BATTERY INSTALL 2016

The sailing season has been delayed while I deat with the damaged battery SNAFU. Two new 8A4D batteries arrived to replace the two that were damaged in the original shipment. The only difference is that the batteries probably have different manufacturing dates. When I ordered the original batteries the battery company said it could provide batteries manufactured the same day. But, now that probably is not the case. Whether or not it will make that much of a difference only time will tell.
So I loaded up all five hundred and twenty pounds of batteries into the car and took them to the boatyard.

I had BIANKA launched because it would be easier to load the batteries into BIANKA while floating at the dock.
I did make some major changes in the placement of the new batteries. I reversed the location of the the terminals of batteries one to three. I just turned them around so all terminals are located along the port side. Battery four was off by it's self next to the other batteries facing aft on the starboard side. The was because the engine stringer which held up the original battery platform did not extend far enough aft to allow for the fourth battery so I installed it next to the other three. Unfortunately this also meant I had to empty out two cockpit lockers to do any maintenance on the pack instead of one. It was a real pain.
By building a metal extension battery holder out of slotted angle iron and extending it off of the existing platform:

I was able to line up all the battery terminals on the same side and make them easy to reach after only emptying one of the cockpit lockers. This will make for much easier access and maintenance in the future.

 Other than doing the install on the hottest day of the year the install went pretty good. There might be some tweaks I might want to do but, they could wait until the off season. The next step is to get the batteries wired up. I did have some concern that since I changed the layout of the batteries that one or both of the main battery cables would not reach the proper terminals. We'll see how that works out once I start wiring thing up.

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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GOING ELECTRIC PART 8: COMFORTABLY NUMB

Well, I've moved the wires and hoses out of the way as the photo shows. While the area without the diesel engine is large. You still can't sit up in it. At least I can't. Working in the area is still a challenge especially for a big guy like me. Here is a tip I found to make working in this area more comfortable:
Mooring Balls. They are very comfortable to lay on and roll about easily as you move. I could have laid boards on the engine stringers too. But, laying on the mooring balls allows you to roll out of the space much easier than laying on the hard boards. They also help protect the prop shaft and are just plain comfortable.

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GOING ELECTRIC PART 11: THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST

So the epoxy has done it's job and has firmly attached the extension stringers to the hull and existing stringers. The next step is to cut them down to size. But, first we need to transcribe the angle of the prop shaft onto them so we know what angle to cut as shown below:

So the prop shaft angle has been transcribed onto the stringer. All that we have to do is cut the stringer so we can move on to installing the motor mount brackets, motor mounts and of course the motor. But, never, never forget Murphy's Marine law of modifications on board and that is:

If there is a nail or screw in the piece of wood you are cutting the saw blade will find it and attempt to cut through it. In the above case it found two. Mike's Going Electric Tip: Make sure you have extra blades for your saw.

Now that's more like it. It is starting to look like the motor once it's installed will actually line up with the shaft. But, in this installation a lot of the new stringer and part of the old stringer setup was removed as you can see by the piece laying next to the shaft in the photo.

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GOING ELECTRIC PART 12: Installing the mounts

Now that the stringers have been cut to to the prop shaft angle. Now we need to install the brackets to the stringer bed. There are made up of heavy gauge aluminum as shown below:

First we make sure that they fit and will provide the proper base for the motor mounts.

The next step was to provide a level base on the stringers. Epoxy was thickened and applied to the cut stringers. This will seal the open grain and provide for a solid flat surface for the aluminum angle brackets to lay on.

If you look closely at the above picture the thickened epoxy has been laid on the stringers. Some plastic wrap has been applied over it. The aluminum angle bracket has been laid on top of this plastic. This allows the aluminum bracket to be made level without sticking to the still wet epoxy. The metal bar laying on top of the stringer will be used to make sure the bracket is level. After this step the epoxy will be allowed to cure. The plastic will be removed the aluminum brackets secured to the stringers with bolts. Then the motor mounts will be attached to the aluminum brackets and then the brackets that will hold the motor are attached to the motor mounts as shown below:

If you look closely at the prop shaft in comparison with the previous pictures you will notice the prop shaft has also been cut down by about 9 inches. In the above photo you can see that the shaft face is flush while the previous photo shows the original shaft with the key way groove. The next step is to mount the motor.

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GOING ELECTRIC PART 15: Securing the battery platform

The battery platform is already pretty secure for lateral movement with the braces and also being butted up against wood bulkheads on both sides. I also added a strip of wood to the forward edge and side as an extra precaution to prevent the battery from sliding. Especially onto the motor. Before I secure the platform to the stringers I need to figure out how I will layout the batteries. For this I cut some cardboard pieces the same size as the 8A4D batteries and played with their layout on the platform.

The advantage of placing the batteries in the location where the engine was is that the trim of the boat in the water should be about the same and also keep the wire runs as short as possible. Using cardboard cutouts of the same dimensions as the 8A4D AGM batteries I will be ordering I decided on the arrangement above. This seemed to be the best arrangement for maintenance and weight distribution and wire runs. The 8A4D batteries weigh 129 lbs each which after removing the 424 pound Westerbeke 27, starting battery, diesel fuel and associated components probably gives a slight weight advantage to the electric propulsion system. One of the reasons I choose to place the battery on the left side in the above photo is to provide the proper balance for weight distribution. Next to that battery is the now empty diesel fuel tank. So this battery will help provide the needed weight on the starboard side to balance out missing weight of the diesel fuel and keep the trim of the boat about the same.

The above photo shows how I secured the battery platform to the stringers. I used stainless steel lag bolts and washers. I drilled pilot holes and simply screwed the lag bolts into the stringers. You can see I made an outline of the stringers on the platform to make it easier to find the center to place the lag screws.

GOING ELECTRIC TIP: When working in confined areas like this it is useful to have a small fan circulating air to keep you comfortable while working.

With the platform now securely installed and the battery layout planned the next step is to install the batteries.

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GOING ELECTRIC PART 16: BATTERY SNAFU

Well, I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Good thing too. As I have just three weeks to finish the electrification project, launch, check things out and head off on the two hundred mile cruise to Newport in early July. Now that I have seen how the layout for the batteries will work it's time to order the batteries. I choose MK 8A4D batteries for their capacity and size. After doing some online searches I found a reasonable source with free shipping. I placed my order and was told I would have my batteries in few days. Everything is looking good.
On the day the batteries arrived my heart sank. I looked a the pallet of batteries being off loaded off of the truck and was surprised at how big they looked compared to my cardboard models. A quick look at the truck driver manifest invoice showed the problem. The batteries being delivered were 8A8D AGM batteries not the 8A4D AGM batteries I expected. I asked the truck driver if he could take them back he said no that had to be arraigned separately. So I took the delivery which also contained two new 12 volt Gel batteries for the house bank which were the correct size.
When I looked at the confirmation invoice sent by the battery seller it did indeed show that the order was for four 8A8D batteries. Even though I must looked at this invoice at least three times I did not pick up on the error.
I tried to see if it might be possible to fit the larger 8A8D batteries in the same space. It might have worked but, would have been tight and since they were 30 lbs heavier each would have been harder for me to handle by myself. Not to mention adding another 120 pounds of weight to the boat.
So after ultimately realizing it was my mistake for not picking the error up sooner I arranged for the proper batteries to be sent. It would take another week for the right batteries to be delivered and would ultimately cost me another $220 to send the first batteries back. An expensive mistake to be sure.

MIKE'S GOING ELECTRIC TIP: Make really sure the batteries you want are the batteries you are going to get. Double and triple check all your invoices very carefully before hundreds of pounds of batteries are dropped on your doorstep.

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GOING ELECTRIC PART 17: INSTALLING THE BATTERIES

Another 1/4 ton pallet of batteries arrived at the house. The correct 8A4D size this time and the wrong larger 8A8D batteries have been picked up and returned to the manufacturer for a credit. Now it's time to move on to another milestone in the electrification of BIANKA. Installing the batteries. The batteries on an electrically propelled boat are the fuel tank that hold the fuel (electric potential) that powers the motor. It's pretty important function. So it makes sense that this part of the system and it's installation be thought out pretty carefully. I've already decided on the battery layout as shown in GOING ELECTRIC PART 15. Now it's time to install the real ones.

I tried to think about not just installing the batteries now but, also future installations and maintenance of the system. Such as being on a cruise and needing to replace the batteries. I am hoping to get at least five to ten years out of the batteries. Their life is yet to be determined. I am hoping new battery technologies will also be tested and proven in the future. Which is also something that an electrically propelled boat can take advantage of. But that is the future. The problem now is how I can install and maneuver the four 130 pound batteries into the hold. It's a lot of weight to be lifting and dropping into the hold and each can cause a lot of damaged to a person or boat if it drops. I then discovered this handy little piece of technology The Forespar Nova Lift:



This solved my battery installation problem. It has a capacity of 220 lbs plenty of safety margin for loading the 130 pound batteries. It could also be used to lift other items like an outboard motor or even a person who needs to be rescued from the water. I was so excited about installing the batteries I forgot to take photo of the actual above deck process using the Nova Lift. But, these photo "simulations" will give you a good idea of what the process looked like using the Nova Lift:




I laid a small 12 inch wide plank below the hatch so I could slide the battery onto the battery platform. This was very helpful.
I also came across something at a surplus electronics website that proved to be useful:
A pair of industrial rollers. They were just the thing to help maneuver the hefty AGM butteries once they were in the confined space below deck. Below is a photo of the first battery installed and the second one is on the plank on the way in.

Notice the small crowbar this was helpful in lifting and positioning the batteries into the correct location. The white grate items on the battery platform are a product called DRI DEK. It is made for decks and floors but, I am using pieces of it here for underneath the batteries. It serves three purposes: 1) It raises the batteries over the heads of the lag bolts securing the battery platform. 2) It provides an airspace helping to keep the batteries cooler and dry. 3) It helps keep the batteries from sliding on the platform. Also note the battery tie down straps for the same purpose.
With the battery installation completed the heavy work is done and I'm moving rapidly toward completion of the electrification of the BIANKA.

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GOING ELECTRIC PART 20: THE FINAL CONNECTIONS

Well it's time to mount the controller and make the finals connections. This is where the going with the ASMO MARINE THOOSA 9000 really paid off. As it is really a plug and play. Or I should say plug and propel system. But, first mounting the controller. I choose the location that was previously occupied by components of the Fridgoboat refrigeration systems and the antifreeze tank of the Westerbeke Diesel. Here is the before photo:
And below is the after photo with the controller and battery charger installed in the same area:

This location really worked out well. It is located close to the battery bank making for a short cable run. Is easily accessible from a maintenance standpoint and from the cockpit. So that the master switch located on the controller is easy to reach. One detail I should mention in mounting the controller is I used the mounting nut to provide an space of about a quarter inch between the back of the controller and the bulkhead it is mounted to. This was to help the aluminum heat sink of the controller to dissipate the heat more rapidly. Here is a detailed photo of the mounting arrangement on one of the four mounts:
With the controller mounted the only thing left is to plug in the cables. The ASMO MARINE controller comes prewired with the battery and motor cables. It also uses a combination Anderson and LEMO connectors for battery charger, throttle, battery monitor and key switch. These simply plugged into the labeled jacks on the controller as shown below: The only thing left was to mount the throttle. Since time was tight I had to jury rig the throttle which is a pretty industrial affair. It will look better once I make a proper mounting platform for it. But, for now I just ty wrapped it up at the helm where the diesel throttle use to be controlled from. It was ugly but, it worked:
I also made a temporary mount for the battery monitor and key switch and mounted them in the same place where the former diesel motor instrument panel was located. So the entire system is connected the only thing left its to try a test:

And so in June 2008 BIANKA became the world's first electrically propelled Nonsuch 30.

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