My common readers could keep in mind that two years in the past, I used to be successful so onerous at life that I purchased myself a brand-spankin’ new boat as a deal with. Don’t get me unsuitable, I’m nonetheless on an impartial journalist’s wage right here although, so once I say that I had “boat cash”, I imply I scraped collectively sufficient to purchase a $1,000 electrical boat instantly from China. It’s now been two years since that Alibaba supply, so let’s see the way it’s held up and what it seems to be like now.
As a little bit of a refresher first although, right here’s what I received on the time. Within a surprisingly well-made metal body and plywood-lined crate (that most likely would have price $1k by itself to have made within the US), my five-seater fiberglass boat awaited me.
It was powered by a cute little 500W inboard motor with a belt and pulley drive connecting it to a rudimentary prop common out of 1/8″ (3mm thick) metal plate bent and welded onto a piece of pipe.
The boat didn’t have batteries, so I added my very own pair of 12V 200Ah LiFePO4 batteries to create a 5 kWh battery pack that was possible means larger than I wanted.
You’ll be able to take a look at my unboxing and testing video right here, which went viral with practically 4 million folks having now joined me at the start of this loopy journey.
The boat appeared to work, in that it stayed above the waterline of our native lake and will transfer each fore and aft beneath its personal energy, fulfilling the foremost necessities of what it takes to be a motorboat.
Nevertheless, its efficiency left so much to be desired. The prop was solely round 75% submerged, which means there was a variety of cavitation and wasted energy churning air via the water. Not solely did that make it inefficient, but in addition sluggish.
It was onerous to journey over a single knot, although I did briefly hit 2 knots on my GPS speedometer app (and I’m counting that, even when I can’t be certain it wasn’t a fluke).
In different phrases, the boat was surprisingly first rate, but the efficiency was underwhelming.
For some time now, I’ve been chipping away at just a few upgrades to the boat every time I go to my mum or dad’s home, the place I maintain it. It’s been a high-quality little boat for my dad to take the grandkids out on and train them about boating, but it surely has been due for some deferred love, upkeep, and upgrades.
Initially, right here’s the way it has aged. With out common cleansing, there was some critical marine grime increase, however the fiberglass has really held up surprisingly nicely in two years of harsh Florida solar and UV.
After two years, the chrome railings had an honest quantity of corrosion and what seemed like pitting, although it just about all buffed proper out once I disassembled the cover to scrub every thing very well.
After buffing the shine again into the rails, I utilized a transparent coat in order that the rails will hopefully maintain their shimmer and I received’t must re-scrub the life again into them subsequent yr. The remainder of the boat’s hull and cover received a easy soapy scrub down.
As I put the cover again collectively, I lastly made a giant addition I’ve been planning ever since I received the boat: photo voltaic panels. I put a pair of 100W photo voltaic panels on the cover and wired them into an MPPT photo voltaic cost controller that feeds again into the batteries. The panels don’t cost fairly as rapidly because the boat drains, but it surely has meant that I by no means want to tug the boat out to cost it anymore because it simply slowly prices up all day whereas it’s floating round on the dock.
Photo voltaic panels on electrical boats are a sport changer, particularly these used for just a few hours every week, similar to a Sunday cruise. You’ll be able to run your battery practically empty on the water in a day, then let it cost itself up over the following few days.
The subsequent large improve I’ve been planning is extra energy. To get there, I had a slick concept that might let me exchange the previous rudder and motor in a single fell swoop.
The rudder was horribly rusted out at this level, although amazingly that terribly inefficient propellor seemed practically nearly as good as new, so I believe they really used chrome steel to manufacture it.
Because the design of the propellor shaft meant that its angle pressured the propellor to be too excessive, I made a decision to easily exchange that complete system with another. As an alternative of yanking out the propellor shaft and needing to seal the stuffing field, I left the present seals in place and simply reduce off the propellor. It ain’t fairly, but it surely’s under the waterline. It was additionally a uncommon case of the simplest resolution and the most secure resolution converging on the identical reply, because the shaft is already completely sealed in opposition to water ingress.
I discovered an 80 lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor used on-line and snagged it for round $200 (it price over $1,400 new for this American-made motor). It has what Minn Kota refers to as an indestructible shaft, which I imagine because it was onerous as hell to chop it right down to size utilizing a pipe cutter, which was essential to protect the wires that run down the shaft.
I eliminated the rudder and changed it with all the trolling motor, now with its shortened shaft, and welded up some new linkage to attach it to the previous rudder controls. After yanking out the Minn Kota’s management board and wiring it into my batteries, I had a Frankenstein setup that I figured would give me rather more energy and in addition some efficient thrust vectoring since I may management the route of the motor from the wheel, like an actual outboard.
I hadn’t but run the wires as much as the helm, so the boat briefly required a crew of two once I put it again into the water. My dad took the wheel whereas I stayed within the ‘engine room’ within the again to manage the throttle.
It was instantly obvious how rather more highly effective the boat was now, really leaving a wake. Sadly, it was additionally instantly obvious why boats have rudders, since this flat backside boat now had the worst case of oversteer I’ve ever seen.
With the highly effective thrust, the boat mainly shoved its ass-end all over with only a little bit of nudging. The cool factor was that it may actually flip in its personal size, although we had been mainly at all times turning till we may discover impartial on the wheel.
My dad described what we had achieved as “like placing an outboard motor on a pie tin”, and I’ve to say that felt fairly correct. It made for some nice laughs (see the testing video right here, extremely advisable!) however was barely controllable. It felt like a bumper automotive on water.
To repair it, I added a easy bolt-on rudder on the motor shaft. Placing the boat again in proved that there was extra management, but it surely nonetheless tends to oversteer a bit. Don’t get me unsuitable, it’s enjoyable as hell, but it surely’s nonetheless doesn’t have the precision management I hoped for. Oh nicely, it’s ok for a $1,000 Chinese language boat with practically half as a lot added into it as a part of the upgrades!
Now, the boat is solar-powered, so it by no means wants charging, and the facility is a lot better to permit for some really enjoyable cruising at speeds of as much as roughly 5 knots. I don’t suppose we’ll be pulling a water skier anytime quickly, however we’re undoubtedly leaving a wake now.
The very last thing I must do is add a pair of bilge pumps (it’s received two sponsons that create low factors on both facet, so I would like two pumps). I had been laying aside that undertaking as a result of I by no means thought I’d really want them, and it was extra of a precaution in case of some sort of freak accident the place I rammed one thing submerged that holed the hull. I used to be additionally dreading placing a gap in a superbly good fiberglass boat for the pump outlet, even when it was going to be nicely above the water line.
Nevertheless, what I didn’t account for was Hurricane Milton, which put a lot rain into the boat at such a steep angle that it really began working its means beneath the rear bench and filling up the “engine room” space under deck. The boat is self-bailing, at the least in regular rain, and has a central scupper that funnels rainwater down via the hull. With round a foot (30 cm) of freeboard, it’s by no means been a difficulty, even in onerous Florida rains. However a Cat 3 hurricane is a special animal, and as soon as sufficient water labored its means beneath the rear bench and the sideways wind/rain duo began tipping the boat, physics took the wheel and the under image is how issues sorted the storm handed.
Happily, this was just about the one harm my dad and mom’ place took. The boat had most likely 100 gallons 380 liters) of water under deck and so my dad couldn’t proper it by himself. It sat that means for round six weeks till my subsequent go to, after we pumped the water out. The hull was nonetheless safe and she or he floated proper again to her former self.
Having survived two years of use and a Class 3 hurricane, it was time to lastly give the previous woman’ a reputation. I requested my subscribers for his or her suggestions and acquired lots of of nice concepts (together with dozens of Boaty McBoatface) however lastly selected what I felt was one of the best title of all.
As you learn this, the Sunny Facet Up nonetheless floats, basking within the battery-charging solar and cruising the native personal waterways at speeds quick sufficient to get a fist shaken at you in a no-wake zone.
She ain’t the prettiest boat on the market. Nor the quickest. However she’s mine, and she or he’s stunning to me.
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