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(non-political) comments on fuel economy and technology
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 |
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