Redeye

John Thanks for your reply, I fully accept that there will always be doubters so fully expect some comment, I think my system is based around a similar concept as the one installed by yourself. The main difference is the choice of motor, I first looked at the DC drive systems offered by Lynch, Perm and Agni but was put off by the need to install more than one unit and the added complexity involved. It will be interesting to see how the 3 phase AC system compares once I have finished the installation, I believe that ultimately a Narrowboat will need about 12-15kw for an electric only drive but can't substantiate this yet. I'll let you know how we get on. Cheers Andrew

Hi guys, I go away and do some work for a couple of hours and there are a load of posts, thanks for the interest! The system as conceived so far goes as follows: Batteries 36 600Ah traction batteries giving a nominal bank voltage of 72V DC These should in theory based on a cruising consumption of around 4kw (Narrowboat on canals) should give me around 8 hours cruising. Other benefit of the batteries is that based on using a 72v inverter at 90% capacity the battery bank is capable of giving me around about 30Kwh of domestic power so removing the need to charge the batteries every day. The propulsion system has been purchased and is a 20kw AC motor wound to operate at 72V. The theory is that this motor is oversized for the maximum demand ever to be required (we are based on the Chesterfield Canal and the Tidal Trent is a regular). This is the main departure from the DC Drives used by everyone else. The propulsion system will initially be piggy backed on the back of the diesel system with the spare power at cruising revs being used to regenerate charge back to the battery, one advantage of the AC system is that this regeneration is highly controllable and the controller can taper the charge as the bank voltage increases. The ultimate end game is to completely disconnect the system and have a seperate generator to provide the power. This will allow the reduction in licence fee for electric only drive and will also allow me to purchase all fuel at the discounted rate of duty as fuel will be used to generate electricity and not provide propulsion. I await being shot down in flames! The current state of affairs is that the battery bank is installed in the boat and a Permanent Magnet Alternator has been installed in place of the domestic charging alternator to charge the 72V battery (when not cruising if required) the motor will be installed over the next couple of weeks weather permitting. Thanks again for all the interest! Andrew Robbo I believe that you can have a smaller diesel engine and adjust the speed to suit the charging requirements at a given time, I think we will only need to run the diesel 50% of the time and will be running it in a more efficient manner. I think the main benefit will be more efficient charging, I often cruise past boats sat on moorings running their engine to charge up domestic batteries. I havn't calculated just how inefficient this is but running a 40HP diesel to put 100A at 12v into a domestic bank is hardly efficient! Thanks for the support. Cheers Andrew

Hi Guys Though I would share my thoughts and experiences on converting my Narrowboat to an electric drive system. There have been a number of boat tests recently with a variety of the available systems and the concept interests me. I have been researching the conversion for around 6 months and have come up with a system and solution that is somewhat different to the DC drives that are currently available. I will attempt to post my thoughts and experiences as I progress with the build, any comments would be appreciated

Hi Lady Muck, I wasn't proposing to use the company I have found as the quality of boats they offer appears pretty shoddy, I have already made contact with my local office of British Waterways and we are working through the issues in trying to arrive at a solution to any concerns they may have, this is taking time but we are now making progress. I suppose the main aim of the initial question was to try and ascertain whether you guys thought there was a market. To my mind buying a boat when you retire to longterm cruise is a big step up from hiring for a week or a fortnight and I figure there must be a place for an intermediate step! Thanks for your advice Redeye

Sue Thanks for your comments, I did notice that one was stolen and would be interested to know ehether it was formally hired or done on a non formal basis. I think the big issue is careful confirmation of identity which is an important aspect of the motorhome hire process There are also a number of tracking systems that can be installed for additional security. Does any one use tracking devices on boats? Redeye

Richard Thanks for the reply, I planned to do the marketting and management myself, we currently have a motorhome that we rent out and it works OK. The admin load should be quite reasonable as you are only looking for a relatively small number of hires per year, the main challenge is BW and I am working on that. I am mainly wondering if there is likely to be a demand but figure that there must be loads of people looking to take the step into boat ownership but want to try extended cruising before making the purchase. Cheers redeye

Hi guys Just a short question, I have found one company offering longterm rentals and I am considering offering my boat (recent boat respected builder) for long term rental next year (rental term 1 to 6 months) Aside for the issues with British Waterways does anyone one the forum have any veiws as to whether the idea has merit. The main target market would be couples looking to buy a boat for longterm cruising but wanting to try it first. Hope that this post isn't considered to be commercial as that is not the intention. Any views good or bad would be appreciated. Best regards to all Redeye