Description
Electric boat enthusiast and author Tom Hruby shares his knowledge gained by real world experience (*more on Tom below) in this concise, full-sized (8" x 10") color, print edition. Advance your understanding of electricity and how it can be used to propel your boat in this excellent Primer for Converting to Electricity. This 55-page book covers the basics of electricity, batteriess and battery jargon, advice on choosing a motor, web sites to reference, a worksheet for estimating power and battery needs and more.
Hruby opens with some history stating that electric outboards predated gasoline and diesel versions. "The first electric boat was the Elektrokhod that sailed the Neva River in St. Petersburg in 1838". With Mr. Hruby's help you can go back to the future, today.
*Tom is a retired aquatic ecologist and a hobby boat builder who has built 17 boats ranging from Rob Roy canoes to the St. Pierre Dory."My interest in boats started at an early age; a very rough passage across the North Atlantic in one of the worst December storms in decades. I was a 7 year old immigrant traveling on the Ile de France. The waves were so high that the propellers of the 791ft long boat would come out of the water, and shake us like a dog. I first built my first electric dory 23 years ago at a time when the only technology available was golf cart batteries and fork lift motors. I also converted a pick-up truck to electric in 2006 and drove it for 8 years (until the body gave out - it was a 1987 Nissan pick-up). As the technology of electric propulsion improved I kept updating my dories, and now am on my third one using two Minn Kota trolling motors, Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and high efficiency solar panels."