efficient 10m displacement powercat (build thread)

got the engines fitted and rigged over the weekend with the help of a mate and his mini excavator, also the first few patches of non skid deck paint applied and came out great

 

thats looking fantastic now mate.

bet you can't wait to get it in the water.

 

You have no idea how impatient im becoming!!! I was hoping for a pre xmas launch, but i dont think its going to happen... id say the most likely outcome is that i end up finishing it all off over my xmas holidays for a late January launch...

 

Looks amazing Groper. How many HP are the engines?

 

115hp mate - i only wanted 90hp but these came up 2nd hand at the right price in a counter rotating pair so i had to buy them

Bit of a weight penalty but i figured it didnt matter - with the engines on i think it weighs 2.2tonne now... still a few more things to add tho...

 

Good decision, economically speaking. I know what these things are worth new

The boat is damn light if 440kg of that is just outboards. Is 115hp the max power for the frame size? Should go OK

Edit, just saw these are about 190 each? So not too bad I guess.

 

Climbed up onto the roof for a new perspective of the boat after rolling out the non-skid on the deck Now the roof to do next, most of it is covered in solar panels so im not too fussed about it, should be pretty quick and easy. Then the only things left, which i would need to do before launching her, is paint the under bridge deck area - which im dreading due to the back breaking position of not be able to stand up straight under there followed by the antifouling. There is plenty of jobs still to be done inside, but im thinking of finishing those once its parked down the marina... i know its easier to do it at home but the season to be out fishing is here and i got an itch that needs to be scratched! Only a 2 min drive from my place to the marina anyways...

 

Great Job as usual. I am as eager as you to get her on the water.

 

The interior is coming together... Just test fitting things to make sure everything is going to practically work for location and fitment etc...
I also had another win with the electronics package, which i managed to find a good deal on. The stuff has never been used, still brand new in boxes, less than half the price - pretty happy about that. Its all Garmin, 5015 MFD and GPS, sonar with 1kW transducer, auto pilot with 2L pump etc... Im Chuffed

The galley benchtop still needs the final gloss coat, the ply/foam sandwich dinette table just needs the edges painted...


Foredeck... And no there wont be any trampoline or forebeam...


And the roof is finished and awaiting the solar panels to be installed - if this rain ever clears! Wet season has arrived...

 

Awesome Groper!! Looks great!.

I think the 115's are perfect, that boat should cruise really easy under any conditions with them. I agree get it down to the marina and take her fishing, all the little details can be finished as you go ))

My boat is finally getting the metal work done in end of Feb but been enjoying the hell out of it in the meantime!

cheers!

 

Have you toted up the hours devoted to this, Groper ? Seems like a massive undertaking on a part-time basis.

 

I havnt kept a good record of the hours... but all I can say is that I work full time and have built this in my spare time after work and weekends. My best guess would be about 2500-3000hours...

 

I'm also building a desalinator for the boat using a commercial quality pressure washer with a brass and stainless triplex pump. The whole system is going to cost around $2500 and should produce 48 litres per hour. Total weight is 30kg not including the water in the housings and filters etc. I'll talk more about it once I have it installed and can show it...

 

Ok im on the home stretch... The underside is almost ready to paint, and then antifoul just before launching...

Does anyone have any opinions about antifouling? At this stage im leaning towards using international "VC offshore" - copper oxide and teflon. Is there anything else out there that people can recommend in a hard antifoul?

I thought id share something else not quite related to building a boat, but none the less interesting for many boaters... i now have a solar powered scuba tank filling compressor

How? Well it goes something like this... the solar panels charge the battery bank - nothing new there. Then the 12v to 240vac 3000w inverter gives me single phase AC power. The inrush current of a large induction motor is too much for this inverter to start, so i had to change the comressor motor to a 3 phase induction motor (2.2kW) and run it from a single phase input to 3 phase output variable speed drive. I thought this was going to be the end of it, but the inverter kept tripping whilst drawing less than 1/3 of its rated output. The VFD distorts the power supply and generates harmonics etc so i tried adding a power inductor (line reactor) and presto - i was in business I tested the unit running from the boat, with no engines running, and it reached full pressure 230BAR no problem. Good news is i now have full control over the speed so i can reduce the power consumption and noise if i want whilst filling my tanks at sea

 

Hi Groper.

Nice compressor.
You can test with a semi-full bottle?
Another cheap way is possible with a softstart, i use in power supplyes.