Electric boats

[ZsoZso]

I would love to see Tesla expand to other transportation areas, such as electric boats.
I just did a quick search what I could find in Ontario for electric boats and this is what I found:

Electric Boats
Electric Boats manufacturer | Canadian Electric Boat Company
Electric and Solar Pontoon Boats Company – Princecraft

They are slow, short range, inferior and cost more than gasoline boats at same size and utility, exact same problems as with EV cars outside of Tesla. Here is a quote from the first site listed above:

1. Your travel is limited to a certain distance, governed by the capacity of your battery bank. While this bank can be recharged, this is not as quick a procedure as gassing up a tank.
2. Your speed will be lower than with a high powered gas motor.
3. Total weight of the power package will be higher than with an equivalent gas package.
4. Initial purchase price will be about 30%-50% higher than an equivalent gas package.

I'd like to purchase an electric boat in the next 3 years, but given the above offerings I am very much underwhelmed. I believe it should be possible to make an electric boat that is faster and better than gasoline versions the same way as Tesla did with cars. I do not accept the golf-cart model. Unfortunately I lack the skills to do my own conversion: buying a boat + a Tesla battery pack + drive unit from salvage and building it together, but I might be pushed to learn enough to do it as a hobby project if I can't find a suitable ready solution. However, I would much prefer to buy a complete solution.

 

[Krash]

Electric powered outboards for boats - Torqeedo

 

[bxr140]

I'd really like to see an electric sailboat. Mass isn't a problem (you could probably do some clever things with the keel...) and total energy requirements are pretty low, not to mention the various power generation opportunities.

I get that it's a bit of a small market, but it also seems like relatively low hanging fruit.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Electric boats from Duffy and Electra Craft are super popular on inland lakes and ocean bays.

They are relatively slow, and that is part of their charm...Cocktail Speed.

Charge last for a nice cruise, at a pace that allows you to socialize, both with your passengers, and those along the shore.

Newport Beach CA. has a tremendous number of these. Great for cruising the bay.

 

[Model 3]

Candela Speed Boat

 

[electricboat]

If you guys are still interested. I am thinking of doing a start up for putting Tesla motor(s) on a like 15m flybridge cruiser with around 7-10 sets of battery hoping to give it a range of 200km to 250km range.

At first I am thinking of converting a existing boat with diesel engine to keep the cost low and then later on start building brand new boat with motor and battery in it..

If you are interested please PM with your contact detail. I am based in Hong Kong..

 

[electricboat]

At the end, my aim is to build a automate boat that will involve 0 human involvement. And get some of the power from solar panel too. Since boat users don't tend to use the boat on daily basis..

 

[wycolo]

Readymade DIY Outboard Motor:

System - from electric Li-Ion lawnmower

Battery - 5.0 and 6.0 amp hours

I bought an "80 volt" push Li-Ion lawnmower that came with a 5.0 'plug in' battery. The self-driving version comes with a 6.0 battery so you can order the 6.0 separately. This is interesting as you can run the outboard with the 5.0 and when it is exhausted get back safely to port with the 6.0.

A 20 hp 2-stroke outboard motor, minus the engine and impeller, is the DIY basis. Remove the motor from the lawnmower and attach to the outboard. A rubber insert coupling is recommended. Then remove the 'system' from the mower and reconfigure as needed to fit into a waterproof housing to sit in the boat. My lawnmower has an on-off push switch and the squeeze-bar that you hold which does the actual starting and stopping. There is only one speed: 100%. This might be acceptable once you get used to pulsing the power and coasting the boat. Adding a speed control would require a bit of engineering but is icing on the cake.

I mowed around the house for a half hour and the battery still showed all 3 charge lights! There is a lot of power in this 5.0 ah battery:

72v x 5ah = 360 va/h = 360 wh or basically enough power to run a ModelS a full mile during a typical trip.

I chose a 20hp ob in order to get 'twice' the prop compared to, say, a 10hp. This is due to the lawnmower blade running at 3600 rpm (just a guess) compared to an ob engine rotating typically at 5k or 6k rpm. The larger prop will move more water at half speed. If a 10hp you could fit a larger prop even cutting away the cavitation plate for clearance as necessary.
--

 

[nwdiver]

Technically not a boat... but MAN this looks fun! $12k

 

[ZsoZso]

Need to add 2 more links that I saw posted today by others in the investment thread:

SILENT-YACHTS | Driven by Passion . Built with Solar Ingenuity

Oceanvolt

 

[ThomasD]

This would be good for larger Vessels. I wonder how long it will take to convert these fishing vessels over. Our marinas would be a bit cleaner

 

[thefortunes]

Need to add 2 more links that I saw posted today by others in the investment thread:

SILENT-YACHTS | Driven by Passion . Built with Solar Ingenuity

Oceanvolt

Just showed my wife the Silent Yacht. Promising.

 

[ZsoZso]

Update with 2 electric hydrofoil based jet-ski / sea-doo kind of crafts:

• Overboat: Overboat©, the world’s first 100% electric catamaran by Neocean©
• Quadrofoil: Quadrofoil

The cost of these seem to be around $20-30 thousands (depending on model and which site you check), which is about twice as much as an ICE jet-ski, so still pricey but that is to be expected for new tech.

 

[electricboat]

well I think I have what it takes to convert it.
But want to find someone who is interested in this to share

 

[ThomasD]

well I think I have what it takes to convert it.
But want to find someone who is interested in this to share

What kind of Boat are you converting? How many hours of run time are you planning on?

 

[electricboat]

I am thinking of a sail cat. 50ft
pack it full of solar panel
Have the Chinese to make the body and the interior and then do the electronic and powertrain myself

and then in theory, it can be self sustainable.

 

[Buckminster]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1691217115003727873

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

Candela Speed Boat

Since it's relevant to this thread as well...

 

[Buckminster]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763227925938163796