Ft. Myers Beach, FL. Gunboat, builder of high-speed, ultralight cruising catamarans, has selected E Motion hybrid drive as standard equipment for a new 60-footer now under development. The company is also offering the E Motion system as a factory-installed option in the production Gunboat 66, with two installations already on order at the Cape Town, South Africa, plant.
The first E Motion 66 is expected to be launched within six months. The first E Motion 60 and the second 66 should be in the water by the end of
the year. |
|
 |
| CAD rendering of the new Gunboat 60 |
|
 |
| Gunboat 66 under construction in Cape Town plant. |
|
 |
The Gunboat 66 has seven 80 watt solar
panels on each side of the cabin top, for a
potential total output of more than one kw. |
|
 |
Doors on either side of the central helm station open
from the spacious salon to the forward cockpit with
access to the mast, winches and llines. Two doors
aft lead back to the sheltered "back porch." (Below) |
 |
The aft porch makes a stable, protected platform
for quiet baywatching at anchor or (right) keeping the
wine bottle upright while punching through waves.
(Far right) 55 hp diesels power the standard Gunboat 66
and need large engine rooms to hold them. The small E
Motion electric motors will cut the weight in the sterns by
more than half and open up a lot of living space below. |
|
|
 |
| Gunboat 66 off Cape Town, SA, with Table Mountain looming beyond. |
Ideal for E Motion
Gunboat's speedy, carbon-fiber cats are ideal for taking advantage of the E Motion system's ability to convert wind and solar renewable energy into electricity for propulsion and house power, says Dave Tether, CEO of Electric Marine Propulsion (EMP), dba E Motion Hybrids.
"They're very fast," he says, "and they'll be powered by our new 18 kilowatt motor. It's our largest yet, and it has the greatest potential for regeneration."
Both hybrid Gunboat models will also have lithium-ion battery packs with a high rate of charge acceptance capable of absorbing the large amount of electricity regenerated under high-speed sail.
"Regeneration in our first hybrid Lagoon 500 was three kilowatts per motor when the boat hit 12 knots, and it only has 16 kilowatt motors and standard AGM batteries," Tether says. "In a hybrid Gunboat at 25 knots, regeneration should be ferocious."
For comparison, a typical 110 v shore power connection with 30 amp service produces only 3.3 kw, far less than the potential for regeneration in a Gunboat, he says. "And that's not even counting electricity from the solar panels."
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Sail handling in rough going is made easier by
the protected forward cockpit behind the mast. |
|
With 25+ knot potential under sail, a hybrid Gunboat
should regenerate "ferocious" amounts of electricity. |
|
|
|
Already solar-equipped
The Gunboat 66 carries 14 solar panels built into the cabin top to recharge the house batteries. "We're not sure yet what the solar voltage configurations will be in the hybrid," Tether says, "but that many panels can easily recharge the 144 v main battery pack."
Between the large solar output and regeneration, he says, "I don't think the backup generators will be running very much."
Tether has joined Nigel Irens and the Gunboat design team to integrate the E Motion system into the boat structure in ways that take advantage of its modularity and flexibility. For example, the E Motion motors weigh less than half as much as the standard 55 hp diesels and are only 13 inches in diameter. Large engine rooms to house them are no longer needed. Other heavy components of the hybrid system - batteries and generators - can be located amidships and out of the sterns in accordance with the company's design philosophy of strict weight centralization.
Basic system
The basic hybrid Gunboat will have two 22 kw generators backing up a 144 v lithium-ion main battery pack with 23 kwh energy capacity. A dual-string 46 kwh battery pack will be available as an option. A 24 v lithium pack will provide house power. House batteries can be charged from the main 144 v battery bank via a dc-dc converter as well as from the solar panels.
The installations will also include a new 144 vdc high-efficiency air conditioner powered directly from the main battery pack. Running on high voltage dc eliminates much of the inefficiency in the typical marine system and reduces the amp draw considerably.
"Gunboat and E Motion hybrid drive are made for each other," Tether says. "I've been bugging [Gunboat founder] Peter Johnstone at boat shows for years to give us a try. Now it looks like it's going to happen." |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
