Prototype 240DA Hybrid

Stray Cat

Stray Cat

Active Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 4, 2006
2,344
Pool 10 Guttenberg, IA
Boat Info
2006 300DA Sundancer
Engines
350 Mags / Bravo III
There is an article on pg 50 in the Dec. 2008 issue of Boating featuring the propulsion for a 240DA Hybrid being powered by a Styer diesel / electric power unit. S/R claims it didn't consume more than 3 gph at WOT...no mention of speed was given at that burn rate....This propulsion eliminated the need for a generator further reducing some weight. S/R engineers installed solar panels on top of the bimini top to assist charging the house batteries...not sure why they needed it.
 
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3gph at W.O.T.

Is that because they put in a 15hp mercruiser under the hatch?

Not sure why you need the solar panels either. . .after all, you probably need a 200amp shore power connection to charge the batteries in anything under 8 hours. . .
 
tmhudson2 said:
Haven't seen the article yet, but I'll look for it. Does it use a Mercruiser outdrive?
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comsnark said:
3gph at W.O.T.

Is that because they put in a 15hp mercruiser under the hatch?

Not sure why you need the solar panels either. . .after all, you probably need a 200amp shore power connection to charge the batteries in anything under 8 hours. . .
Click to expand...

It didn't mention which outdrive...probably Mercruiser.

The Styer diesel / electric propulsion unit is available in 75 - 250 hp....
 
I'm not sure I get it either. 'Hybrid' setups have been used in the past on ocean vessels (submarines) and are used on rail locomotives. But in each case there is an underlying advantage to electric motive power. Technologically it is really a neat setup, but where is the payoff?
 
Maybe I will put pontoons on our Prius and small web feet on the front wheels so I can get 50 mpg on the water. Would that qualify as a "hybrid boat"? :smt001

Wouldn't it be neat to have a front wheel drive boat?
 
Well... My wife's diesel rabbit she bought in 1982 always got over 50 mpg on the highway... and it didn't need any complex battery/electric motor/gas engine setup...
 
Four Suns said:
Well... My wife's diesel rabbit she bought in 1982 always got over 50 mpg on the highway... and it didn't need any complex battery/electric motor/gas engine setup...
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What was the name of the small honda from back in the late 70s early 80s that got close to 100mph? It had the stick shift on the dash.
 
That was the Honda 600 Had a 2 cyl. engine I think

drivers_side.jpg
 
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chuck1 said:
What was the name of the small honda from back in the late 70s early 80s that got close to 100mph? It had the stick shift on the dash.
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I think you are referring to the early 70's when Honda started importing the n600 (or Z if I recall). There is one here at the Honda dealer and I think one of the admins there drives it to work everyday. It had a 2 cylinder motorcycle engine in it with a chain drive.... And it gets about 50 mpg when driven like a real car but about 100 mpg when drive at 30 mph. It's like a motorcycle. My brother-in-law had a mid-70's Civic (CVCC)... It was Honda's first "real car."

In fact, I think all the cars my in-laws ever owned were behind the quonset hut on the farm (the farm sold earlier this year)... a couple hondas... a couple VW diesel rabbits... an isuzu diesel truck... a few other trucks... a mid 70's toyota... etc.. My previous secretary was over one day and her car broke down and a tow truck came and my wife went "hum... I've never seen a tow truck work before..." See... in Alabama you just move them behind the quonset hut and let the goats stand on them.

Back on topic (somewhat), I think the only way improvement we'll see in the pleasure boat industry are the creation of high-effeciency and small diesels... or trawlers... or sail boats. That's of course if anyone is left building boats after the next 2 years.
 
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StressAweigh said:
That was the Honda 600 Had a 2 cyl. engine I think
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Four Suns said:
I think you are referring to the early 70's when Honda started importing the n600 (or Z if I recall). There is one here at the Honda dealer and I think That's of course if anyone is left building boats after the next 2 years.
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Yep, that looks like it.:thumbsup:

On topic. I have to agree with you Gary.
 
StressAweigh said:
That was the Honda 600 Had a 2 cyl. engine I think

drivers_side.jpg
Click to expand...

Yup, early seventies. Our dorm RA's girlfriend had one, it kept ending up on the second floor lobby. After the third time, they replaced it with something larger and heavier.

Back on topic the only practical recreational uses of hybrid technology was a guy in the NY area who was building yacht club tenders. He did an all electric installation on a business associate's restored 1930's Chris Craft runabout. The restoration went all electric because the owner lived on a private lake that had banned 'power' boats. The lake association had defined power as internal combustion.......
 
You guys are omitting an important part of this Hybrid.

Zero emissions.

Nothing mentioned in the subsequent replies had the mention of an equivalent in any form. Zero emissions.

The rail locomotives are diesel electric. The diesels operate at peak efficiency to power generators. Not really a true hybrid.

Then S600 was just efficient. Not zero emission either.

I guess being in an automotive related field I understand the difficulty and scope of this intro.

You can either be in front of the coming mandates or claim to be a victim of them. Limits on boating with non emission controlled engines is under scrutiny.

dg
 
DG,

Hybrid vehicles are called such because they use two different type of energy sources for power. Typically, a gasoline or diesel ICE, and an electric motor.

How the power is transmitted to the driving force determines if the vehicle is a: series, parallel, full, etc.

All ICE's produce emissions, and therefore hybrids are not Zero Emission vehicles.

Diesel-elec locomotives are actually true hybrids.
 
Dirtguy said:
You guys are omitting an important part of this Hybrid.

Zero emissions.

Nothing mentioned in the subsequent replies had the mention of an equivalent in any form. Zero emissions.

The rail locomotives are diesel electric. The diesels operate at peak efficiency to power generators. Not really a true hybrid.

Then S600 was just efficient. Not zero emission either.

I guess being in an automotive related field I understand the difficulty and scope of this intro.

You can either be in front of the coming mandates or claim to be a victim of them. Limits on boating with non emission controlled engines is under scrutiny.

dg
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You'll have to explain to me how even an electric car has "zero emissions". All this talk about electric cars, hybrid boats, etc etc. is just nonsense if it's about pollution and the environment. Back at the chicken ranch of physics, it takes so much work to move a boat through water, a car over the ground and through the air and the production and transmission of that energy has a certain efficiency and... get this... CAUSES POLLUTION! I hear all the time how people think an electric car does not pollute.. I guess if you ignore the coal fired plant, transmission lose, battery production, battery energy efficiency and lose, and battery disposal, electric cars don't pollute... and heck.. I'm sure by "plugging it in" it won't raise your electric bill by the amount of energy you use... in fact... plug it into the neighbor's house... they'll never know!!! It's FREE!!!

Take all the gas cars off the road in LA, replace them with electric, build the appropriate amount of power plants to "fuel them" and I bet the smog doesn't go away... and just think of the battery disposal problem you got on your hands.

But there is always nuclear... Like "Back to the Future".... Oh wait... that has waste also... damn it.

The whole idea of a "hybrid car" is to be able to put a smaller engine in it and keep a decent performance. Instead of having to size the engine for acceleration, you can size it for highway cruise... which is one of the reasons trains have diesels tied to batteries tied to electric motors (newer ones anyway)... it's a bitch to accelerate a gazzilion tons of mass but pretty easy to keep it going at speed. That's not the problem with boats... boats have to stay on plane... and that takes a lot of work... and energy... It's like driving your car around with your foot mashing the accelerator pedal to floor 100% of the time.

So I still don't see what problem the "hybrid boat" is solving...
 
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Four Suns said:
Can someone please explain to me what problem this is solving?
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It could create a problem if the bilge takes on water faster than a bilge pump(s) can get rid of it and suddenly everyone on board gets electrocuted....or comes back to the dock with a new hair style...
 
Hydrogen has the same problem. It is a clean fuel. . .until you consider from where you get the Hydrogen.

Hint: You don't "drill for H2".
 
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