Convert old sailboat hull to electric launch?

[TomHaven12]

I was having lunch during the summer at a lakeside retaurant when a very unique boat pulled in. It had obviously been a sailboat in its prior life, about 30 ft. long, wood, and had been converted into an electric launch. The owner had done the work himself but didn't have much to offer in the way of further information. I took this picture with my phone camera:
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http://www.testrong.com/elecbt.jpg
.
My questions are:
What degree of seaworthiness would it have?
Does anyone know of this having been done before?
Does anyone know how to go about making such a conversion?
Any other info or suggestions?

[paladin]

once upon a time....
I played with several small plastic sailboats with the idea of building an electric launch.....the closest that I ever got was with a rhodes 19....
I salvaged, less keel.....welded up a small keel and added about 400 pounds of lead to it, faired it, covered with Vectra and epoxy then repainted it....
Then took a sabre saw to the "house", used carboard and waxed paper to form the deck lip, and glassed over it...four nice sized batteries amidships, and two about 40+ pound thrust trolling motors...it was fun, worked well, ran all day with poer to spare....
I had intended to finish out the deck, make the motors into "saildrives" and permanently attach them, add a surry top and make it super nice as a toy...but then......someone offerred me a helluva lot more for it than I had in it, and I had achieved what I wanted to try....so I sold it...if I were to do it again I would build one of Jay benfords launches and add a 4 hp electric motor to it, the batteries, and a small box with the little "Tiny Tiger" generator in it...

[donald branscom]

I was having lunch during the summer at a lakeside retaurant when a very unique boat pulled in. It had obviously been a sailboat in its prior life, about 30 ft. long, wood, and had been converted into an electric launch. The owner had done the work himself but didn't have much to offer in the way of further information. I took this picture with my phone camera:
.
http://www.testrong.com/elecbt.jpg
.
My questions are:
What degree of seaworthiness would it have?
Does anyone know of this having been done before?
Does anyone know how to go about making such a conversion?
Any other info or suggestions?

A sawzall and hammer to start.
The seaworthiness depends on how may drinks the skipper had.

[RonW]

Turning a old sailboat into a electric boat isn't a problem and has been done more then once. You don't want no big keel hanging down though, that is just excessive drag that will help to deplete your batteries. Even big scows have been turned into electric boats.
Looks like that guy did a nice job on creating a electric boat.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/electricboats/

[openboater]

I did it to an Oday daysailor. It's not hard. Just dismantle the thing leaving the hull and centerboard trunk. Take the other 280 lbs of fiberglass and foam to the dump.

Don't try cutting old polyester resin with anyghing but a carbide circular saw or a chainsaw. I went thru some pretty expensive sawsall blades before getting to the big stuff. 6 inches will dull the best bi-metal sawsall blade.

I had to throw out the chainsaw blade when I was done.

fill in the centerboard whole with epoxy and wood, and voila, you've got a hull.

[maxima302]

Seaworthiness and electric motor in the same sentence... can't be a good mix :D

[mcdenny]

Tom,

If you can build a Haven 12.5 you sure could hack up an old sailboat to make an electric launch.

Get the batteries down low in the hull above where the ballast used to be. 6 hp motor, controller and belt drive will cost around $1200. Use the old prop, shaft, rudder. $500 of wet lead acid or $1500 of AGM batteries would get you across the lake. $1000 super quiet Honda generator to get back.

[mcdenny]

Seaworthiness and electric motor in the same sentence... can't be a good mix :D

Mark, How about the starter motor and alternator on your gas or diesel engine?

[maxima302]

Mark, How about the starter motor and alternator on your gas or diesel engine?

Very true! I suppose I never thought about it that way... :D

[Pokey]

There is a company in New York that is building eleteric boats Elco boats thy might sell you one of there motor systems if you want something larger than a trowling motor

[Boatmik]

Seaworthiness and electric motor in the same sentence... can't be a good mix :D

Promise you, Man, it is the way of the future! For recreational boating anyhow

There is going to be a LOT more of it. And if there is a lot more it will develop.

Said the Thracian to the Phoenician - "Surely you are NOT taking THAT to sea"

MIK

[brian.cunningham]

http://www.submarinebaseph.com/ElectricBoat1.jpg