Computer desk...

I decided rather than try to use us a lot of space down  below for a chart table that I would set up a desk for my laptop.  So, we built one out of cherry with a lift up lid (not fitted yet) and with built in AC power points in the cupboard beside it.   To the left of the desk the Icom SSM with the email modem will be built in so I will be able to download weather charts etc.   Also, the computer will be able to connect to the lithium batteries and assess at all times the status of each battery cell.

I am building in a larger adjustable cockpit table which will also double as a dining table.  So, if I need to spread out a paper chart I will still have the space. 

Comments

[Bob Bois]

Hi Warren,
Glad to see you're making such good progress now. I've been following your travails out of Thailand and now your much happier experience back in NZ.
I am very interested to hear what comes out of your sea trials with your aluminum leg-Torqueedo set up. I am building a TIki 46 and on the look out for alternative propulsion schemas.
Good luck. The boat is looking good.
Best regards,

Bob

[Warren Matthews]

Thanks Bob,

Yes, I shudder when I think what the outcome would have been if I had left it at Raouls yard. There is a lot of 'off the plan' work that I am doing on it, some of it a little different such as the electric motors.

I am feeling very confident about the Torqueedo motors. I would have liked them to be a little more powerful but it is my desire to learn to sail the boat well without any motors and just use the motors for tricky maneouvering and getting through passes in the reefs in Tahiti. They are very simple and I am sure that teh leg system will work well.

Interestingly the overall weight of them and the batteries is less than that of two outboards plus the fuel. That is because I used the lithium phosphate batteries which unfortunately are still very expensive, but the price is coming down all the time.

If I factor in the watermaker which will allow me to carry less water, then even taking into account the weight of the generator I will still be ahead. I do intend publishing a complete breakdown of the weights, power requirements etc.

Taking into account the running of the watermaker, the electric engines and other power requirements I do not expect to have to run the generator for very long each day. I have mounted that on deck in a compartment which is not obvious but still easy to access for maintainence. I am confident that you will hardly hear it when it is running.

I really think that electric motors are the way to go...if the system is properly designed and put together. Torqueedo have just come out with a new outboard for tenders and I am proposing using one of those as well. I will not have to have any gasoline on board at all. The diesel tank is being custom made out of a special plastic and is fitted in the compartment which would have housed the outboard motor. Therefore I will have no fuel at all in the hulls and therefore no smell.

Whereabouts are you buildind the T46? I would be interested in following your progress,