I'm still at it.

I'd be so much better off drawing in AutoCad then Adobe Illustrator,
but that's all I've got on this iMac.
The hull is re-drawn. It turns out I didn't leave enough room in the
stern for the motors. I'm working on the hardware for the tillers now.

I'd like to set up my control console dead center on the deck,
but that's the only place I can sling my hammock.
If I locate it aft, it simplifies the tiller and shortens the wiring for the
controls, but a console will eat up valuable deck space no matter where I put it.
...when your whole world is going to be contained in 98 square feet for a couple of months, you don't want to give any up. I may end up add 2 feet to the deck and pontoons anyway.


I got a chance to exchange emails with an incredibly nice gentleman
from up in Canada who's scratch-built a really neat electric powered canal boat. It's a really elegant little craft. Here's an article on it:
Greenhorn I
It's a radically different craft from what I intend to build, but he was
very helpful regarding motors and I may pick his brain again later on
when it comes to hooking up the solar array and turbines.

I also had a guy link me to some ESC's that are designed for an electric motor scooter. They seem to do everything I need and at $40 each they're a way better deal then the $300 industrial duty jobs I was looking at.
Slow progress is better then no progress right?

Drawing and drawing and drawing.

The sketch attached to the "Current drawing" link to the right has been revised.

I'll change the illustration in the header tomorrow or Monday.

I came up with a design for the canopy I like better.

It also shrinks the size of the footlockers on the deck which I think is a good thing. I don't see me needing as much storage space as the earlier drawing had, and having storage at a premium will inspire me to not pack things I don't really need.

I also think I solved the problem of mounting the rudders.

I'll have to do a separate, more detailed posting on the drive set-up, but in short:

The motors will be mounted to the transom inside of the pontoons above the waterline. There will be a large pulley on the motor shaft driving a V-belt. The lower pulleys will be attached directly to the props which will spin on fixed shafts on the keel.

This design keeps the motor more accessible and out of the bilge.

If one of the pontoons were to take on water, a short circuit at the motor would not only take it out, it could also take the batteries out. (like Ka-freakin'BOOM out!).

It also keeps me from having to worry abut the prop shaft seals leaking into the hulls.

Having all that stuff on the transom created problems mounting the rudders. Since I'm not sure the charging system will give me enough power to run all day every day, I may have to spend part of my trip drifting with the current. This would make large rudders a necessity.

That "Throttle telegraph" in the middle of the sketch would be big fun as a control console, but it would take me a month to build and just isn't in the budget.

...maybe on the next one.