Electric Motor 4 Year Review

Wisdom was converted from Diesel to Electric in 2014 and it is about time we look at how electric propulsion has been for us.

We started off with the electric motor and no means of charging other than the regenerative feature of the motor. This worked well for daysailing or weekend trips where you never venture very far from a marina that you can plug in to. The little power that was burned up in getting out of the slip and marina was quickly recuperated when the sails filled and the boat started moving through the water with speed. When we approach 5 knots through the water, the force of the water pushing on our dragging propeller will cause it to spin and this will in turn spin your motor. Since the motor is being turned by the propeller, the motor will actually produce electricity and send it back to the batteries!

We then did a month long cruise, planning on generating all of our power needs with this handy feature of the electric motor. That was a mistake! Our fridge consumed so much power that the short and slow daysails we were doing were not able to feed it the amps it consumed!

When we got back from that trip, we quickly added solar panels to Wisdom, giving us the ability to produce electricity while at anchor. This was a major game changer, and with only 100W of panels, we were able to become free from the dock!

We now had the ability to motor a short distance, anchor for the weekend, and leave with a full charge. Due to space limitations, we were only able to squeeze 300W of panels into our array, but if we were able to carry more solar panels, we would be granted even more freedom.

In 2017, we released ourselves from the constraints of land and set off as full time cruisers with the electric motor. At this point, we only had a small solar array to feed our amp hungry fridge and the electric motor, and this was enough for us. We only used the motor for short bursts of power when anchoring or getting out of the way of another boat. While the solar panels did provide the bulk of the power we produced, some did come from the electric motor regenerating power on especially windy days when we zipped through the waves.

All was well until we got beat up in a storm off of Cape Hatteras and decided to head south for the winter inside the protection (pronounced "no wind") of the ICW. We knew we would never be able to motor the next 1000 miles to Florida with only a small solar array giving us charge, so we added a Honda 2000 generator. By running the generator, we could then run the battery charger and technically motor for as long as we had gasoline to burn!

Two things happened in this situation: 1. Our battery charger was very small and old. 2. Our charge controller started to die on us.

Lets start with the first part: Our battery charger was a gift from a friend who took it out of another boat because the owner wanted it replaced. The LEDs in the display had died, but otherwise it was still producing power, so we installed it and went cruising. The charger produces 15amps at 48vDC. 15 amps does make a fair amount of prop wash and will make all your docklines become taught if you try putting the motor in gear in the slip, but when you are out in the water, 15 amps is barely moving. We could do around 1 knot, but the current in the ICW is fierce, meaning we could go with the current or backwards (and still with the current). We then began running the generator all the time and only motoring when the tide and current were in our favor. When the current switched, we had to anchor to prevent moving backwards over ground.

This system was slow but it worked. We moved around 10 to 15 miles each day towards Florida from North Carolina by motoring along at around 20 to 30 amps, and then running the generator for the entire day to replenish everything that had been consumed. Then the problems started happening.

We were anchored in Oriental when the first controller died. We had been there for a week and decided it was time to raise anchor and move on, but the motor would not work. You would push or pull the throttle and there was no response from the motor. Since it is an electric motor, parts are not found at your local chandlery, so we had to wait two more weeks for the part to come in. With the new controller installed, the motor ran beautifully again and off we went!

Not too long later, the motor began switching between forward and reverse, and then not working at all! It turns out that the controller had died again!

Since the motor was new (I accidentally submerged our first electric motor in fresh water; the moral here is always disconnect your boat from the dock hose) the controller was covered under the warranty. The manufacturer was exceedingly helpful in trouble shooting, diagnosing over the phone, and mailing out the appropriate parts both times! This is really important because you probably won't find a skilled mechanic/electrician in some of the ports you wish to visit.

Maddie and I started analyzing what was going on here and what was killing the controllers. The manufacturer firmly believes that running the generator while motoring is fine to do because they are designed to be operated in this manner, but we wondered if something else might be wrong with our charger aside from dead LEDs! We decided to stop motoring with the generator on and see if the controller survives for longer than a few months.

This thought came to us because we had experienced many years of trouble free operation before the generator. We charged with the funky old charger when we were tied up in a marina, but the motor was never on at the same time! We started a new rule: The motor bank switch has to be off when the generator is turned on.

It has been around 7 months and an ocean crossing since we started that rule, and everything is working perfectly. I know that to really test out this theory, I need to reintroduce the variable and see if the problem replicates itself; but I don't want to kill our controller again, so I have never performed this part of a proper scientific examination.

Having the generator did give us the ability to navigate the ICW, but a generator is far from necessary for an electric propulsion yacht, as long as you plan to remain in open waters where you can sail.

In my personal opinion, if you plan on cruising the ICW and want to make bridge openings on a set schedule, a Diesel engine will be your friend and an electric motor will be a nightmare. Since we had no hurry and were willing to put up with the slow pace of progress, we trudged along the ICW from Hatteras, NC to Georgetown, SC. This little distance took us about 4 months, so very slow! Once we made it to Georgetown, we began coastal hopping down the East Coast and were free from the ICW. Here the electric motor shined like a star!

We would typically burn up about 20-30% of our battery bank in getting out of the harbor we were anchored, but all of this was regenerated by the time we made it to our next inlet. We had plenty of power to motor in (with the tide) and anchor. We would then crank on the generator to charge back what we consumed in getting there.

Having a generator was really handy for coastal hopping and mandatory for the ICW, but that is about where it's uses end for us.

We left Florida and sailed to the Bahamas where we were able to sail in and out of anchorages, as well as between the islands with ease. We used the motor for short spurts of power in some tricky areas, but the intense sun was able to charge the batteries back in about a week. The generator helped give us more power and sooner than a week; but it was not mandatory, only helpful.

When we left the Bahamas for the Azores, we carried 10 gallons of gasoline for the generator to help power us along the way. We had no wind and this voyage took 21 days to get to Bermuda, but we only ran the generator twice in our time at sea.

Foolishly, we purchased a third gas can and carried with us 15 gallons of gasoline when we left Bermuda for the Azores.

The winds were much more favorable and present, giving us the ability to sail the whole way across the ocean with considerable speed. On this voyage, we discovered that all of our solar panels had died of corrosion, meaning that our only two power sources were the generator and the motors regeneration to keep our fridge running.

The reason I say we foolishly carried 15 gallons of fuel is because we never needed to run the generator. The propeller spinning 24 hours a day provided us with so much power that we spent most of the journey at full charge!

In the open ocean, an electric motor is far superior to a Diesel engine. It will silently produce electricity all the time with no limitations of fuel capacities. When the winds are good, you will be sailing, and when the winds are not blowing, grab a book and wait for them to return! We crossed from Bermuda to the Azores in 24 days, with 4 days in a row where we were totally becalmed. The other 20 days had great winds that carried us over 100 miles per day and kept all the batteries charged.

An electric motor is not ideal for every situation, and not ideal for every sailor. If you have a tight schedule or want to move at a set minimum speed, you will be better off with a diesel motor. If you actually sail, and/or sail long distances, then an electric motor will be your new best friend.

We personally view our electric motor as a hydrogenerator that helps with docking and have never been happier with it!

How Do We Power Our Yacht While Crossing an Ocean?

Having an electric motor means that we can't fire up the old diesel to charge up the batteries. When we crossed the Atlantic Ocean in July of 2018, we carried with us three methods of charging. The first is our solar panels. We have 200W on the deck and 100W on the stern as fold out wings. We also have a Honda Generator (EU2000i) and lastly we have the electric motor that functions as a hydro generator.

The solar panels started out as a great method of charging when we were anchored, but failed us on the ocean. The deck panels get stepped on accidentally, or things fall on them, or the salt finally kills them. Either way, both 100W flexible panels are dead and not producing any power.

The 100W on the stern is composed of two 50W rigid panels. One works fine, the other panel corroded away at its terminals, literally corroding away to the panel itself with no way of reworking it!

So, our 300W solar system is limping along at 50W.

Thankfully we have the generator! Right?

Actually, the electric motor functioning as a hydro generator has produced all the power we need and fully met our demands. We have yet to turn on the generator and are nearing land after 22 days at sea.

Right now, as I write this, the motor is producing 4.8amps @48vDC. When this is converted to 12vDC with a step down converter, it becomes 19.2amps @12vDC; silently!

Yes, the electric motor that has a very limited range of motoring offers unlimited and quiet electrical production for us as we sail across the vastness of the Atlantic.

We left Bermuda with 15 gallons of gasoline, and it appears that we will arrive with the same amount in the Azores.

Pros and Cons of Electric Propulsion

After having cruised part time for several years and now full time for several months, we have compiled a list of advantages and disadvantages for electric propulsion. This list is not meant to sway you towards or away from electric propulsion, but merely to educate you on its potential advantages and drawbacks that way you can make the most informed choice for your own yacht. 

Let's start with the disadvantages, as people who have diesel motors tend to pick on this system quite intensely; later we will go over the advantages. 

Disadvantages: 

Range is limited to the size of the battery bank.
Weight of the battery bank can add up quickly.
Range can be supplemented by using a generator, but your speed will be limited by the size of the battery charger.
Electronic components on a boat are prone to corrosion caused failure.
Parts are not readily available, as they are not common components.
Skilled and qualified labor is hard to find.
Battery technology has a long way to go to provide the amount of range of a fuel tank.
You can't charge your batteries by running the motor.
Deep discharging is damaging to the batteries.
When it fails, the culprit is not always obvious.

Advantages: 

Nearly no noise.
It is very small in size.
It is light weight.
It starts up immediately without needing to warm up.
There is no exhaust smell.
No risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
There is no need to winterize the motor.
It provides instant torque and has very fast throttle response.
You can install and service the motor yourself with basic tools.
There is no risk of oil leaks or oil spills.
Enviromentally friendly since it uses no oil or fossil fuels.
You can recharge it with solar panels and wind generators.
It acts as a hydrogenerator when sailing.
The motor is air cooled so you don't have to worry about clogged strainers or sand in the waterpump.
No fuel filter to clog.
Less moving parts to fail.
Nearly maintenance free (only two Zerk fittings to grease once a year).
No oil changes needed.
You don't have to worry about fuel quality or water contamination in the fuel.
You don't have to polish your fuel.
Long and short term costs are less:
The cost of replacing dead batteries is less than the cost of fuel consumed over the same distance.
You will save a lot of money on fuel costs.
The electric motor is cheaper to buy and the parts are also innexpensive when compared to a similarly powered diesel motor.

Sailing from Georgetown to Charleston, SC

Georgetown is a small port town, Charleston is a large port city! While we had just made it to Georgetown, we really wanted to get to Charleston, and the winds looked like they would be favorable for this journey. 

Charleston is located about 40 miles south of Georgetown, inlet to inlet, but the distance from anchorage to anchorage is around 67 miles. The added distance comes from navigating the inlets and avoiding the offshore shoals before you can finally head to the next inlet. 

Now, the issue is the prevailing winds blow from the South, meaning that this journey would usually require beating for 40 miles to windward. Instead of slogging along, the alternative is to wait for a cold front to come through and reverse the winds. This is a delicate subject, as not all fronts are created equally.  

You would not want to head out into a powerful cold front, but at the same time, a weak front might not generate enough winds for you to actually sail. 

The way the weather was looking, the current cold front was creating winds of 30 knots from the North and massive seas; not exactly ideal to head out in. As the front passed, the winds began to die down, we then headed out and rode the tail end of the storm. The winds were on the light side, but still enough to motor sail at a very slow pace of 2-3 knots. 

The light winds meant that we needed to listen to our generator for 23 hours straight, as we motor sailed along the coast, but they also meant that the seas were calm and the voyage was uneventful. 

Aside from the winds, the next consideration to take into account is the tides. The tidal currents in these inlets can be quite dramatic, so it is best to time your passage of the inlets at slack water, when the tides are lightest. 

To accomplish this, we raised anchor at 4:30 AM, and left the anchorage by 5:30 AM. We were heading down the river for 16 miles as the current was pushing us back up. This meant that we were slowly moving, but we did manage to reach the inlet at slack water. Slack water is especially important when navigating weird inlets that have sand bars and breakers. You might think you are steering clear of an obstruction, but the current will take you right onto the shoal and pummel you with breaking waves! Slack water takes this fear out and gives you a short window of time to scoot through easily. 

Once we made it out into the ocean, we were faced with the leftover slop from the previous storm. The seas were merely 6 foot swells that were causing us to toss around; a stark distinction to our still time on the ICW. Had there been a strong current, these seas would have been even more miserable for us as we transitioned from river to ocean sailing. 

Motor sailing with an electric motor and generator is very uneventful. Every effort is taken to alleviate the slating of the sails in the windless patches, and any puff of wind is welcomed as it grants you a speed push. 

As we reached Charleston, the sun was setting and fog was rolling in. Charleston is not an easy inlet due to the rock jetties and all the confusing lights that exist as you enter. The fog actually made this simpler, as it obscured the city lights and only allowed visibility of the next lighted buoy. Since fog was present and this is a major shipping port, I made my presence known on CH 16. The local tug boat captain conversed with me to make sure we would not have any close calls. He found us on his radar, I found his navigation lights on the horizon. As he approached, I stayed to the right of the channel and we had a very peaceful passing in the night. Had we not communicated, this situation would have been much more stressful.  

While I don't like to rely on electronics, having Navionics on my phone made entry to the port and anchorage possible. When the channels divide, the blue line on the screen tells you which is the correct way to go.  

We left Georgetown at 5:30 am and arrived at Charleston at 5:00 am. This made for a very long day, but it got us to a new city with benign weather. 

Electric Motors Break Down

Yes, every type of motor you install in a yacht will be subject to breakdown. The difference is how easy is it to fix so you can be on your way once again. 

Our electric motor suffered a tragic end in April of 2017, when I forgot to disconnect the city water from the boat. A hose burst in the boat and the city water came gushing into the hull, filling everything inside with fresh water. Luckily, the bilge pumps were able to keep up with the water flowing in, so the water level only reached the floor boards. This meant though, that the engine was completely submerged for hours in fresh water. 

The motor, miraculously did survive the ordeal and ran once it was allowed to dry out. 

I contacted the manufacturer and sent the motor back to them for repair. They found water in the circuits of everything, and ended up sending me an entire new motor setup. The first motor operated flawlessly from its first day, until its flooding day. This period of a few years was very easy, as the motor simply worked. 

The new motor seemed to have some issues. The control module died on us, causing the motor to stop working entirely while we were in Oriental, NC. This simply prolonged our stay in this town, as we waited for the replacement part to arrive. The new part came in, and since the unit was now only 7 months old, the part was covered under warranty, so no cost to me and only a few hours of work to switch the part out. 

3 months later, the motor started switching between forward and reverse while motoring along in forward. The instrument display also began giving screwy readings. A quick call to the manufacturer and a few diagnostic tests performed with the guidance of an engineer over the phone showed that the control module had shorted out again, and a new part was sent out. The same amount of time was spent installing the new part, and we were then off on our way. 

While the first motor worked flawlessly for several years, the new motor has had some issues with the control module. Yes, these have caused us to stay in places longer than we had planned, but at the end of the day, we enjoyed the stay and the repair was easy to carry out with no cost to us to fix. 

A diesel motor would have problems that would need addressing, and they are not always such an easy or innexpensive fix. We have friends who have new diesel motors, that require parts to repair them while they are cruising. The parts cost hundreds of dollars and the mechanic to install the part is just as expensive.  

It seems that all motors will fail you at some point in time, the difference is how easy is it to fix, and if you can do the repair yourself. That will save you the most money and allow you to keep cruising with your budget going towards you instead of towards your mechanic.