Bouba
Well-Known Member
The point is that you don’t have to have an equal amount of energy…for a start an electric motor will use a lot less…and a tank that might last an average diesel boat a month doesn’t have to be replicated with batteries
EV technology for your next boat ???
- Thread starter superheat6k
- Start date
westernman
Well-Known Member
I took the first point into account with the relative efficiencies.
The diesel might last a month if you just potter around your home port. But if you blast off at planing speed to Majorca, then you will get through those 800 litres (if starting from the Costa de Brava) before sunset, or if starting from Antibes, you won't make it even half way before conking out.
Bouba
Well-Known Member
Yes…as I maintain, the electric large truck technology is only just coming on line…when it’s freely available it will probably get marinised
Hurricane
Well-Known Member
Well, I'm sorry - I think you are all living in "cloud cuckoo land".
John100156
Well-Known Member
Yep and if you dared to consider to travel by train many years ago it was predicted you would suffocate at those speeds - trains will never catch on…..
People invested and trains caught on.
Universities and Advanced Scientific Research establishments are receiving significant investment in the development of most of the above technologies. We have been to the moon and soon mars, a solution WILL be found!
Definitely glass half full for me!
People invested and trains caught on. Universities and Advanced Scientific Research establishments are receiving significant investment in the development of most of the above technologies. We have been to the moon and soon mars, a solution WILL be found!
Definitely glass half full for me!
SailingDog
Well-Known Member
Wow, they are going to be free. Put Hacket and myself down for one each.
John100156
Well-Known Member
Come on Superheat6k you started the thread, as an engineer, what is your perspective on all this…..! 
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
Tesla has sold 36 of their new gen trucks, since launching 3 years ago. Probably all museum pieces now.
Bouba
Well-Known Member
When Tesla ramps up they do it fast..everything is engineered to be quick to manufacture.
kashurst
Well-Known Member
Volvo have sold 1000’s of electric trucks
Portofino
Well-Known Member
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
They have been ramping up over 3 years. And sold 36 in this time!
Bouba
Well-Known Member
No..they have been developing the Semi…it’s not just a truck with batteries that can be bought off the shelf…it will be a true long distance truck that can haul a heavy load 500 miles and fast charge…early adopters like PepsiCo are in partnership as a test bed
Tesla now makes vehicles in the early millions.. and are ramping up to a goal of 20 million per year…they have several new models in various states of development…and the company is worth more than every other car manufacturer put together…yet their detractors still snigger ???
rafiki_
Well-Known Member
I lecture on this stuff, hence know a bit about it. I’ve been to their car plant in California. It’s the only factory I’ve ever been to where visitors get valet parking. Elon sits on a raised dais in the engineering office. A bit like Alan Sugar on The Apprentice.
I track the company values of Tesla and the other main auto manufacturers, plus sales volumes and RoI, for my under and post grad lectures.
Im sorry if this sounds a little Willie Waving, I’m really not like that, as others on here who know me will testify. However this is an industry that I study and understand.
superheat6k
Well-Known Member
Well so far a very interesting discourse. I have been back several times, but have kept my powder dry on a response, but I accept your invitation. In this regard this is not 'My' thread - all comments are most welcome, and the thread needs to be owned by all that read or comment - like it or not the future is coming !Come on Superheat6k you started the thread, as an engineer, what is your perspective on all this…..!
So as a Thermal engineer I remain permanently aware of the First Law of Thermodynamics - Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, just moved from one place to another. Then as a Refrigeration engineer I also know we can cheat the First Law to a certain extent by the use of Heat Pumps (i.e. any fridge and most air conditioning systems, and if the Government gets its way the method we will all learn of the First Law as we freeze our nuts off each Winter !) - for those who do not realise Heat Pumps do give us more useable energy than we pay for - this is why they are so popular, and presently a 5:1 or even 6:1 gain is not unusual (where 1kW paid for energy achieves heat useable energy of 5 or 6 kW).
So if we can use the second part here (heat pump technology) to cheat the First Law perhaps someone can develop a way of getting (pumping) more energy into a battery than is used in the root charging process then clearly we are all on to a winner (but perhaps that is also perpetual energy, in which case I will give up right now !).
So looking more closely at my original preposition: So far the discourse seems to me to say that use for displacement hulls seems a distinct and likely already viable possibility, and with well designed use of the deck area for solar charging between cruises, the external load on the grid could be minimal, and perhaps for weekend sailors zero.
Already a vast number of craft have nav equipment that could find the Titanic (apologies for this pun at this sad time), but then never leave the Solent. So if we strip off all the unnecessary weight and functions, and replace with light weight lithium (I recall lithium is 3rd on the periodic table after hydrogen and helium ?), then power density could surely (at least quite soon anyway) achieve an energy density that could provide leisure boating at hull speed (H = 1.34 × √(L)), and for say 8 - 10 hours continuous consumption.
But to really become viable the thought of plugging in to shore power would then become a bygone memory.
So for those who enjoy and indeed rely upon fast, i.e. planing, crusing - perhaps think about enjoying now your remaining trips. They might just be finite.
Interestingly since I have owned both my Corvette and now my Grand Banks, virtually all my cruising is ~hull speed or just below, where the fuel use is frugal, indeed it was whilst 'cleaning the turbos', and hence on the plane, that I sucked up a load of weed and wrecked the stbd engine on my Corvette. So I now find ~ 8 - 10 knots a decent and sensible passage speed. This remains at least 1.5x that of the typical raggie, no tacking, and if solar powered, no energy (at least for moderate use) cost.