While the hull is very light (3600 kg) mini keels, deep rudders and the huge high torque E-Props kept the boat surprisingly well planted. ![]() Solar and the highly efficient backup generation system coped seamlessly.Īlthough daily passage making in excess of 30NM required Hybrid mode, the diesel DC Genverters used only 3-4Ltrs p/hr, continuing to drive the boat and complete the daily voyage legs quietly at the sweet spot of 10-12 knots, eliminating range anxiety and arriving with plenty of house power for the evening on a silent ship. His conclusions can be concisely bullet pointed as follows:Įxtended stays without infrastructure didn’t matter. ![]() However, without even a nod to existing offerings he adopted a true blank sheet approach and went all out to utilise this new technology.Īlthough John’s focus was Europe and SEA, since logging approximately 500NM this past summer in New Zealand, some interesting observations were made, proving the E40 is a very capable Hauraki Gulf Cruiser with no ports of call necessary. Having spent considerable time along the southern coastline of South Korea during my time with Vetus-Maxwell, I can attest to the suitability of this being an area with generally calm seas, great cruising grounds and an affluent, sea orientated population.īeing the Eco-Warrior that he is, John intuitively recognised that electric boat propulsion was the future even though he didn’t fully comprehend, at the time, the full capabilities of marine E-Propulsion. As would be expected, John it is extremely excited with the prospect of exporting NZ technology to a very high tech and advanced electrical propulsion (think Hyundai and Kia) focused country such as South Korea. Earthling has just entered a partnership in South Korea which will bring the E40 and E-THOS system to the huge developing pleasure boat market there. Interestingly, as I put the finishing touches to this article, some breaking news. While analysing markets with the most potential for the “Earthling E40”, John felt that geographical areas with calm seas and interesting populated topography, like that of the Mediterranean and South East Asia (SEA) should become his target markets. In chatting with John McGettigan recently, he stated that Earthling does not view the Pacific market (NZ, Australia and the Pacific Islands) as mature yet and thus far he has primarily focused on Europe, and partnered with European suppliers, even though boat and systems were designed and implemented from NZ. Got it?Įarthling (EV) Ltd has come a long way in the short period of time since I first mentioned them in Part 1 of this series. If you’re still a fossil fuel thinking person this vehicle equates to 138 HP/162 lb/ft. Putting things in comparison, I recently read a new hybrid electric car review article and they quoted the power of the vehicle as being 103kW/220Nm. If you know your boat has 100 kWh of available energy in its batteries and you use 2kW at 10 knots on a full battery you can run for 50 hours or 500 nm (assuming 100% efficiency). Therefore if a fossil fuel boat hypothetically holds 100 litres of diesel and you burn 2 litres an hour at 10 knots on a full tank you can run for 50 hours or 500 nm.Īn electric powered boat is very similar. However, a quick note before you continue reading, for those that still struggle a bit with electric terminology versus ICE terminology. ![]() In my last article I stated that we would be looking into the progress of some of the companies mentioned in Part 1 and explore more about the actual boats that they have, in reality, built or are building and on which they have, or will be installing electric propulsion systems available from the manufacturers also previously mentioned. On the consumer side, there is an increasing demand from customers to go green with their boats, wanting to reduce their own personal carbon footprint, reduce the demand for fossil fuels and as a bonus, enjoy the quiet of electric propulsion while also eliminating the smell of diesel or petrol fumes from their ICE exhaust. This is rapidly changing and many boat builders I spoke to at the show, where electric propulsion is now a viable alternative to conventional ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) propulsion for their vessels, are incorporating electric technology. As with cars, a decade ago, “petrol heads” in the marine market, until recently, were still in the majority. Even more impressive was how many boat builders, and their customers, are embracing electric technology options. Having researched and written about the status of the Inboard Electric Boat Propulsion market and, having learned how fast and how far this market has progressed, I was still not prepared for the plethora of manufacturers offering practical electric inboard alternatives.
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