Goodbye Diesel, Hello Electric

So - Why Electric?

Everyone has their own reason for choosing what kind of motor they want as the auxiliary in their sailboat. When we bought Into The Blue we were very happy to have a diesel engine, preferring to have diesel rather than gas on board.

Then, as happens, our old diesel began to feel and show its age. When it finally and indisputably declared its reluctance to continue to operate without expensive repairs (assuming we could find the parts), and emphasized that reluctance by filling the boat with diesel fumes, we decided it was time to investigate what kind of motor to replace it with. We had learned that while sailing without an engine is certainly possible it can also be uncomfortable, and we appreciate comfort. So - time to make a decision.

Richard undertook the research. We were interested in electric motors for a number of reasons. One was that we would no longer have to listen to the thump of a diesel motor, or smell the aroma of diesel fumes. Another was the hope that with solar power to replenish the batteries, and careful use of the motor, we would largely be free of the need to buy fuel. We do foresee buying a generator, but experience on the water this summer has been reassuring. Regeneration while sailing works well, and should work better in the future. We should not have to use a generator too much - so some fuel on board, but much less.

So far we are very happy with our motor, which we bought from Electric Yacht. And very happy with Electric Yacht, who answered all our questions (and still do). Other things that are really nice: the motor is very quiet, and super simple to drive.

Installing the New Motor

Of course, before we could put our new motor in we had to remove the diesel. The engine was small, which helped simplify the process. And then we made it smaller by removing it in bits and pieces. First Richard took all the accessories off (like the alternator and water pump). Then he took other bits off, such as the head and cylinder and the front crank pulley, taking the bits off the boat as he went along. After that he separated what was left of the engine from the transmission, and took them off the boat separately.

That left us with a diesel-stained engine compartment, so the first order of business was to clean the compartment up. Richard cleaned and sanded, then painted the compartment with gelcoat (tougher than paint). The difference was very pleasant to see.

Once the compartment was clean Richard decided to take advantage of the space and ease of access to the area behind the engine to do a few other jobs. He replaced the hose on the stuffing box, the cutless bearing and the stuffing box packing, and put new hoses on the cockpit drains.

And now that we did not need them any more he removed the old coolant hose and its through-hull and filled the hull where the through-hull had been. One less hole below the waterline.

Then it was time to put in new motor mounts. The mounts on the engine would fall between the original motor mounts, so Richard put 1/4 inch thick stainless steel bar across between and bolted them into those original motor mounts.

After careful measuring, he drilled the stainless steel to take the mounts that came with the new engine and bolted them into place.


The next step was exciting - actually putting the motor in place. The mounts that come with the motor can be put together in a variety of ways, which means that there is a lot of adjustment possible when you are putting the motor in. It took a little experimenting to decide which combination seemed best. Then it was time to hook it up to the shaft.

The motor comes with a special shaft coupling that helps align motor and shaft properly. Richard loosened all the bolts fastening the motor to its mounts. Loosening the bolts allows the motor a certain amount of adjustment as the shaft coupling does its work - the mounts on the motor are slotted to allow it to move backward and forward as you align it. The number of slots allow you to choose which height works best in your boat.


With everything in place, Richard tightened the shaft coupling, then tightened the mounting bolts on the engine in their slots. Then he used what we had to check that the shaft was straight: He bolted a coat hanger in place with the tip just touching the shaft, then rotated the shaft slowly while watching to see whether it moved toward or away from the coat hanger tip. All was as it should be. As the supplier had told us it would, the coupling aligned shaft and motor without problem.

The controls and instrumentation for the electric motor is considerably simpler than for the diesel. So we removed the old levers and instrumentation, and changed the areas where they had been.
The single lever for the electric motor we decided to install where the compass was (replacing the compass with one we can see from inside or outside). Changing the compass area and installing the batteries and wiring for the motor are processes we'll cover in subsequent posts.