The Electric Tige

[NICKYPOO]

I think a gas engine large enough and powerful enough to spin a generator that is large enough to keep up with the demands of a giant electric motor and massive battery bank would spit out as much emissions as the current ECM controlled, CAT equipped gas engine we are currently powering our boats with where would we put it all It would be 10K lb 35ft boat with the room of a 15ft run-a-bout.

Like I said, Mr. Fusion.

[RubberDucky]

Hydrogen could be the furture it's abdunt and when used the only emission is water so if everyone on the lake used hydrogen boats we would flood the lake. j/k you would need alot of boats!

As for the concern of using to big of a motor for the generator to power everything, you would only need a small diesal or a 4 cyclinder motor (in prototype trucks i think they are using a 3 cyclinder motor) to generate enough power to power the boat, the batteries do not need to be charge all the time so when the electric motor is not in use the power could be switch to the batteries to keep them topped off.
The technology has been around for years, This is the same tecnology that tug boats, ships, diseal eletric trains work and pretty soon some cars.

[dom w. forte]

Its not just the batteries that are part of the emmisions equation, but all the hardware and electronics production to go with it as well as a major safty factor which has been a factor in cars.
The jaws of life equipment cant be used by the fire department due to electicution so what kind of safety would have to be built into a water soaked bildge?
Also the current battery for a camry is 7000.00 warranted for 5 years, that will come down with technolgy but how much.
Would also be curious about electrollis of other componets.

[Ewok]

Its not just the batteries that are part of the emmisions equation, but all the hardware and electronics production to go with it as well as a major safty factor which has been a factor in cars.
The jaws of life equipment cant be used by the fire department due to electicution so what kind of safety would have to be built into a water soaked bildge?
Also the current battery for a camry is 7000.00 warranted for 5 years, that will come down with technolgy but how much.
Would also be curious about electrollis of other componets.

Correct, you would have to build a special boat with safe compartments for the batteries and grounding would be an issue but eventually the benefits for fuel savings will outweigh the other costs as the world eventually runs out of oil. When I was in geology class 10 years ago my professors and the research papers we read said the world had about 50-75 years "ish" of oil at the 1998 rate of use. That was before China and India became big oil consumers. Those were just educated guesses at how much oil is left but it will run out someday.

I was sad when I heard this in school because I love cars, and electric cars just don't thrill me like a big block muscle car or a smooth v-12. I also love boats and this type of an electric drivetrain wasn't on anyones horizon for a boat so I am hopeful now that boats in general and wakeboats in particular won't go away when the oil runs out.

[jwanck11]

Correct, you would have to build a special boat with safe compartments for the batteries and grounding would be an issue but eventually the benefits for fuel savings will outweigh the other costs as the world eventually runs out of oil. When I was in geology class 10 years ago my professors and the research papers we read said the world had about 50-75 years "ish" of oil at the 1998 rate of use. That was before China and India became big oil consumers. Those were just educated guesses at how much oil is left but it will run out someday.

I was sad when I heard this in school because I love cars, and electric cars just don't thrill me like a big block muscle car or a smooth v-12. I also love boats and this type of an electric drivetrain wasn't on anyones horizon for a boat so I am hopeful now that boats in general and wakeboats in particular won't go away when the oil runs out.

I loved environmental economics!

A couple of things:
There is a lot of oil left under the crust.
In abandoned fields, there is the opportunity to extract significant volumes of oil using pressure techniques not developed when the wells were deemed dry.
There is likely a massive field in China. Predictions place the size of this field as bigger than all oil pumped to date. Who really knows.
Our technilogy to explore for and extract oil will continue to increase with time. The money is there and all ready earmarked for R&D.

The last is perhaps the most operative point: OPEC and $$$. The switch away from oil I think will have a lot more to do with how to deal with OPEC than anything else. OPEC, or more specifically $$$, controls people, votes and policy.

Battery technology will get better and better and the "problems" of capacity, discharge rate and power and safety will all be continuously addressed. One day my guess is that we will see cars and boats and planes and everything else that relies on oil swap their engines for motors, but I think that is a loooooooooooooooong way off.

[91Terminator]

Only allowed to tow that boat with a Prius!

SMUG ALERT!

[NICKYPOO]

Whoa, look out! A lazer right out of left field.

[91Terminator]

Im sorry i decided not to say that see i changed it. LOL

[NICKYPOO]

You don't need to apologize to me dude. There's probably 50 things worse than that that come out of my mouth every day.

[petrey10]

i agree with ragboy in that diesel is the next technology... way more torq... less emissions... little heavier... better fuel economy... i wish some company would produce them in a cost effective way like volkswagon has done with the jetta tdi.. yaya thats a 4 banger i know i know but still it shows that diesel engines can be cost effective

[Jason B]

i agree with ragboy in that diesel is the next technology... way more torq... less emissions... little heavier... better fuel economy... i wish some company would produce them in a cost effective way like volkswagon has done with the jetta tdi.. yaya thats a 4 banger i know i know but still it shows that diesel engines can be cost effective

If I had as many kids on my boat as Ragboy does, I would just hand them all paddles and save my gas money entirely!! lol


j/k Ragboy

[91Terminator]

i agree with ragboy in that diesel is the next technology... way more torq... less emissions... little heavier... better fuel economy... i wish some company would produce them in a cost effective way like volkswagon has done with the jetta tdi.. yaya thats a 4 banger i know i know but still it shows that diesel engines can be cost effective

Yes but that is not the kinda of diesel engine you speak of you said heavier with lots of torque. That will not be cost efficient like a jetta diesel. Yes those are cost effective but the diesel that your boat would need will not be anything like that one.

[Ewok]

Jwank11,

Dude, I know what your saying. We are talking theoretical long way off stuff here. I like having a v8 in my boat and gas engines in my other vehicles too. I am not in the environmental business and I am definitly NOT a treehugger. I was just sharing my personal realization that when the world runs out of oil (a longways off), the boats will not suck.

[dom w. forte]

i agree with ragboy in that diesel is the next technology... way more torq... less emissions... little heavier... better fuel economy... i wish some company would produce them in a cost effective way like volkswagon has done with the jetta tdi.. yaya thats a 4 banger i know i know but still it shows that diesel engines can be cost effective

MC built aprox. 16 boats with the turbo diesel VW a few years ago a believe 8 of the engines blew and they cancelled that option.

[jwanck11]

Jwank11,

Dude, I know what your saying. We are talking theoretical long way off stuff here. I like having a v8 in my boat and gas engines in my other vehicles too. I am not in the environmental business and I am definitly NOT a treehugger. I was just sharing my personal realization that when the world runs out of oil (a longways off), the boats will not suck.

The world will not run out of oil for a very, very long time.

That though is one of the coolest things about evolution... change comes from ideas and of course $$$.

I would much rather a diesel, but as Dom pointed out - tried that and a big fail. So odd though as the normal perception is diesel engines outlast gassers.