HAPPY BOATERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TELL THEIR STORY
OTHER BOATERS’ STORIES
Wood Schooner Sea Change 46
Hylass 44
Sun Cat 23
Dehler 25
Ylva-DEN II 40
Ranger 28
Scampi 30
Nonsuch 30 Story
Nonsuch 30-amp to speed curve
OUR DEMO BOAT STORY, LOOKFAR, a YAMAHA 33
Our demo boat, LOOKFAR, has surpassed all expectations. It has been sailing around the Pacific northwest with its new electric propulsion system since 2014. We wanted to convert the boat to electric, but, because we are in Puget Sound, we realized we would need a generator as well if we wanted to be able to motor for long distances- such as up to the San Juan Islands and beyond. DC generators are much more efficient for powering battery banks than AC generators; they are, however, more expensive, so, we built one that we now sell and install for other electric propulsion systems.
The Thoosa 7 KW electric motor pushes the boat as fast as the old diesel engine ever did. And the 12 Firefly AGM batteries can feed the motor at full power for an hour and a half- or all the way to Port Townsend if we go slower. If we need it, the 7 KW DC generator can directly feed the motor while we are underway, meaning that the boat has effectively doubled its cruising range over the old diesel engine even though the fuel tank is slightly smaller.
One of the differences of an electric motor is that, when the wind is light, we can simply turn it on and add a little to the boat speed, which adds to the wind speed, which means we can keep sailing. Instead of the old days, when, if we decided to turn on the iron Genoa, it didn’t make sense to keep sailing.
We like to anchor out when we are cruising. With the new electric propulsion system we only need to the run the generator for an hour and a half every 7-10 days while at anchor. This is with going sailing with electric winches, motoring in to empty the holding tank every week, and all the other electrical draws, including making coffee off the inverter every morning…
When docking, because it is electric, we can keep the motor in gear and have the propeller barely turning yet have full torque available to stop the boat dead or maneuver as needed.
COMEDY MOMENT: One time, when entering the Government locks from the ship canal to go out to Puget Sound, we were able to go so slow and she was so quiet that the lock operator asked us to turn on the engine so he didn’t have to pull us in!
We love it.
SPECIFICATIONS
Situated: Seattle, WA Installed by: Seattle Boat Works
Previous Engine: Yanmar (11hp)
Electric Engine: Thoosa 7000
Propeller: 3 blade folding- 15” pitch 9.2
Battery Bank: 300amp Fireflys (AGM foam core)
Installation on LOOKFAR: 2014
LOA: 33.4 feet Beam: 11 feet Draft: 6.1
Displacement: 10,000 lbs