My many projects and Electrifying Transformer

[hewey]

I have done many fun projects to my 2005 Telstar 28 “Transformer”in the 12 years I have owned her. Projects I enjoyed doing and have made life aboard so much better.
Some of my long list...
Replacing the toilet and holding tank with a composting toilet,
Adding lazy jacks,
Converting table and bed setup to a semi-permanent “twin” bed so head is easily accessible always.
Modifying and installing an Amazon purchased Bimini.
Putting pumps into Adamas to pump out accumulated rain water.
Removing gas stove and converting to Induction stovetop. No propane in galley anymore.
Solar panel install and upgrades. 25 watt to 80 watt to 250 watt.
Installing a drinking water tank ( where holding tank was )with a pump and filter system.
Replacing the line ( that wears to fast! ) that controls raising the rudder with cable.
Installing a 3 way fridge but only using 12 or 120v.
Installing a water pump in galley.
And many more “little” projects... Yes I love my Telstar. I am far from a craftsman so these projects are not about to be featured in Boating World, I am not a perfectionist by any stretch but everything works the way I want it to.
BUT
The most fun and biggest challenge I have had is removing the stinky, noisy, polluting Honda 20 and replacing it with an electric Elco 20 paired with a 7.5kw Lithium Ion battery charged 100% by the sun! No electricity at moorage.
A system that so far is working great on the relatively small ( 1 km wide by 29 km long ) lake in the interior of B.C. Canada.
Now when we head out to go sailing the last thing I do is turn the motor on, no warm up, no smell, very little noise, no pollution and instant FREE power. With the saving in fuel I figure I’ll get my money back I spent on my system in about 200 years give or take...
I’d be happy to get into any of my projects if anyone is interested, my non sailing friends eyes glaze over when I say things like... “ my 250 watt panel can only generate 30volts and that is not enough to charge the 52volt motor battery so I charge my 12 volt 200 amp hour lithium ion house battery first and then using a converter and a 48 volt charger I charge the engine battery” I can clear a room pretty quick with that line...
Not to mention discussing a Composting toilet and how it works is a big hit a dinner parties...
Thanks for reading...
Don Hewitson
Kamloops BC Canada

[wooden]

Don,
Thanks for the interesting read. I agree that this boat is many small projects waiting to happen. Very enjoyable. Your electrification project is fascinating.

[Tri’d n Sail’d]

Don, thanks... I would like to hear/see more if you have the chance. Interested in several of your projects... (composting toilet, lazy jacks, table conversion, Amazon bimini, stove, solar panels, water tank, removal of holding tank, rudder lines, ama pumps, fridge, etc.). Please feel free to connect on Facebook Messenger, email (jparsch@comcast.net), this site, or cell phone if interested.

[BoarX]

Hi Don,

Thanks for sharing and no, you won't be able to clear the room of me by stating that "my 250 watt panel can only generate 30volts and that is not enough to charge the 52volt motor battery so I charge my 12 volt 200 amp hour lithium ion house battery first and then using a converter and a 48 volt charger I charge the engine battery" - au contraire. The first question I would ask, if the upconverting DC-DC controllers do not exist anymore? Last time I checked they were still around - charge pumps. Did you have any trouble getting any of those to increase the voltage from your solar panel to directly charge your motor battery? I bet the dual stage process you are currently using is quite inefficient. Of course if you don't sail often, charging efficiency is not a major factor for you - but I honestly wish the situation to be the opposite. More serious question though is, how efficient is your electric motor in stopping the boat by applying a surge in reverse, which is often needed to stop the boat during docking? I find even my (unloved) 50hp outboard struggling at that. To be continued time permitting.

Thanks in advance,
Alex

[hewey]

Hi Alex,
The quote I received for the DC to DC up converter was around $2,000 so I passed on that one. And of course anytime a converter is used there are losses but it doesn't matter in my case. On a sunny day I can cruise with motor around 2-3 knots and use very little battery power. So I always haved enough reserve to crank to max speed [ around 7 knots ] if I need to.
I have not sailed much lately due to our forest fire situation here in BC Canada. So much smoke in the area makes it pretty hard to be outdoors so I haven't tested system out the way I would like.
With the instant torque of the Elco motor stopping coming into my slip is MUCH easier and faster than with the 20hp Honda.

Cheers
Don

[hewey]

Don, thanks... I would like to hear/see more if you have the chance. Interested in several of your projects... (composting toilet, lazy jacks, table conversion, Amazon bimini, stove, solar panels, water tank, removal of holding tank, rudder lines, ama pumps, fridge, etc.). Please feel free to connect on Facebook Messenger, email (jparsch@comcast.net), this site, or cell phone if interested.

Hi Jim,

Would be happy to share info on my projects, where would you like to start?
I think sharing info on here would be better than PM or email just in case someone else is interested as well.
Cheers,
Don

[Tri’d n Sail’d]

Thanks, Hmmm... I suppose start at the beginning - toilet (and holding tank)!

[BoarX]

Thanks, Hmmm... I suppose start at the beginning - toilet (and holding tank)!

Jim, I hope Dan has gone sailing for the weekend Also, in my experience people often become not very enthusiastic to answer questions if facing too many

As a follow-up to electrification discussion here - Dan, I am clearly guilty of not considering price factor and its omnipresent influence on our technical decisions - mea culpa! On the positive side, it just occurred to me that your dual step voltage conversion setup allows for easy plug-and-play addition of a standard 110V gas-fired portable generator as an emergency backup and/or range extender. Having driven Chevrolet Volt for 3 years I can personally attest to practicality of such a combo. Now this got me thinking as one of my projects is to replace heavy and unwieldy 50HP Honda with something in 20-30HP range. Ironically, there is clearly something fishy in HP ratings of outboard engines. Elco website states that their 20HP electrical outboard electrical power consumption is "meager" 8,400 Watts. However 20HP is almost exactly 15,000 Watts, which means that ELCO outboard is supposed to have 180% efficiency - at least on paper Not to cast any doubt on Elco outboard usability, but it is good to have accounts from real users like you as opposed to advertising hype.

Happy sailing everyone!
Alex