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15kW electric motor for Sailing Catamaran

12150 Views 16 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  popobowa, 
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Greetings,

Looking for advice on a 15kW 48V electric motor to fit to a Yanmar SD25 sail drive (new model of the SD20).

Application is an under construction 52' sailing catamaran.

Some broad boat parameters:

Ocean going world cruising catamaran – composite epoxy structure.
L 52’, Draft 2’ Weight approx. 8500kg / 19,000lb
Full electric propulsion, galley and other services including hot water.
Motors retractable: 2 x 15kw 48v + regen
Battery bank: circa 16kw 48v
House loads: 24V DC – Estimated peak approx. 3kw
Solar: circa 3kW.
16kW 48v DC gen set.

The plan is to fit motor to a Yanmar sail drive SD25 and complete unit be retractable. This involves a wet lower tube and a watertight inner tube with hull closure plate below the prop – motor and sail drive leg fitted to this at their join. We should be able to couple motor shaft to SD25 upper gear box shaft with a coupler and bolt units together without too many modifications. Be great to hear of others experience with this.

We are trying to limit motor voltage to 48V – makes batteries & solar easier plus ability to share bank via DC:DC converters & battery for house loads at 24V.

The boat will be light and shallow draft = easily driven. A similar 62’ catamaran was fitted with 2 x OV SD15s and achieved over 9 knots in flat water so we believe 12 to 15kW motors will be adequate.


According to Vic Prop boat specs, twin 12kW (16hp) motors with RPM max of 2200 (2:1 gear reduction on SD25 so prop speed 1100 max.) & 3 blade 15" x 13" prop will yield a top speed of 8.92 kts which is fine.

We have looked at turn-key offerings from Bell marine, Oceanvolt & Electric yachts but none tick all our boxes so would like to have a crack at customizing our own solution.

Some motor options Ive stumbled across include:
1. Motenergy ME1302 or ME1616 Liquid cooled
2. Parker GVM210-100-DPW
3. Go cart or Elec motorcycle motors: Revolt, Zero, ???

Bearing in mind 48V supply and max RPM of around 2400, be grateful to get your thoughts on best motor and associated controller and any tips or constructive suggestions for our project.

Thanks RC
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A motor is not the problem, lot's of options available.

Any capable machine shop can couple it to a sail-drive leg (if I can do it..;)

I've done some testing with a Siemens motor on 48 volt, works fine, but the aluminium housing I would not use in a salt water setup (on fresh water it already deteriorates fast)

If you want to keep it simple: DC motor, air cooled.

If you want a little more sophisticated: AC motor, air cooled or water cooled. you might even be able to use it as a generator while sailing.

look for a commonly used 'standard' setup like the AC35 or AC50 HPEV motors:
https://www.hpevs.com/hpevs-ac-electric-motors-power-graphs-ac-35.htm
https://www.hpevs.com/hpevs-ac-electric-motors-power-graphs-ac-50.htm

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boekel said:
A motor is not the problem, lot's of options available.

Any capable machine shop can couple it to a sail-drive leg (if I can do it..;)

I've done some testing with a Siemens motor on 48 volt, works fine, but the aluminium housing I would not use in a salt water setup (on fresh water it already deteriorates fast)

If you want to keep it simple: DC motor, air cooled.

If you want a little more sophisticated: AC motor, air cooled or water cooled. you might even be able to use it as a generator while sailing.

look for a commonly used 'standard' setup like the AC35 or AC50 HPEV motors:
https://www.hpevs.com/hpevs-ac-electric-motors-power-graphs-ac-35.htm
https://www.hpevs.com/hpevs-ac-electric-motors-power-graphs-ac-50.htm
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The costs are in the saildrives + custom machining, and the whole battery / charging / etc, the motors are not the expensive part, so best to get the most suitable available (and something that replacement can be found if needed)

'used forklift motors' is not what you want here, often difficult to find a replacement of the same size, and 15 kW continuous will need a big amount of old air provided to them.
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SailorsRpblc said:
Hi, I wane converted my sailboat 33feet to electric drive with driveshaft too. Can you please tell me what kind of siemens motor did you use? Thanks, and by the way nice work eith your outboard motor!!!
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these:

https://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/siemens-1pv5135-4ws14-motors-europe-202547.html
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