12, rragbeer@... wrote:

?Hi Reuben

I have not yet finalized on a boat size. ?The more information I collect, especially from the responses I have had so far, I am more I am inclined to consider a vessel which I can use for living quarters if I would like to overnight on the river instead of back in the villa.

The outboard vessels which are around today in the river can do the 30 miles in about 55 min. ?I do not mind going slower but more than 2 hours to do the trip may not the suitable. ?Your two 10kW motors cruising for 5 hours at 5 knots would do the trip in just over 5 hours. ?Am I calculating this correctly?

Budget - I truly do not know. In my thinking, 50 to 70 k was the figure but this may not be realistic and I have this number simply based on pure guesswork.

I do have the full solar set up for the villa and will likely be expanding the system so I will have access to solar power for charging.

I am inclined to go electric ?because we are likely at a point where the advances in electric will be so much in the next year or 2 that my investment in a gas outboard motor may be not the best bang for the buck. ?I am still 50/50 on this due to speed and possibly cost.

Appreciate the response.

Raj

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Reuben Trane via groups.io
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2023 6:52 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [electricboats] Newbie - 20+ foot boat for wide/long river in Guyana, South America

I’m an advocate for electric propulsion. Before being able to offer any suggestions, one needs a bit more info.

1. How big a boat are you considering?
2. What speed do you want to go and for how long?
3. Budget?
4. Excess solar power for charging?

Most likely the battery will be the most expensive component. You can build your own using cells from Winston or other manufacturer - no more difficult than doing model trains as a youth.

The major outboard manufacturers are just beginning to offer electric outboards. Torqeedo has a variety of products - both outboard and inboard.

It’s easier to go slow - but speed can be done with modest distances/operating time.

As an example, my 12m cruising cat has a 1,000AH/48v LFP battery using Winston cells and weighs close to 1,500#. My two 10kW motors can cruise for 5 hours at 5 knots.

Best wishes,

Reuben Trane
Mobile: 786.303.1013

?

One more question - with the load you carry (persons and gear) - how much HP do you now require to go the speed you want and size and type of current boat.?

a deep V hull is not needed for river cruising and takes more power to go the same speed as a modified V hull.?

?

Reuben is getting closer to what might be required.

Raj, is your regular trip 30 miles round trip or one way? ?

In either case, your current boat converted to Torqeedo power as suggested will have a usable range around 18 miles at 25mph with 1 Torqeedo Deep Blue 40 battery, according to the Torqeedo specs. ?That battery has a list price of $32k US. ?Given that range, you’ll need 2 of the batteries to make a 30 mile trip in 75 minutes of run time. ?The batteries are just over 600# each. ?So you could repower your current boat with Torqeedo motor and batteries for $90k US. ?Then you’ll need charger(s). ?You should also consider the time to recharge the 60+kWh used going the 30 miles once attached to a suitable shore power source. ?Lastly, due to the high tech nature of Torqeedo products, they are not available with factory support in some countries. ?I don’t know if Guyana is on their list.

If your monthly gasoline bill is around $1000 US, it will be a long time before you break even on the investment. ?

With your current outboard, parts and service should be readily available, performance is better, and re-fueling takes minutes, not hours or days. ?It’s all about the trade-offs, and while I am a huge proponent of electric conversions, you would be making considerable sacrifices to go electric for how you use your boat. ?Yours is a big project and pretty expensive to do just to see if it works. ?What happens if after $100k US, it doesn’t meet your needs? ?Just something to consider.

Eric