There is more pure BS flung around about electric drive than any other subject in offshore voyaging. Here are the cold hard facts so you don’t get taken in by some slick salesperson practicing pretengineering.
Electric and diesel-electric (hybrid) drives have become all the rage in recent years. But are they really a more efficient option for offshore cruising sailboats? In this chapter we take a solid and arithmetically rigorous approach, based on advice from two professional engineers with substantial experience of electric drive use on land, to cut through the hype and answer that question.
An easy to use spreadsheet that makes deciding if a diesel-electric, or all electric, drive is a good option for your boat.
Lessons we can learn from Jimmy Cornell’s Elcano Challenge when considering electric drive for a cruising sailboat.