D
Fisher with a dead engine - £15,000
then the Tohatsu
plus two of these
bank of lead acid batteries in the bottom of the engine compartment and then a modest diesel genset on top but still in the engine well - and vented to the outside.
Quite unconventional… My worries of this concept are more due to the water inflow to the prop. A Fisher 25 has quite a deep transom, especially in the middle…
Trolling motors?? I wouldn’t bet my lee-shore survival on that combination…literally. That’s like powering the Passat Estate with a bedsheet held-out the sunroof on a broom-handle.
The £18k Fisher 25 with the Beta sounds like a better deal. And there must be others…
Have you been wearing your hat while rowing? LOL…
“…At twelve noon the natives swoon, and
no further work is done –
But Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”
I can well see using the Torqueedo off the stern for discrete “silent running”, but personally I’d still like to know the thunka-thunka is down in the bilge in a pinch. And a small portable gen-set for mooring and battery-charging. I’ve heard good things about the Honda 1000 and Honda 2000 suitcase generators; quiet, efficient, and unobtrusive when on a mooring or a marina pontoon lacking shore-power.
The trouble with charging the Torqeedo ‘off piste’ is it draws 4 or 5 amps at 12V for several hours if the battery has been significantly depleted, which amounts to quite a few A/Hrs if you only have a small service battery – still love ours though! The Honda gennys are great but you are back to carrying petrol onboard again; one of the main reasons for our buying the Torqeedo was to get rid of petrol!
R
https://youtu.be/6ul-cZyuYq4?t=33
I can see this working, backed up with a generator/solar panels and a bank of decent batteries (I wouldn’t scrimp on the batteries). My only concern would be that to make any decent headway upwind in a big blunt boat like a Fisher, you would need to run the engine. I’ve read that some owners spend as much as 50% of their time with the donkey on…
That being said, the electric set-up you propose will weigh also more than a 25-30hp marine diesel: around 140kg for a Beta 30 vs. 225 kg for the electric system comprising the Bulldog generator, 4 batteries, two trolling motors and a big 300w PV panel . You would save weight on carrying less fuel though and could strip out the original prop-shaft etc.
It certainly worked here on a smaller scale (from the many positive amazon reviews):
“I recently built a small trimaran. Initially I powered it with a 4hp outboard motor but then I decided to go mad: I added solar panels, batteries and charge controllers and see if I could make it work. I ended up with 225Ah of battery power and bought a Bison 62ft/lb motor to see how it would run…Yesterday I gave it a proper test. I went out into the sea off the Western Donegal coast. The tide was running quick enough and there was an offshore wind of 20kmh. I loaded up the Trimaran with my wife, myself and our five young kids and off we went. When we got out of the harbour there was a fair old chop. The engine coped beautifully…On speed 5 the batteries lose about 30% of their power after about an hour on speed 4 its more like 10% in bright sunshine I reckon I could cruise on speed 4 and use no battery!”
Importantly, he indicates that he can run on PV power alone in bright sunshine. Great for the Med, but perhaps not much use on the West/Wet coast of Scotland. But with a generator, you might not have to worry?
As you intimate, this unconventional set-up is certainly cheaper than buying and fitting a new diesel engine, even if you buy decent charge controllers, PV panels and, importantly, batteries. I’d say £2000 would buy you four decent batteries, two trolling motors, a diesel generator and 300W of PV panel with charge controller and connectors. Certainly better than £8,000 plus for a new Beta 30 plus all the bits and pieces, not including labour to fit it!
Talking of batteries, two of these connected in series for each engine would do the trick:
I’d say go for it but then it’s not my money!
Plans are always good D. Hope you get that Fisher.
There’s a Fisher 25 on ebay at the moment, a tad over 13k with a yanmar 20hp diesel
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fisher-25-Freeward-motor-sailer/253149745753?hash=item3af0e69259%3Ag%3AIEEAAOSwrhBZCwB5
Either-way, the overall idea of switching to a pilothouse should give you a lot more flexibility — especially in Scottish waters and even the Irish sea. Instead of being cowed in harbor waiting for a weather-window for a purely transit-run to shift locales, a forecast of rain for a day or two can be profitably-used to make a transit-run to the next harbor while warm and dry (mostly). Saving the nice(r)* weather for filming and exploring.
And I’m still haunted by your crossing of the Pentland Firth in a open cockpit.
( * – It’s still Scottish weather. )
Hi Dylan
To buy an old Fisher with a lot of work seems a nice idea, but you want to sail and not to built on a boat.
And to have a closed wheelhouse means it is still cold and you Need a heating System.
Nice Fisher 25 ketch with Reflex heating. http://www.yachtbroker.dk/baad/fisher-25-ms-ketch/3021
Reflex oven do not Need electricity.
Best regards
Chris
If you hit the lottery;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLCgVFu4L3Y
I’ve been looking at some vids for European ‘deck saloon’ sailboats. We don’t really have them here in the US much. I’ve never heard of this mfr. before I ran across their vids, but I’m impressed by their space efficiency for the boat-length. The 31-ft has tiller steering and optional twin keels…and doesn’t look like a small fishing trawler but has the visibility. The “secret” workshop/storage area and center cabin is a clever idea.
Available single keel, twin keels and a retractable centerboard for mud-landings….even on the 40-ft model. Impressive, they’ve almost extinct here on the US East Coast.
She’s more pleasing to the eye than the full bridge version – but hey ho good looks don’t keep you dry and warm
Not cheap but ticks most boxes – I’m going to buy a Euro lottery ticket for Friday just so that my winnings are in Euros and I can buy one without paying the exchange rate