Makes sense now. Thanks, both Tom and DSK. Wanna start up a business
building diesel electric drives?


im in.


It's an interesting proposition. Tom you probably have more
free time to devote to something like this than I do.

RCE wrote:
I am half serious. I need something to do anyway. Thinking we buy an old
boat maybe already with a small diesel, add a battery bank, charging system,
inverter and a big old electric motor. I have access to machining, welding
and fabrication services, plus controls, electrical and CAD design if
needed. Even have some space we could use. We could build a prototype and
optimize it for proof of concept .... then .... on to Wall Street.

Hmmmmm..... this one has caught my attention. I wonder if Mrs.E would
donate her GB?


What's the goal? Greater fuel efficiency per ton/mph? IMHO
it's going to be a little hard to achieve a really
significant gain over conventional power plant. Part of the
problem is weight, the best way to save power is to make the
craft much lighter, which will not happen with refitting an
older boat. Also, is there a market for repowering old boats
with efficient new plants?

Also, it's been done. Some guys down near Harkers Island
built an energy efficient trawler a few years back, the
whole nine yards: lightweight construction, advanced hull
design, solar power augmented diesel-electric drive. It was
a cool boat, but didn't sell.

Another big advantage to a diesel-electric type drive is
that you have a big batttery bank & lots of power for
household luxuries. One more is that the weight of the power
plant can be distributed in any way desirable throughout the
boat.

Regards
Doug King