Glen-L.com

I started construction on my Lo Volt in July. I spoke with the E-pod electric motor company and discussed the use of the motor pod on the LO VOLT. This last week I went to order the E-Pod 2000 and could not place the order. The company will not return e-mails or return phone calls. At this point would not use the system based on customer service. (Thus possibly out of business)

Elco marine makes motors and has one going into production in 4 months. ELco EP200. Price is unkown but in the thousands and dosen't lend itself to the boat design.

Has anyone built this boat using the suggested electric golf cart electric motor other than Glen L?
I have heard of problems with the golf cart motors heating up. Is there a special type of motor I should be looking for other than a 24 Volt, 2500 to 3500 RPM, one to 3 HP and shaft bearings capable of taking a side thrust ?

Any help with suggestions are appreciated as I emparq on Plan B.

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Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

A tip I see on my new inboard engine:
The fuel pump is like a miniature DC motor about 4" diameter. They ahve simply wrapped about 3/8" diameter soft copper around it, through which cooling water is routed. Maybe you could do that with a golf cart motor. Of course then you'd need a small circulating pump, but should be easy enough to rig up. Maybe even put a thermostat on there to keep the battery drain down.

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By the time I have built a boat, I'll be ready to build a boat....

Track, I have wondered about the same thing. they make cooling jackets for small RC electric motors!!! so why not a cooling jacket for a golf cart motor.

_________________
A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth!!!

Building Lo-Voltage as well. Also did electric Tuby Tug. Try the following links:

http://www.evdrives.com/kits_conversion.html
http://www.cloudelectric.com/product_p/ ... a72300.htm
http://www.evparts.com

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"Calm seas do not make for good sailors"

I wanted to thank your for your suggestion to contact EVA of America. What great people to work with. I will be posting my work on assembling the motor and parts. They were able to recommend a 4 HP motor and put together all the parts necessary along with a great manual just to assemble what they sent me. They followed up to make sure I got everything in good order and are ready standing by to help me as i assemble the components. Will have a photo of all the parts as they start to come together. I am starting the trial assembly on a replica of the portion of the Launch it will fit on. Starting with the rudder and moving forward. I hope that is how it is done. My general construciton in under power boats - Lo Volt Willson Construction 12.

Thanks again for the help.
Bob

_________________
Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

OK the time has come to start working on how the electric motor in this boat is going to work. The plans were not very clear on how this was to be done. After considerable thought and research here are my notes and background info on how I plan to proceed. The biggest problem was to come up with a simple way of adjusting the motor relative to the prop shaft to increase tension on the drive belt. I have attached an old photograph of how Duffy electric boats did it years ago. In checking out the latest design of their boats they are no longer are doing it this way.

Old Duffy system

My working idea at this time.


I was able to find the pillow bearings as well as all the other parts. Have talked with a machinest who will be working with me so will keep you up to date as it progresses. We should have the mounting done in the next couple of weeks.

The electrical components are a little overwhelming. Here is how they all look in my man cave as I start figuring it out.


This Is FUN.

_________________
Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

Sorta like Christmas with all your new toys!!!

As I've not done any of this, it's time for a a lot of us to sit back and learn as you forge ahead!!

Is your motor as long as the Duffy one?

I wonder if you should have an adjustment turnbuckle at each end of the motor to spread out the weight/force/torque?

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

Great idea!! This is what is so great about this forum. I will make the change. The motor is the same size as the one in the photo and might be the exact same motor.

_________________
Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

Bob,
I thought you were building a boat, not a robot. I take it you don't want to mount the motor as per plans. The Pug plans have the motor mounted to a piece of plywood that is hinged to a frame member on the bottom with long bolts for tension.

_________________
A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth!!!

I wish my plans had more. Just a picture of a motor on some incline boards with some bolts to adjust the height. It really left room for whatever your thought might work..

I think I am really leaving the plans at this point. The mock up will tell the story before installing in the boat.

_________________
Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

Really getting frustrated with posting. I quess I can only post three photos as any given time.
Jim completed the motor mounting on the mock-up which worked great.



Side view:



Top view



Next phase is to transfer to the actual boat which will be this weeks project.
Uable to post any more pictures on the Construction #12 site at this time.
Think will set up a Blog next.

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Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

That looks nice Bob. In regards to posting pictures, you are using the inner linking feature in the forum software and there are a lot of pictures stored these days. I am not sure about the technical portion of it and where we stand at this time. But you can possibly override the three shot limit by using a dedicated server for storing photos such as Photobucket. Then all it takes is one easy highlight on the link and it copies automatically and then paste the link including the tags into the box. Make sure you set your size to the 450 to 600 setting and you should be fine.

Thanks for the tip. I am trying to set up a blog on Google also. This project is really fun.

_________________
Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

Motor mounted went well. Realy need a steal shaft to line up everything. Now desgning the motor enclosure and elecrical layout. My plans are to once again build a mock up of the area before finalizing anthing.


It seems once again I can only add one picture before the forum software crashes. Still can't add to the Construction 12 thread. Talked to John not sure where the problem lies. Will talk with him again on eventing this week.

_________________
Bob
When ever you face trials of any kind consider it with great Joy.

Have faith Bob,I saw where John was working on it!

Mounting looks great!

_________________
Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream