Saturday, June 27, 2009

Going Electric Part 7: Hosed again!

Now that most of the engine parts have been removed and the area has been cleared of all unnecessary vestiges of the internal combustion engine. It's time to focus on the area where the electric motor will be installed.
As you can see there is not a lot of room for it's installation. It would be much easier to install the Thoosa 9000 or any electric propulsion system for that matter if I had a straight line engine and transmission setup. But, unfortunately BIANKA had a Hurth V drive transmission and this is the area where the transmission connected up to the prop shaft as shown below: This arrangement I assume helps to save space with the engine installation as the engine sits over the prop shaft and the V Drive transmission allows for connection to the prop shaft. Even though there is not a lot of room one of the real nice things about the Thoosa 9000 motor is that is small. How small is it?
Small enough to be carried on board in a boat bag! Try that with a replacement diesel. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I still need to clean and clear out this area before one can start to install the motor. The photo below shows that yes there is indeed MORE HOSES to move along with a bunch of wiring. But, these items are only going to be removed temporarily. They will be reinstalled once the motor has been installed. Below is a photo that identifies some of the items to be moved:
Also hidden under the bilge hoses on the right is an AC wire and the propane line. NOTE: Make sure the propane tank is disconnected before you disconnect the propane lines. Also make sure all of the equipment is turned off before you disconnect the wiring to get it out of the way. Also note the you may have to reconnect the ground wires of the boat to a new terminal connection point . On BIANKA these wires were formally connected up to a single point on the now removed engine. As shown below:
You need to take a little time to think about how you are going to remove the wires and hoses. Because you may find that some are best to be disconnected and moved temporarily forward and other items are better to be pulled aft. Some of the wires may run through supports and are were run before connectors were put on the ends so removing them entirely may be more difficult than others.


Shown above are the wires for the bilge pump and the cables for the depth sounder, wind indicator and speedometer along with assorted ground wires.
I found that all the hoses that ran into the bilge it was easier to pull them back aft. While the wiring was pulled forward. Also these hoses have been sitting there for over twenty years and have gotten a little grimy making it a good time to clean things up. NOTE: Keep the bilge vent hose handy after you pull it back. It will be very helpful in venting the work area during installation as things will be getting dusty and it will also help in removing fumes once the fiberglass work begins.

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