Planned Upgrades

Description of Planned Major Work

Initial plans were to do major work in phases. It is now more likely that most of the work will be done in 2020 all at once.

1. Completely rewire the boat.
2. Replace entire plumbing system.
3. Replace diesel engine with electric auxilliary
4. Install shore power charger
5. Install wind charger
6. Add Li-ion battery banks and solar controllers
7. Replace instruments and displays
8. Replace missing autopilot
9. Replace engine driven with electric refrigeration
10. Major increase in solar panel capacity
11. Possibly add AC/heat

Electrical System Rewire

The original electrical system was a mess with wires unnecessarily run through the bilge, including AC, a mix of wire sizes, poor routing and a lack of labeling, and poor connections in places. It quickly became apparent that a complete electrical system replacement was called for.

Plumbing System Replacement

The fresh water system was hopelessly clogged with black dead algae, undersized hoses, small expansion tank with burst bladder, and poorly located fresh water pump. Routing of the plumbing hoses could be improved. A decision was made to replace at least all lines, pumps, expansion tank and water heater.

Electric Auxilliary

The diesel is being replaced with an electric auxilliary. The electric auxilliary propulsion page provides details on the decision and progress.

Shore Power Charger

While not major work, the shore power charger will be the first charging source to be of any use. While on the hard with masts down, the wind charger cannot generate power and with masts down, measurements relative to the boom cannot be completed, preventing completion of the solar mount.

Wind Charger

The wind charger mount can be mounted on the mizzen mast without the charger itself and connectors wired such that when the masts are raised the connections are easily made.

Battery Bank Upgrade

A major battery bank upgrade with related charging electronics will be a major expense. A detailed look at batteries provides options considered and quantifies costs as well as weight and space savings. Battery charging plans are provided elsewhere.

Instruments and Displays

Instruments at time of purchase where ancient but mostly functional. The Furuno radar is ancient featuring a bulky CRT. The Garmin 182C chartplotter is adequate but lacks ability to network. The Datamarine depth and knotlog are ancient. The wind instrument is the most recent but still quite old. These instruments will be replaced with a Raymarine Axiom 9 to handle GPS and display, a new combined speed and depth transducer, plus new radar and wind instrument.

Autopilot

Neither and autopilot or an emergency tiller were installed at time of purchase. A look at autopilot options led to the choice of the Raymarine T70158 EV-200 Linear Electric Motor autopilot. The 24V version will be purchased.

Refrigeration

Replacement of the refrigeration is a prerequisite for removal of the diesel. An analisis of electric refrigeration provides details including options and power needs.

Solar Panel Upgrade

The solar panel options section of the battery charging plans page described the solar panels considered. The solar panels will require a solar panel mounting structure between the traveller and mizzen mast and below the level of the boom.

Air Conditioning and Heat

Air conditioning and heat is a bit of a luxury on a small yacht due more to its high power draw than to its cost. An analysis of marine A/C and heat options looks at some options and installation considerations.

Major Costs

Major costs are listed for each of the planned major work items. Most installation will be owner installed but some work such as fabricating a stainless steel solar panel mount will have to be contracted out.

1. Electric propulsion:
   • QuietTorque 10.0 Sport: $4,995
2. Shore power charging:
   • Delta-Q IC-1200 charger w/ programming: $700
3. Wind charging:
   • AIR Breeze 48V, carbon fiber blades, mounting: $2,000
4. Battery banks:
   • 24V 75Ah LBP battery: $1,300 each; 10@ $13,000
   • 12V 100Ah LBP battery: $900 each; 2@ $1,800
   • PS-MPPT-25 solar controller: $318 each; 2@ $640
   • TS-MPPT-30 solar controller: $382 each; 2@ $760
5. Autopilot:
   • Raymarine T70158 EV-200 Linear: $3,300
6. Refrigeration:
   • Sea Frost with two plate: $2,400
   • Additional costs: estimated $600
7. Solar:
   • Panasonic VBHN340SA17 340 Watt: $338 each; 2@ $680
   • Solar panel SS mount: unknown cost
8. AC/heat:
   • Mabru Marine Air Conditioner: $1,400
   • ProMariner 2000-Watt Inverter: Defender $999.99

Cumulative Totals (to nearest $100 or round up):

1. Electric propulsion: $5,000
2. Wind and shore power charging: add $2,700 = $7,700
3. Battery banks: add $16,200 = $23,900
4. Autopilot: add $3,300 = $27,200
5. Refrigeration: add $3,000 = $30,200
6. Solar: add $800 + unknown (solar panel mount) = $31,000 + unknown
7. AC/heat: add $2,400 = $33,400 + unknown

With AC/heat the total of major costs will likely be under $36,000 allowing $2,400 for the cost of the solar mount which is unknown at this time. With the costs of electrical and plumbing equipment the grand total will likely exceed $40,000. Many of the costs have been rounded up but these estimates assume owner installation.

Planned Work Sequence

The planned work is a set of large undertakings and large costs that if done together would be a huge undertaking and cost. For this reason the work will be broken up in phases. The planned fiberglass work and painting, and other work including steering pedestal changes, rebedding, refinishing, and joinery, and rigging improvements planned for 2020 as time permits and is not included in the list below.

1. The Electric Yacht QuietTorque 10.0 Electric Motor has been purchased. The MaxProp propeller was sent out for reconditioning. The prop shaft was bent enough to require replacement. A new cutlass bearing, shaft seal, the new prop shaft, and the prop will be installed, then the motor.

2. The Delta-Q IC-1200 charger has been purchased and is awaiting programming for the 48V batter bank.

3. The AIR Breeze 48V has been ordered and paid for but has not been shipped. The wind charger will be mounted on the mizzen mast but will not be useable until masts are raised.

4. The battery banks have been purchased but not yet installed. This is described in the Batteries web page. The charge controllers have not been purchased.

5. A Raymarine T70158 EV-200 Linear Autopilot will be purchased and installed. This is somewhat of a must have for single handing. After the motor goes in, the bilge aft of the motor will be repainted including the mount for the autopilot.

6. A Sea Frost BDxp 24V refrigeration system will be installed. This draws a maximum of 3.9A and 2.7A at medium power. At medium power and 50% duty cycle, two 75Ah batteries would provide 110 hours (more than four days) of operation.

7. Two Panasonic solar panels will be installed. The difficulty will be in creating a mounting structure for the solar panels. Stainless steel tubing will be used. The existing solar controller cannot be used and so two new TS-MPPT-30 solar charge controllers will be purchased with the battery banks.

8. Whether AC/heat is installed is not certain. It depends largely on where cruising is most often done and whether installation can be accomplished without major forward cabin changes. The Mabru Marine unit is the current top contender but not being DC requires a powerful 24V inverter.