Looking for a long range expedition aluminum power catamaran design

Where I live we get a lot of cruising sailors coming through every year and this year I saw something interesting that might be suitable. It was an older gent with his somewhat younger wife cruising in a production 55 ish foot catamaran but with a cut-down rig, so much so that I initially thought it was a jury rig. I heard the story that they don't feel competent handling full sized sails for that size of boat but still wanted the ability to put out some sail area on easy downwind legs. This makes a lot of sense for economy, redundancy, using the mast and boom to hoist toys over the side, and the fact that most ocean passages are downwind. The reduced top hamper would result in increased efficiency under motor as well as the ability to motor sail or set a steadying sail.
So maybe a used production catamaran with a cut down rig would fit the bill.

 

Catamaran boat, China catamaran boat, catamaran boat Manufacturers, China catamaran boat catalog https://www.made-in-china.com/productdirectory.do?subaction=hunt&style=b&mode=and&code=0&comProvince=nolimit&order=0&isOpenCorrection=1&org=top&keyword=&file=&searchType=0&word=catamaran+boat&log_from=1&bv_id=1j7v1vfdp4dc

 

Why? There is now Hummer EV / Silverado EV 206 kWh battery available for less than 15k$
Even if you have to pay someone 10 k$ to hack and control them, that max 25k$
Example of control for EV battery: Dala's Battery-Emulator https://secondlifestorage.com/index.php?threads/dalas-battery-emulator.12471/

 

Are those new batteries?

 

No, used!
Is that cause some illogical consequence like for someone in marine world it's better to buy poor quality new Chinese battery than high quality used GM battery?

 

Do the vendors test the batteries for reduced capacity, or are they sold "where is, as is"?

 

Of course it's as is.
Scrap yard don't have knowledge, time and tool to test EV battery capacity.
Event they can't know battery voltage without opening the case and don't know if pyrofuse is blow or not.
Still, knowing the vehicle odometer could be useful.

But between you and me, who care is you can put your hand on high quality battery for 30-60$ per kWh?

Edit: just saw a Rivian 141 kWh battery for 3600$. That 26$/kWh.

 

Are there vendors that test them? I understand you are gambling on it being good, but there are no guarantees. My concern would be more on the safety side. Battery fires are difficult to put out.

 

Perhaps you should have a look at this vessel
Accessible Expedition Catamaran https://www.multihullcentre.com/custom-manufacturing/current-projects/accessible-expedition-cat/

52 ft for handicap person and his wife

 

This vessel sounds more like the non-yacht cat you might find interesting. I think she was built of plywood over in Thailand

Weekender/Picnic Vessel, Power and/or Sailing Catamaran https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/weekender-picnic-vessel-power-and-or-sailing-catamaran.33751/

That Thai cat has rather squarish/boxy lines compared to some more modern designs,...but think of how easy that is to build with flat pre-fab composite panels or lt-weight wood construction,...think economy of construction.

 

1) Liveaboard Cruiser for the Real World
Motor/Sailing Vessels, (MotorSailer), Catamaran https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/motor-sailing-vessels-motorsailer-catamaran.16363/page-2#post-792792

2) Shallow Draft !!
You never even touched on one of there major assets....SHALLOW DRAFT

I can't emphasis SHALLOW DRAFT enough. Here I am defining shallow draft as 4 feet or less. The Chesapeake Bay (America's largest inland water bay) has a few navigable deep water channels, but the vast majority of its area is 4.5 feet of water or less on average. If you truly want to explore the Chesapeake Bay and its many tributaries (one of the truly great cruising areas), you better have a shallow draft vessel.

Ditto for the Outer Banks of NC (I once did them in a 37 foot sailing cat that I could kick up its CB's and rudders to draft only 19 inches). Its nice to have a shallow draft for the Florida keys, and the 10,000 island area of SW Florida, and those inside waterway passages of the west coast of Florida. Gunkholing is so much fun, and you miss some of this fun when your vessel draws too much water....you end up passing many delightful spots for fear of running aground.

And don't forget the Bahamas that whole chain of islands is structured on a shallow ocean shelf that is a delight to go cruising across rather than around, especially with those crystal clear waters. Shallow draft is king!

 

MotorSailers, MotorSailors.....

They're just not a popular subject. Traditional motorsailers have always been such a compromise, they have fallen into disfavor in the market, and in the boating literature. The term has even had negative connotations for several decades now. Should not today's boats be faster and better with new materials, light marine diesels, and better shapes? Should not this be the sensible alternative, the common sense move up from the beloved family sailboat? When trawler options are discussed, suggestions of boredom arise. A lifetime of sail would be discarded, and what happens when the motor quits? Well, hopefully it won't quit, but one can always sail home in a boat with sails on it. For truly long-range cruising and/or remote exploration, the motorsailer can outshine both the sailing aux and the trawler types.

We need to modernize the motorsailer. The multihull plan-form holds great promises to improve this breed. The long slender hulls of the catamaran type vessel have proven themselves to be real efficient to push under both power & sail. And not only are they efficient, but they can be pushed beyond the traditional hull-length/speed limitations. Just what the modern motorsailer needs, a far less compromising increase in both their sail & power performance, that allows for long-range, and remote area capabilities. In light airs, running one engine often is all that is needed to generate an apparent wind that allows the sails work harder, and the combination can provide much better results than either motoring or sailing alone, …….sailing synergy/harmony, the motor taking over in the lulls and the rig taking over in the puffs

 

There may be over a hundred steps just in the process of making diesel starting with finding crude, extracting, shipping, refining, storing, marketing, political cartels, terrorism, etc. Some failure even for a short term at any step in an increasing unfriendly , inflationary $ world, might mean IC fuel availability issues many times over the next 20 or 30 years. It's not practical to make your own fuel , but it is possible to make your own electricity for Ev power. Self sufficiency as much as possible, in terms of fuel for propulsion is probably a good idea, to keep propulsion cost low as possible. EV Motors which are reliable, long lasting, cheap and easy to repair/ replace, with simple designs and fewest possible moving parts, super low maintenance, would appear to be greatly advantageous, compared to anything that is IC based. Wind powered propulsion using sails are probably the simplest/ low cost primary systems for propulsion, and any surplus wind can be converted with tow generators to electricity- for an alternate EV system when there is less or no wind. JMHO.

 

Those batteries from late model cars should still have a lot of life in them, so long as they were not damaged in a wreck. EV Car dealerships can check for battery pack issues and recommend replacement or repair as a battery ages while in the car itself. So it might be a good idea to buy the port that goes with the battery pack so that the whole pack can be hauled on a flatbed to be checked at a dealership. Some battery packs might be capable of separation into modules to be checked individually or for piecemeal use with a different voltage rating Drive motor. Each single cell in a lithium battery has a BMS chip that usually includes temperature monitoring/ control as well as for other battery issues. IC cars also have fires but I don't know how to fairly compare that with EV fires. My guess is that maybe 99% of All lithium Battery fires up to this point have been from new batteries possibly due to defects or mechanical damage. Late model EV car Used batteries that remain intact and in good condition have already been drive tested past the defect recall stage (Chevy Bolt Recall) and might also be easily tested over several Cycles with a dummy load.

 

Good video on monohull motorsailers