Empathy List Archives

RL

Robert Lemke

Fri, Sep 6, 2013 9:00 PM

Hi all,

My name is Bob, retired Merchant Marine and looking at trailerable power cats. When not at sea for work I've been a cruiser with my old Cal 40 sailboat. Now I'm at an age that I don't want to deal with sails and the long passage times between destinations, hence my search for power catamarans. The speed of these boats are a nice feature for getting to an anchorage before a storm or still daylight, but I would prefer a much slower and economical cruise. My idea is for a boat like the Glacier Bay 2690 that comes standard with twin 150 hp outboards, but to mount a Torqeedo electric outboard on the rear pulpit as a kicker. I have crunched some numbers and these light displacement boats (< 7000 lbs) combined with their minimum wetted surface hulls could be pushed at 4 kt with only 2000 watts of energy. So at 4 kt, power consumption is only 500 watt-hr per nm. For the last year I have been using LiFePO4 cells and these batteries are very capable compared to
lead acid. A bank of 36 kw-hr weighs 750 lbs and could propel the GB for 70 nm. With enough solar panels in conjunction with my typical cruising scenario (20% passage making, 80% on the hook), I think I could cruise full time on the cheap, just like I did with sail.

What do others think of this concept?

Hi all, My name is Bob, retired Merchant Marine and looking at trailerable power cats. When not at sea for work I've been a cruiser with my old Cal 40 sailboat. Now I'm at an age that I don't want to deal with sails and the long passage times between destinations, hence my search for power catamarans. The speed of these boats are a nice feature for getting to an anchorage before a storm or still daylight, but I would prefer a much slower and economical cruise. My idea is for a boat like the Glacier Bay 2690 that comes standard with twin 150 hp outboards, but to mount a Torqeedo electric outboard on the rear pulpit as a kicker. I have crunched some numbers and these light displacement boats (< 7000 lbs) combined with their minimum wetted surface hulls could be pushed at 4 kt with only 2000 watts of energy. So at 4 kt, power consumption is only 500 watt-hr per nm. For the last year I have been using LiFePO4 cells and these batteries are very capable compared to lead acid. A bank of 36 kw-hr weighs 750 lbs and could propel the GB for 70 nm. With enough solar panels in conjunction with my typical cruising scenario (20% passage making, 80% on the hook), I think I could cruise full time on the cheap, just like I did with sail. What do others think of this concept?

RH

Roddy Hays

Fri, Sep 6, 2013 9:13 PM

It¹s do-able. If you want a production cat then the Calcutta 263 from
Sarasota will fit your bill very nicely. It will also do the opposite to
what you want to do, which is cruise on a central single outboard (140hp or
so) and you can put 2 x Torqeedos on each hull outboard. The hull is light
enough to be driven by twin 90¹s if needs be for a very economical cruising
speed, too. The engine bracket could have been made for this set-up. One
problem you will have to overcome will be that of steerage.......

http://www.calcuttaboats.com/

There¹s also this, too.

http://www.blueplanetcats.com/32E.html

It¹s do-able. If you want a production cat then the Calcutta 263 from Sarasota will fit your bill very nicely. It will also do the opposite to what you want to do, which is cruise on a central single outboard (140hp or so) and you can put 2 x Torqeedos on each hull outboard. The hull is light enough to be driven by twin 90¹s if needs be for a very economical cruising speed, too. The engine bracket could have been made for this set-up. One problem you will have to overcome will be that of steerage....... http://www.calcuttaboats.com/ There¹s also this, too. http://www.blueplanetcats.com/32E.html

RK

Robert Kimsey

Sat, Sep 7, 2013 12:09 AM

I have a trailerable powercat called a "Tomcat" originally made by C-Dory
but now made in Bellingham, WA by a different company. It is 25.5 feet by 8
feet. It has been a great boat. It is powered by twin 150 HP Honda
gasoline outboards and can do 35 kts cruising comfortably at 20 kts. It
weighs about 8000 lbs. It is a great boat and might fit your needs. It has
a small head, a diesel stove/heater, a small fridge and a large forward
sleeping area and a large cockpit with fish wells and a wet bait box. Mine
is not for sale but I would think there are used ones around for sale. I
recommend the boat highly. If you want more info I would be happy to supply
it. I had it outfitted with Garmin electronics and use it in the Puget
Sound. I think I paid about $115,000 new with the trailer (4 years ago) and
have never had a problem.

Robert A. Kimsey

-----Original Message-----
From: Power-Catamaran [mailto:power-catamaran-bounces@lists.trawlering.com]
On Behalf Of Robert Lemke
Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 3:00 PM
To: power-catamaran@lists.trawlering.com
Subject: [PCW] Intro

Hi all,

My name is Bob, retired Merchant Marine and looking at trailerable power
cats. When not at sea for work I've been a cruiser with my old Cal 40
sailboat. Now I'm at an age that I don't want to deal with sails and the
long passage times between destinations, hence my search for power
catamarans. The speed of these boats are a nice feature for getting to an
anchorage before a storm or still daylight, but I would prefer a much slower
and economical cruise. My idea is for a boat like the Glacier Bay 2690 that
comes standard with twin 150 hp outboards, but to mount a Torqeedo electric
outboard on the rear pulpit as a kicker. I have crunched some numbers and
these light displacement boats (< 7000 lbs) combined with their minimum
wetted surface hulls could be pushed at 4 kt with only 2000 watts of energy.
So at 4 kt, power consumption is only 500 watt-hr per nm. For the last year
I have been using LiFePO4 cells and these batteries are very capable
compared to lead acid. A bank of 36 kw-hr weighs 750 lbs and could propel
the GB for 70 nm. With enough solar panels in conjunction with my typical
cruising scenario (20% passage making, 80% on the hook), I think I could
cruise full time on the cheap, just like I did with sail.

What do others think of this concept?

Power-Catamaran Mailing List

I have a trailerable powercat called a "Tomcat" originally made by C-Dory but now made in Bellingham, WA by a different company. It is 25.5 feet by 8 feet. It has been a great boat. It is powered by twin 150 HP Honda gasoline outboards and can do 35 kts cruising comfortably at 20 kts. It weighs about 8000 lbs. It is a great boat and might fit your needs. It has a small head, a diesel stove/heater, a small fridge and a large forward sleeping area and a large cockpit with fish wells and a wet bait box. Mine is not for sale but I would think there are used ones around for sale. I recommend the boat highly. If you want more info I would be happy to supply it. I had it outfitted with Garmin electronics and use it in the Puget Sound. I think I paid about $115,000 new with the trailer (4 years ago) and have never had a problem. Robert A. Kimsey -----Original Message----- From: Power-Catamaran [mailto:power-catamaran-bounces@lists.trawlering.com] On Behalf Of Robert Lemke Sent: Friday, September 06, 2013 3:00 PM To: power-catamaran@lists.trawlering.com Subject: [PCW] Intro Hi all, My name is Bob, retired Merchant Marine and looking at trailerable power cats. When not at sea for work I've been a cruiser with my old Cal 40 sailboat. Now I'm at an age that I don't want to deal with sails and the long passage times between destinations, hence my search for power catamarans. The speed of these boats are a nice feature for getting to an anchorage before a storm or still daylight, but I would prefer a much slower and economical cruise. My idea is for a boat like the Glacier Bay 2690 that comes standard with twin 150 hp outboards, but to mount a Torqeedo electric outboard on the rear pulpit as a kicker. I have crunched some numbers and these light displacement boats (< 7000 lbs) combined with their minimum wetted surface hulls could be pushed at 4 kt with only 2000 watts of energy. So at 4 kt, power consumption is only 500 watt-hr per nm. For the last year I have been using LiFePO4 cells and these batteries are very capable compared to lead acid. A bank of 36 kw-hr weighs 750 lbs and could propel the GB for 70 nm. With enough solar panels in conjunction with my typical cruising scenario (20% passage making, 80% on the hook), I think I could cruise full time on the cheap, just like I did with sail. What do others think of this concept? _______________________________________________ Power-Catamaran Mailing List