Electric rib project

[E-RIB]

Some might call it a mid life crisis!
Maybe it was, but it was well discussed before i went and booked bought it!!

Yes at near 40yrs old i realised my life needs a rib!

But to add to this, I wanted an electric rib!

I dont mean electric start or electric tilt i mean electric propulsion.

So i did my research and found that a 6metre was optimal for a Torqeedo deep blue 80hp outboard.

So now i have made the step.
Im a proud owner of a very sun burnt 2003 picton cobra 6metre rib.

The cobra 6m, ticks all the boxes i have identified to make this project work-

Enough room for the high voltage lithium battery( which is the very same battery the bmw i3 car has in it)

Adequate space for the system components to be located without losing all storage space.

The weights all work out.

Good enough performance to get a wake boarding session in with the family and get to some of my favourite fishing sites.


----
So here is goes first job strip the seating out and remove the 90litre fuel tank, which appears to be full of petrol..... what the hell do you do with 90litres of unwanted fuel??? Call your mates up... what else?

More news to follow as the project moves forward

[Bucksribster]

Good on ya! I will be interested to see how it comes on.

[falcon0310]

you beet me to it !
i have electric van
and be second time this year i put fuel in my t5 !
good luck
here if you need bit help

[E-RIB]

It took some work, but the old fuel tank has now been drained and petrol given to the local yacht club!
I have now cut all of the floor out that has allowed me to remove the tank and expose the area where the lithium battery will be sunken into the hull. See before after
More details and pics to follow

[HDAV]

Looks like a cool and interesting project good luck.

[E-RIB]

Fuel tank out, ready for some restructuring if the longitudinals

[SteveHall]

Look forward to following this!

[matt h]

Yep me to. Turbine and Electric ribs.. what ever next""

[E-RIB]

Finally, tank now sold on ebay..... good bye petrol hello lithium!!

[E-RIB]

A big thanks to pete at precision fabrications, christchurch. He made the ali frame that will raise the deck just enough to cover the bmw i3 battery. See pic. Now ive done the dry fit , i'll send the frame for powder coating in white.

[E-RIB]

Oh and spot the celebratory guiness!!

[E-RIB]

No drilling required!!!!
Lifted the torqeedo deep blue 80rxl onto the transom and bolted it on straight through the old petrol outboard mounting holes!

[Pikey Dave]

Just out of curiosity, how does the lithium battery take to being fitted in an inherently wet environment?

[Poly]

Interesting. What are you expecting the top + cruising speed to be? What do you think it's range/endurance will be? How long does it take to recharge (from almost dead to full)? is typical marina shore power all you need to charge it?

Are you going to have an Aux?

[beamishken]

The lower unit of the engine looks very like a normal outboard it looks like low water intakes? Is there a cooling system for the motor or have torqueedo bought the gearbox from an outboard manufacturer? Also looks like through hub exhaust which is obviously not needed for electric motor
Going to be interesting to see how it goes once it hits the water
How does the all up weight of the engine and batteries compare to the combined weight of a comparable petrol outboard and fuel tank?

[longjohn]

The i3 has a range of approximately 125 miles and a horsepower of 170 so is you are using a motor approximately half the power of the i3 ....so maybe 250 lands miles and equate land miles mpg to sea miles mpg ratio you might get a 25 mile range???
Just guess and nothing more scientific than what i've laid out :

I think you better get the i3 range extender engine as well

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by longjohn

The i3 has a range of approximately 125 miles and a horsepower of 170 so is you are using a motor approximately half the power of the i3 ....so maybe 250 lands miles and equate land miles mpg to sea miles mpg ratio you might get a 25 mile range???
Just guess and nothing more scientific than what i've laid out :

I think you better get the i3 range extender engine as well

I'll certainly be interested to see the result and find out the range, given that you'll rarely use full throttle on an i3, and with 80hp on a 6m rib you'll be pretty much on the throttle stops all the time.

Hopefully you'll get good results.

How much does the motor and battery weigh?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

How much does the........... battery weigh?

Depends if it's full or not[emoji848]

[E-RIB]

hi dave,

the i3 battery is usually mounted directly on the underside of the bmw car. im guessing it is designed to see a lot of water spray and also salt from the road.

I also know it is designed to be submerged momentarilly. interesting footage on youtube if you can find it

i plan to seal the battery into the space i'm creating, although it will need some kind of ventilation.

[E-RIB]

motor 150kg
hv battery around 250kg