Members' Online Book: How To Buy a Cruising Boat, Chapter 15 of 27

Electric or Diesel-Electric Drives for Voyaging Boats

John Published Apr 23, 2013 98 comments Updated April 4, 2018

I myself, up to a few years ago, thought that diesel electric would become a viable alternative for voyaging sailboats that would solve the age old problem of matching the output of an engine to the power requirements of a propeller across a wide range of RPM settings.

But it turns out that this is a more complex subject than it appears at first look.

Let’s examine the viability of electric and diesel/electric drives for voyaging sailboats.

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Meet the Author

John

John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

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About Online Books

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A complete, but simple, protocol to get the very best life out of batteries—real information that works based on 25 years of live-aboard experience.

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Knowing the difference between a boat that will work inshore and one that can go to sea could save you from making a terrible and expensive boat-buying mistake.

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© 2002 – 2018 Attainable Adventure Cruising Ltd and the authors, all rights are reserved.

Nothing on this website or in direct communications received from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to mean or imply that offshore voyaging is anything other than potentially hazardous. Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat.

Decisions such as, but not limited to, heading offshore, where you go, and how you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information on this web site is based on what has worked for the authors in the past, but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the best, or even a good way for you to do things.

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