Alerion Electric, Update
A few weeks back I announced that a new Alerion 33 electric boat was on the horizon. Friday I made a visit to Pearson Composites to check on the build progress. Things are coming along quite nicely and I'm excited about getting a chance to tag along on the sea trials. Its looking like we may be only 6-8 weeks away. On Friday, I met with engineer Wayne Burkett as he was getting ready to perform some electrical tests to the motor control system as everything was in place and ready to run. The photo below shows where we were on Friday: What you see above is the pair of Mastervolt Lithium ION batteries to port and starboard and the chargers that will replenish them. In the very center is the motor controller which is mounted just aft of the electric motor that is the heart of the system. Remember, this boat is all electric, not a hybrid. The motor is shown below: I was amazed at how smooth and quiet the motor is. On Friday the motor was not even bolted in place on its mounts to accomodate final placement when the shaft and coupling are installed. Even at full RPM the motor was nearly silent and there was virtually no vibration. A far cry from the two or three cylinder diesel this system is intended to eliminate. I asked Wayne about the engineered run time on the two batteries presently installed and the estimate is 4 hours at hull speed. Just to be safe, and allow for a relatively easy expansion of the system Pearson has installed a pair of extra mounting trays for an additional pair of the same lithium ION batteries in case we find out that 4 hours run time is not realistic after testing, or if the owner decides they want to extend their range. Remember, the concept here is based on a day sailor, not an extended cruising boat. According to Wayne all of the Mastervolt gear and integration to date has worked flawlessly and things are moving along as planned. I can hardly wait to see how it all works once we get it in the water. Stay tuned because I'll be along for the ride when the boat gets launched and will be sure to get some live video of us underway to bring to my YouTube channel.
A few weeks back I announced that a new Alerion 33 electric boat was on the horizon. Friday I made a visit to Pearson Composites to check on the build progress. Things are coming along quite nicely and I'm excited about getting a chance to tag along on the sea trials. Its looking like we may be only 6-8 weeks away. On Friday, I met with engineer Wayne Burkett as he was getting ready to perform some electrical tests to the motor control system as everything was in place and ready to run. The photo below shows where we were on Friday:
What you see above is the pair of Mastervolt Lithium ION batteries to port and starboard and the chargers that will replenish them. In the very center is the motor controller which is mounted just aft of the electric motor that is the heart of the system. Remember, this boat is all electric, not a hybrid. The motor is shown below:
I was amazed at how smooth and quiet the motor is. On Friday the motor was not even bolted in place on its mounts to accomodate final placement when the shaft and coupling are installed. Even at full RPM the motor was nearly silent and there was virtually no vibration. A far cry from the two or three cylinder diesel this system is intended to eliminate. I asked Wayne about the engineered run time on the two batteries presently installed and the estimate is 4 hours at hull speed.
Just to be safe, and allow for a relatively easy expansion of the system Pearson has installed a pair of extra mounting trays for an additional pair of the same lithium ION batteries in case we find out that 4 hours run time is not realistic after testing, or if the owner decides they want to extend their range. Remember, the concept here is based on a day sailor, not an extended cruising boat.
According to Wayne all of the Mastervolt gear and integration to date has worked flawlessly and things are moving along as planned. I can hardly wait to see how it all works once we get it in the water. Stay tuned because I'll be along for the ride when the boat gets launched and will be sure to get some live video of us underway to bring to my YouTube channel.
