ePropulsion Pod Drive

[Bull City]

Looks like they also have 110v models of both the 20A and 40A chargers. eg. 20A:

View attachment 415967

I'm not going to opine on the extension cord idea except to say that I think getting expert advice before hooking things up would be a good idea.

Eureka! I did not see that. Thank you. Thinking about it, it would be foolish for them to not have a 110 volt charger.

As to shore power connection, the slips at my marina all have 110 volt receptacle, some have 30 Amp power, but they cost extra. My slip has only a 110 volt power receptacle. My concern was leaving an extension cord plugged in continuously. I found this "Weatherproof Receptacle Protector" cover which looks like it would do the job. 

It looks like the pieces are in place, now I have to look at space possibilities.

 

[Bull City]

Another thing to consider is fore & aft positioning of the pod drive. I have seen one installation that is pretty close to the keel.

 

[allweather]

That is beyond my experience in regards to disturbed flow after the keel or in front of the rudder. My feeling would always value nice steering more but no idea...

Installation and access behind the keel is so much nicer however. From a rule of thumb approach I'd go with right in front of the frame below the winches.(number 3 "frame" at the keel) Not directly after the keel, still good access right besides the seacocks and you don't need to cut any large hatches for installation.

 

[jdege]

My boat was designed to have two props, each driven by a 5HP gas engine. Someone replaced them with a single offset prop driven by a 27HP diesel.

I've been thinking about replacing that with a pair of 6HP electric pods, placing the props exactly where the original props were.

But then, my keel is rather unusual. The boat is almost a sharpie. It has a 4200 pound keel, but it's long and shallow. The boat only draws 20 inches with the boards up.

I'd think, with regard to positioning, that your want to position the pod so as to put the prop where the original prop was, if there was an original prop.

 

[Bull City]

That is beyond my experience in regards to disturbed flow after the keel or in front of the rudder. My feeling would always value nice steering more but no idea...

Installation and access behind the keel is so much nicer however. From a rule of thumb approach I'd go with right in front of the frame below the winches.(number 3 "frame" at the keel) Not directly after the keel, still good access right besides the seacocks and you don't need to cut any large hatches for installation.

I also thought #3 looked about right - behind the keel and ahead of the winches.

I'd think, with regard to positioning, that your want to position the pod so as to put the prop where the original prop was, if there was an original prop.

Interesting boat you have. My boat, and H-Boats overall, were designed with no engine. OB power hangs off the transom.

 

[Bull City]

Here is a drawing showing the location. The blue rectangle would just contain the profile of the pod: 298 mm long, 350 mm deep. If the boat were ever lifted with a Travel Lift, it would be good to know that the pod was forward of the winches. 

 

[Bull City]

Here is a view of the J/100 showing the pod drive.

 

[slap]

Here is a view of the J/100 showing the pod drive.

View attachment 416028

That's the exact same drawing that J boats uses - so that is the standard diesel with a saildrive, not a pod drive.

 

[Bull City]

That's the exact same drawing that J boats uses - so that is the standard diesel with a saildrive, not a pod drive.

That's true, but my purpose was to show the fore & aft placement.

 

[andykane]

Conventional wisdom says that a prop that far ahead of the rudder will hinder maneuverability due to limited prop wash over the rudder, but on boats this light and responsive I wouldn't worry about it. My boat is 34', 10000lbs, with a prop forward like that and it works just fine. So go ahead and put it wherever it fits best.

 

[Diarmuid]

Conventional wisdom says that a prop that far ahead of the rudder will hinder maneuverability due to limited prop wash over the rudder, but on boats this light and responsive I wouldn't worry about it. My boat is 34', 10000lbs, with a prop forward like that and it works just fine. So go ahead and put it wherever it fits best.

With a spade, does it matter much?

 

[TwoLegged]

Conventional wisdom says that a prop that far ahead of the rudder will hinder maneuverability due to limited prop wash over the rudder, but on boats this light and responsive I wouldn't worry about it. My boat is 34', 10000lbs, with a prop forward like that and it works just fine. So go ahead and put it wherever it fits best.

The H-boat's rudder is so far forward that it will be fine

 

[weightless]

Conventional wisdom says that a prop that far ahead of the rudder will hinder maneuverability

True, but BC seems to be maneuvering the boat okay with an outboard. I don't expect the pod, even if it were to be tucked right behind the keel, would make maneuvering any more difficult.

In the interest of science, it might be enlightening to see how things work out with the pod placed forward of the keel   I wonder if there'd be grant money for that?

 

[andykane]

True, but BC seems to be maneuvering the boat okay with an outboard. I don't expect the pod, even if it were to be tucked right behind the keel, would make maneuvering any more difficult.

In the interest of science, it might be enlightening to see how things work out with the pod placed forward of the keel   I wonder if there'd be grant money for that?

I guess you missed the latter half of that sentence where I said just that

 

[weightless]

I guess you missed the latter half of that sentence where I said just that

Sorry about that, I was just using the quote to tee up a potentially amusing inanity. Were we not amused? Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right?

 

[Bull City]

@andykane @weightless 

My maneuvering difficulty is because the OB is so far astern of the rudder. The OB is locked so that it doesn't pivot, and I steer with the tiller. The motor always wants to go straight. It's OK for gradual turns, but not in a tight turn, and it's worse when backing. I think the pod set up will be a vast improvement.

Forward of the keel? That would be strange. No control at all is my guess.

 

[TwoLegged]

Forward of the keel? That would be strange. No control at all is my guess.

There might be a wee bit of control, but not much unless you install a swivelling pod.  Which might be just a wee bit excessive for a wee boat.

In of the Sailing Uma episodes after they switched from their home-made "ElectroBeke" to an OceanVolt saildrive, there was some interesting footage of how they had to readjust their docking technique.  The Electrobeke had a very direct throttle response, so they could switch rapidly between fwd and reverse, with no risk of damage because the chnange was wholly electrical.  But the OceanVolt controller is configured to mimic a diesel engine with a gearbox, where the need to a dear gearchange without crunching cogs means that there is a bit of a lag between propelling the boat in one direction and giving a corrective burst in the other direction.  They had to retain themselves to deal with the OceanVolt's laggy response.

I dunno how the E-Propulsion's controller is set up, but it would be nice if such controllers had two modes: a fast-response "native electric" mode, and a laggy "like a diesel" mode for those used to the dinsoaur squeezings.

 

[Bull City]

@weightless I have seen some newer boat designs where the pod is mounted on the trailing edge of the fin keel, or on the trailing edge of the rudder.

When I trained to be a naval officer (in the 1960s), we studied the interplay between propellers and rudders in a naval engineering class. It made my head hurt.

 

[Bull City]

I dunno how the E-Propulsion's controller is set up, but it would be nice if such controllers had two modes: a fast-response "native electric" mode, and a laggy "like a diesel" mode for those used to the dinsoaur squeezings.

The Torqeedo OB has a little bit of delay when moving from neutral to either forward or reverse. No delay when accelerating or slowing. I imagine the pods are similar.

 

[weightless]

When I trained to be a naval officer (in the 1960s), we studied the interplay between propellers and rudders in a naval engineering class. It made my head hurt.

Indeed. I've hidden the my post on that 'cause I committed multiple stupidities in it. I do suspect that putting the pod near the trailing edge would give it less moment to steer the boat with prop-wash and would put it's drag further from the pivot point of the boat. Those might give the rudder a better chance of controlling the boat in reverse.