“I explain how I made my boat electric.” Eco-revolution at the gates?

He caused a stir at the Genoa Boat Show with his small Far East 26 that had a cheap generator mounted instead of an outboard. To Daniele Bossi of Hytem(www.hytem.it) the generator, in this case noisy (95 decibels, but quieter models can be installed) serves to power his Torqeedo electric pod during long sailings. “Today we find ourselves with perfect electric motors that are quiet, efficient, with no maintenance costs, and that allow us to sail anywhere, even in Marine Protected Areas,” he tells us, “like the one I have mounted on board. It weighs 9 kilos, compared to the 90/100 I would need if I wanted to mount a traditional endothermic engine of equivalent power (about 8 horsepower), to which the weight of the tank would have to be added (I estimate it at 50 kilos). One and a half quintals versus 33 kilos: 9 of motor and 24 of lithium batteries.”

“LITHIUM? HAS NO FUTURE.”
Batteries that, according to Bossi, despite himself mounting them in the boat, have no future (his personal opinion) and will soon be replaced by supercapacitor ones: “Keep in mind that lithium is difficult to handle, it is expensive, and mixed with water it is explosive, so potentially dangerous. And since, by installing a pod, I saved space and weight, if I were not interested in lightening my boat I could even take advantage of an AGM or lead-acid battery bank.”

A VIABLE ROAD
This small boat with total electric propulsion, Bossi explains, is his calling card: “I want to show that the electric inboard is a viable and up-to-date way. Tesla cars, large electric-powered ships, rumors of a European law requiring electric-powered docking and mooring under 15 knots of wind-all point in this direction. The installation of the generator, which through the chargers installed below deck and charge controllers recharges my two lithium batteries, is a provocation, but the energy/cost balance is advantageous: with the two chargers plugged in (300 watts each) we found an average consumption of 130 ml of mixture per hour; its nominal output is a maximum of 1 kW but we measured 1.2 kW peak. The range of the engine varies greatly depending on the sailing speed: at 3 knots I know I can go for a long time, at maximum speed, on the other hand, I consume 3 kW.”

INSTALLATION IS SUPER EASY
We ask him if the installation of the electrical pod and system (summarized in the diagram on the previous page) was laborious: “Just think that my collaborators, with a view to installing the electric motor on the boat, had booked four days in the yard. In four hours we were done: on a small boat, the pod is the ideal solution; you drill three holes in the hull and you’re done. You can even fit two if you want!”

THE PATTERN ABOARD BOSSI’S BOAT

THE FIRST INTERESTED
The simplicity of installation, even in retrofit, caused one owner of a 64-foot boat to ask Daniele to “hybridize” his beloved, that is, to equip it with an electric auxiliary engine in addition to the traditional diesel. “Everything is possible. There is no one solution, there are a million. With my company, Hytem, we can do different types of installation, as long as the owner is clear from the start about the intended use of the boat. If you are only doing coastal racing and need to save weight, a small electric motor will suffice, for cruising and transfers that’s where generators or hydro generators come in (I would leave solar panels and wind generators alone, they have too low an efficiency for this purpose).” The size of the boat, therefore, does not matter: “Ships go electrically: traction motors are always electric as a matter of physics. The endothermic motor has a torque that is a curve, the electric motor a straight line-you’re immediately in torque as soon as you turn on. This is ideal for people who have to go at a constant speed. Also, the diesel, used as a generator, is extremely efficient if it’s traveling at a constant speed. If you don’t stress it (2000 rpm max), it will last you a lifetime!”

TELL ME WHAT BOAT YOU HAVE, I’LL TELL YOU THE ENGINE THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
Suppose we are cruise passengers who decide to switch to electric because it is the future, because of ideological and responsible choice, or because of long-term economic evaluations (zero maintenance and fuel costs). “If you have no motor on board, an electric pod is the best solution. The installation is really fast, as I told you. If, on the other hand, you already have an endothermic engine on board with an axle line drive, I would recommend a hybrid solution, simply by keying an electric motor onto the axle line. The advantages are obvious: I can move around in total silence and without pollution. Will my batteries run out? I turn on my old endothermic engine, as I move my electric motor becomes an alternator (and thus generates power) and recharges my batteries. Or, if I have sea against and want to recover that knot stealing electric motor off and dragging, I scale it completely. Do you have an inboard with an S-Drive transmission? No problem: there are suppliers, such as Ocean Volt, that give you the electric motor and saildrive package to replace the old inboard directly. Or others that take advantage of the existing S-Drive: since it’s a gear that ends in a pin, you work on the pin, without changing the seal.” From an economic point of view, is it worth switching to exclusively electric propulsion? Probably yes, in the long run. Meanwhile, why not think about the undoubted advantages of a hybrid solution?

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