Going Electric

I've mentioned before in this blog my frustration with the Atomic 4 engine that On the Brink was originally provided. The engine simply was not reliable enough for us to enjoy sailing; I was always afraid that it wouldn't start and we would be stuck out on the lake no way back in an emergency. Doing the research on replacement led me to understand that a new A4 or similar engine would run in the range of $8,000, way too much for me to drop without my wife having a heart attack. Needing another solution
I kept researching and eventually discovered a relatively small but growing group of sailboat owners converting their late model boats over to electric motors. It appeared that there was a sweet spot in sizes. Boats smaller than 22' typically didn't have the ability to carry sufficient batteries to realistically use an electric engine. The cost for these systems ran anywhere from $1,500 and $8,000 not including batteries for a boat my size.
This great difference in price is the result of the different approaches to implementation. After my experience and research I typically put electric con versions in three categories:
1) Turn Key Systems - a quick google search will turn up several companies some with quite a long history of electric boats dating back more than a century. These companies offer turn-key solutions and will custom design, procure and install an electric motor into your sailboat for you. It appeared to me to almost be a menu type approach and for someone who just wants to get out and sail is an excellent choice. The systems are well engineered and are therefore reliable and beautiful to behold once installed. On the downside is cost, running anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000 a turnkey electric solution is similar in cost to a new diesel and would not work for me.
2) Kit Systems - A little further down in the google search you will find another handful of companies offering kits to convert your sailboat over to electric. Kits include everything you need and can even be pre-engineered to your needs. You simply order what you need and a box with all of the parts arrives on your doorstep for you to install. I got the feeling that this was the most common route for a budget sailor. Many of these kits are even sold by the same companies offering turn-key systems are are very high quality. The quality of product and level of engineering is highly dependant upon how much you are willing to spend; typically in the $3,000-$6,000 range.
3) DIY Systems - In the bargain barrel lie the DIY systems, this is where I did my shopping. One can find a variety of parts and pieces that makeup the more refined kit and turn key system. In order to sort through all of the information I looked at what the pre-engineered systems consisted of most typically and found some common themes; a 5kw motor and matched controller, a reduction drive and motor mount to hold it all together. Before I purchased anything I poured over information and researched as much as I could; I needed to make sure that I engineered a system that would be reliable and the cost would be kept to a minimum. Every choice was a compromise and is the subject of another post. In the end I went with the DIY route and never looked back.
I hope to start a series of posts detailing my engineering decisions, materials, costs and resources for others to use to advise their own designs so stay tuned.

A whole year has passed, a brief summary of the events.

If my last post was titled "It's been awhile", I'm not even sure what to call this one. Anyways, since the last post quite a bit has happened... actually over a year of activity.

For starters, the end of the season ended really well for us all. The Air and Water show was fun to see albeit briefly from the water. For added adventure I got too close to Navy Pier which was apparently closed to marine traffic and had the Coast Guard escort me away at gunpoint, that was a first. A few sails later and it was time to put On the Brink away for the winter.

Fall 2013 River Trip - Lakeshore Drive Bridge

In late September we took what we have discovered to be a bit of a rite of passage (literally and figuratively) for Chicago sailors; a river trip. The city has the most movable bridges of any city in the world and we got to putter past 24 of them, most nearing or over a century old. Due to the impact upon traffic the bridges are only opened for a few days each fall and spring for this annual ritual. Lots of fun with Eric, Scott and Laura as we and half a dozen other boats dodged water taxis and tourists on the way down river to Canal Street Marina at 18th street.

New Hatches built at the park district shop

The winter was an exciting time for the most part, repairing and replacing everything that I broke. Most notably was the replacement of the A4 with an Electric motor of my own design. I eluded to this in a previous post and will probably make a detailed one soon. I also replaced the old lazarette and forward hatches. The Chicago Park District has a woodshop up in lincoln park cultural center that is for public use. The great staff there helped me transform a box of teak flooring into some pretty impressive hatches. Not to be outdone, Laura earned her nickname "Hatches-O-Hoolihandy" by installing them on the boat and making the necessary tweaks to make them work perfectly.

Spring brought another river trip, this time with Matt, Scott and Laura. It was MUCH colder than fall but still lots of fun. As an added bonus I found a photographer that was taking photos of the boats on our march (told you it was a rite of passage.) The photos are spectacular and we even paid to have one blown up that is now hanging above our mantle. It was a great "sea-trial" for the new electric motor with great results.

Professional Photo of the Sprin 2014 River Trip at Lake Street - photo credit Milosh Kosanovich

Unfortunately summer was rather mild and combined with a heavy work load and buying a home we 

Concerts at Northerly Island from the dock with friends

didn't get out as much as the year before. A major advantage we had in 2014 was our location; the electric motor requires a plug-in so we had a slip. Our slip EJ12 is on the east side of Burnham Harbor right next to the music pavilion. Lots of evenings were spent with friends at the dock listening to concerts for free. We did have some memorable sails however including 4th of July fireworks, Air and Water show, and the Pinnacle regatta. The most memorable of the summer however is when Grandpa Dave came down for a day sail. As you know, grandpa is the one who taught me to sail and instilled my passion for the sea. I had a blast showing off and learning from him all day, I think he was equally as pleased knowing that he was my inspiration.

Pinnacle Regatta fun

Fall brought another trip up the river this time with Scott and Tina. This trip was much more laid back for us "veterans" and we cruised into Canal Street with ease on the last weekend of September. With fall comes the annual repairs and improvements list of which there are plenty. First up is replacement of the original teak rubrails that were battered and splintered after 40 years. Also, dropping the mast to install new wiring and lights for safety. 

It's been awhile

It has been awhile since my last post; no On the Brink has not sunk, I've just been too busy to get online to make a post. Over the last few weeks I finally got the atomic 4 sorted out, two stuck exhaust valves are to blame. After a weekend of work I got everything moving smoothly again and the motor sounds like a motor, not some broken tractor. Currently I'm in the middle of an oil change that is only made more difficult by the water in the crank case turning the oil to sludge. Hopefully I'll get it complete this evening.

Sailing has been great the past few weeks, Laura and I are getting much more comfortable which makes everything more fun. We got in a bit of trouble two weeks ago when the weather turned for the worst. We went out with a flattening reef in due to some 15+ mph winds and all was fine at first. Slowly the winds started picking up to 20mph+ with even stronger gusts. I ran up to put in the first reef which was much more difficult since I've never done it before, now I understand why everyone says reef early. The wind kept being difficult, constantly changing directions, stopping and then blowing. We headed back to the harbor pretty quickly, what was at first fun sailing in some heavy winds became difficult and just a plain old fight. We made it back to the harbor and put everything away. As we were at the dock we saw sailboat after sailboat coming in, all of the crews looking a bit haggard. I'm glad we were not the only ones! As it turns out, the winds picked up significantly after we got back 25+mph with 35mph gusts. With the rapidly changing directions and strong winds it was dangerous and I'm glad we went back when we did. The lesson learned here was not only to reef early but to also practice at the dock so it's easy to do out on the lake instead of having to figure it out.

We are looking forward to the Air and Water show weekend of 8/17. Laura and I are getting a handful of friends together and heading up to the playpen to watch the show and play all day long. I'll be sure to put some photos up when I get a chance.

Beautiful Thursday Night

After a long week I finally made my way out to On the Brink on Thursday for a sail with one of my best friends. At the boat I noticed that it was covered with dead aquatic midges which were quickly cleaned up due to the poly-glow finish we put on last weekend, boy does this old boat shine! I warmed up the engine and noticed more of the same, impeller wasn't pushing water but no big deal, I just need to jog out of the harbor and get the sails up.

My friend arrived and we did just that, headed out and lifted the sails. The NOAA was calling for 10ks of wind with 1-3' waves, beautiful weather for a sail. What we got was 0kts of wind and 3-4' waves, much less fun. Seeing boats further out sailing we decided to motor out a bit further. No such luck on the wind, however we did manage to get the motor nice and hot judging by the steam. We eventually killed the iron wind and decided to wait for mother nature to take over. After bobbing(slamming) about in the higher than predicted waves for about an hour we gave up and headed back... with the iron wind.

About half way back the steam from the engine compartment got a bit thicker and I decided to turn it off and let everything cool for a bit. We did and after another 10 minutes were back under way; this continued most of the way into the harbor. We finally reached the harbor entrance (finally the bashing about could end!) and the engine started getting REALLY HOT! The steam/smoke had filled the cabin and it was starting to sputter more than usual. At this time I looked at the oil pressure and it had dropped significantly and I could literally see the needle moving... bad news. We continued with the on-off period for a bit but in the harbor there were other boats around so we pushed it. The engine was starting to sound like hell in addition to the low pressure and complete lack of power when we finally coasted into (and hitting due to lack of reverse power) the dock. Screw it, I'll check it tomorrow was my attitude, especially since the cabin was smokey and very hot. Got home ordered a new water pump and thermostat/housing, hopefully those cure this disease without too many side effects.

Despite the bummer of a night I really did enjoy spending some time one on one with a good friend whom I haven't seen much of lately.

Let the dog days of summer begin

This evening was Sperry's first trip out to the On the Brink. And, yes our dog is named Sperry. It's a beautiful calm evening and the harbor is like glass so there is little to freak him out. For those of you that don't know him, Sperry is a 3yo beagle with a very family oriented VERY timid boy. 

Getting into the dinghy was terrifying and we had to lift him by his life jacket. The short ride out (with trolling motor) was uneventful with lots of sniffing all of the new scents of the water. At the dock Sperry shouldn't wait to get out of the dinghy but was too scared again and the jacket was used again. 

Next up, getting On the Brink. This was a quick terrified leap and presto, Sperry was aboard! Lots of sniffing and he settled right down. I call it a success, a few more times out in the harbor and we'll take him out on a sail!

Beautiful Weekend

Finally a great weekend and the boat is working. We arrived on Saturday after breakfast ready for a day sailing in the light breeze to get a feeling for On The Brink. Much to my surprise after the previous evening's success with the Atomic 4 it was a no-go. All of the spark plugs were fouled and it was still getting water in the cylinders. I had a quick meltdown and after a few swift kicks got to work on fixing the engine... again. Swapped out the sparkplugs, dialed back the raw water valve and eliminate a big dip in the exhaust hose. The engine started up and ran ok-enough to get out of the harbor.

Our sail was shortened by a fast approaching evening and not wanting to be out after dark. The light winds made sailing a bit tricky but we  managed and had some fun in the meantine. Most of all it was great to spend some time out on the lake as intended with my wife after the long past few weeks. We got back to the dock with little difficulty and I learned an important lesson: go slow, painfully slow when dock and all will be much better than trying to power in and control 7400lbs of momentum on a dime. We spent the rest of the evening tied up enjoying the sunset, skyline and a few much deserved beers

Sunday morning we got good start again and headed to the harbor a bit before lunchtime. The forecast was calling for 10-15mph winds and a possibility of rain around dinner time. Perfect weather again! This time the motor started right up and we headed out of the harbor pretty quickly. The wind was dead near shore so raising sails was easy but getting out onto the lake was not, with a little hope from our kinda-sorta reliable motor and we were out in the lake where the winds were perfect. It's amazing how much good wind makes sailing easier. We made good time north to look at the skyline and turned around just past Navy Pier.

On our way back to Burnham we got some great winds and made great time, occasional glances at the knot-meter verified that we were nearly making hull speed! The boat sails beautifully, almost no weather helm and it really loves to be on a reach, hardly any heel and good balance. I'm interested in playing with bigger jibs to further reduce weather helm. Dropping the centerboard helps as well on a reach and you can tell when I lift it on a run, great design feature! Back near the harbor we ran into a little trouble dousing the sails, we had a last minute wind change and had a hard time adjusting so my first mate nearly got knocked in by a swinging jib; but all's well that ends well!

Electric Propulsion

I posted about this a few days ago in the midst of my anger about the Atomic 4 motor struggles. I'm strongly considering getting rid of the gas engine that is currently in the boat and replacing it with an electric motor. It's becoming more and more common to have boats swap out their gas and diesels for electric motors. The problem is that it's typically $5k+ to do because of the newness of the technology and markups. I'm in the process of doing research and doing some design and it seems like I may be able to do a conversion for more like $2k conservatively which would pay itself off in a few years.

The plan would revolve around purchasing a 5kw brushless DC motor like the ones you can find at goldenmotors.com. They come straight from China which means cheap. The motors run on 48v DC which means the RPM will be between 2000 and 6000 RPM. That's about double what my current motor churns out and would cause cavatation and lack of power. To resolve this I'm talking to golden motors about building a custom motor that spins from 800-2500rpm. I need to weigh the premium against the cost for a 2:1 reduction drive. I'd rather just go direct drive as it's simpler and eliminates a failure mode in the future.

Once the motor is sorted out I need to figure out batteries. These are the hardest part for me to wrap my head around. I need to balance cost, capacity and reliability. Looking at the 5kw max draw rate I figure I'll need about 100AH of 48v power to get me about an hour of run time. This is quite a bit of battery, and therefore the type of battery matters. At the moment I'm leaning towards using AGM batteries, although the technology is older and they discharge worse and are heavy they are inexpensive. I think that since I'm removing about 500lbs of weight I'm ok in the heavy category. The downside of AGM batteries is they can only be recharged so many times before becoming useless, meaning in a few years I'll need to buy new. Alternately I could use a lithium battery, these are VERY expensive but are also relatively light and can be recharged and discharged very deeply many times. Given my tight budget constraints I'm thinking of going with AGM, I can always upgrade in the future.

One of the best parts of going with an electric motor is that the batteries will be charged in three possible ways. 1) if we get a slip next year I can hook them into shore power keeping them topped up. 2) I can hook them into my already sufficent solar cell to help keep them charged and 3) every time the boat is sailing the propeller can free spin which will charge the batteries!