Today we removed the Atomic 4 gasoline engine that had given our boat 40 years of service. This paves the way for cleaning up the space for our electric motor. Thanks to Paul and Lorne, the process went very smoothly. Paul used his dinghy to push us to the crane. We then hooked up the cranes hook to a special U shaped piece of metal for pulling engines out of boats recessed engine compartments. We hooked up a steel chain to the old Atomic 4 engines circular hole in the center on top. Up she went and then out. What a relief. Now the fun begins. We'll clean up with sunlight and then paint to get ready for the electric motor that should arrive this week.
Dad (to the right) did all the hard work of cranking the cranes hook up and down, as well as side-to-side. Lorne, in the top picture, takes care to keep the engine from going astray as we move it onto shore. With the old gasoline engine out of the boat we can now see what 40 years of burning gasoline leaves behind (see photo below).
We're getting close on the choice of batteries. Getting quotes from my solar system provider and a local distributor of Odyssy batteries as recommended by Electric Yachts. Lorne is narrowing in on a military grade charge controller. New elelectrical work is being completed by Lorne to upgrade AC and DC wiring to latest requirements as required for our insurance. Lorne has new electrical panels ready and will do final hookup shortly. Lorne has also got a plan for a battery bank platform and box to ensure the batteries are firmly secured. We are looking at a fairly heavy set of 4 x 12 volt batteries that may come in at about 500 pounds. So with the electric being about 200 pounds lighter than the gasoline engine and removal of gas tank we should be about even on the weight.
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