My First Solar Powered Boat Project

[TomCat58]

She looks really great.

I see some snow in the background. Are the rivers free of ice?

Thanks .... Yes the river are free of ice. We are so far having a mild winter and I hope we have a early spring

[SolarCanoe]

Spring is comming!

I wish I had something interesting to post but unfortunately I have not managed to do much work on my electric/solar canoe project since the weather got too cold to work outside last fall. I had the room to do some work over the winter but just didn't have the time or energy with working and having a bad heart and generally poor health. The good news is I finally bit the bullet and retired a week ago.

Since then I did do some work on a prototype motor mount and lift using a linear actuator. It seems to work well and now I just need to try out some steering mechanism ideas. I have two canoes to play with and 3 trolling motors. My current plan is to mount one motor on my Dad's 14ft canoe. I already have the pontoons and mounting for them. I will use this canoe to try out a few ideas for the motor mounting, steering, and canopy design. I will sort out some of my plans on the 14ft canoe which I can then use while I get back to work on the larger canoe with the solar panel canopy. So things should start happening although it is still very cold here but spring is coming soon.

So stay tuned there will be more to come.

[TomCat58]

Hibernation slow down

SolarCanoe : I wish I had something interesting to post but unfortunately I have not managed to do much work on my electric/solar canoe project since the weather got too cold to work outside last fall. I had the room to do some work over the winter but just didn't have the time or energy with working and having a bad heart and generally poor health. The good news is I finally bit the bullet and retired a week ago.


Well I hope retirement agrees with you and that your health improves. I two have slowed down as my garage does not heat very well and it was down to 7 degrees the other night. But YES spring is coming soon and I need to test a few things out that requires being on the water. Everything did freeze up in all the lakes around be and the river thou not frozen is down to far with lots of big rocks showing. The dam down below me will rise the river back up in 6-8 weeks.

I am only doing a few small canoe projects inside by the fire now. Here is one I just finishing up and instead of a water proof case I went with waterproof gauges. Well the center amp/volt gauges were not waterproof till I encapsulated them but the fish finder and GPS are waterproof to 6 meters. The other volt gauge tells battery volts and a arrow up or down to tell if the battery is losing volts or up for gaining volts. One of the encapsulated gauges will tell me volts and amps generated from the solar panels and the other one will tell me volts and amps being used by the trolling motor. Right and left are the fish Finder and the GPS. Hopefully this is all I need for a dash.

Post when you have started up again and we can compare notes.

Tommy

canoe dash.JPGdash.JPG

[russ]

Sounds like you two are coming out of hibernation? Welcome back!

[TomCat58]

Sounds like you two are coming out of hibernation? Welcome back!

Living up north by Canada I do seem to go into a type of hibernation. Not like a bear does but I do sleep more and everything slows down and its a bit of a cave mentality. LOL No worries because at least I am not in Alaska with very little light and really cold. I don't think I could handle that extreme weather and would go nuts with the lack of light plus cabin fever. !

It won't be long and we will be complaining about how hot it is hahahahahahaha ... such is life


Tommy
PS I am making a two Rocket stoves from some old propane tanks that were made illegal to refill. It will be a combination rocket stove for cooking with the second tank that attaches to the top of one stove making it a garage wood stove heater. Am I getting a bit of a survival attitude ????? Maybe a little bit. But you can blame it on the wonderful news on tv these days. It does not hurt to have a backup boat that's also a backup solar generator and a wood stove source of heat available !!!!

Well this might be off topic so I will stop there.......

[SolarCanoe]

Motor Mount

As I mention before the motor lift seems to work well. It is a bit slow so I ordered a 15mm/s linear actuator to replace the 10mm/s linear actuator. There is a trade off between speed and force so I settled on 15mm/s and 200 lb force. Since the linear actuator is acting on a leaver about 6-7" from the pivot point and the motor could be 24" or more from the pivot, it will only be about 50lb at the motor.

The steering mechanism sort of works. There is a lot of friction preventing the motor from turning smoothly. The rope I used is too stretchy also. I could try lubricating the motor shaft and I was also considering waxing the rope so that it will slide easier inside the plastic tubing. I also thing the pulley may be too small (5" dia). I think something closer to 10" diameter would ease the steering force required. I have considered the usual arms with rope attached but I want to get a full 180 degree turning of the motor so a pulley will be better at keeping the rope length constant. I am also wondering if I should try bicycle brake/shifting type cables instead of the rope in plastic tubing. I think I saw some rope online that is used for kite flying that is supposed to have minimal stretch, maybe that will work better.

IMG_0410_small.jpg IMG_0411_small.jpg

[TomCat58]

[QUOTE=SolarCanoe;101246]
(The steering mechanism sort of works. There is a lot of friction preventing the motor from turning smoothly. The rope I used is too stretchy also. I could try lubricating the motor shaft and I was also considering waxing the rope so that it will slide easier inside the plastic tubing. I also thing the pulley may be too small (5" dia). I think something closer to 10" diameter would ease the steering force required)

Interesting. Can you share where you came up with the pulley as it looks to fit the shaft on the Minn Kota real nicely.... The actuator looks cool but I am sticking with electronics that are sealed in a case or waterproof. No matter what I do things get wet. Like a wake from a power boat speedy by to close or a down pour.

Glad to see your back at your project and please keep sharing.

Tommy

[SolarCanoe]

I used a clothesline pulley. I removed the mounting hardware and using a hole saw I drilled out the center to 1 1/8". The pulley is made of nylon and is easy to machine. The pulley is attached to the shaft using a simple wood collar. I just used a 3" hole saw to cut out the collar from a piece of 3/4" poplar. Then I used a 1 1/8" hole saw to cut the center hole. The pulley is screwed to the top of the collar and two screws go through the sides to grab the shaft. I am having trouble finding a larger pulley that would be easy to work with so I may make the pulley out of wood.

The linear actuators are meant to be used outside to position solar panels so I think they will tolerate the splashing they will be exposed to in the canoe. I also plan to cover the canoe with a canopy that will reduce exposure to rain as well as the sun.

[TomCat58]

Solarcanoe Quote: I used a clothes line pulley. The linear actuators are meant to be used outside to position solar panels so I think they will tolerate the splashing they will be exposed to in the canoe.

Thanks for the info. I don't mind turning my seat side ways to throttle and steer but sometimes it would be nice to have a alternative steering system with easy access while facing forward to make simple steering corrections. I like your thoughts on bicycle cables I just need to workout a few details in my head of how its all going to be put together.

Sense we are both building custom projects there are a lot of things that require a "MacGyver" attitude. I will watch how your steering controls come along and hopefully learn from you and avoid some trial and errors of my own

Yes if the actuator is designed for a solar panel its got to be able to handle some nasty weather conditions. I look forward to your progress and posts.

Tommy

[dudevato]

'just read through all the posts, Really glad I found this site

I posted a short 'intro' about myself in the New Member's Area. There are some serious builders here.

Towards the end of the 9 pages of posts the topic of steering linkage came up. I thought a cheap, easy way to go would be to make your own out of plywood. Choose your dia and cut a circle of that dimension, then cut 2 more an inch or 2 larger. Sand and seal all 3 Very Pretty, then glue/screw them together with the smaller one in between the others.

It was mentioned using 2 trolling motors a while ago. Here is a U Tube video made by a guy that rigged up a wireless, hand held steering setup. Too elaborate for my tastes, but 50 seconds into the film you can see how using 2 motors spin this thing pretty much On A Dime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viX6kC9C0Yc

Solar Canoe, that is a well built motor mount. What comes to mind is if you were to hit a submerged rock, etc. can your motor swing up without anything getting damaged? I was thinking of kind of cable linkage (I've seen motorcycle handlebar cable available by the foot, both male and female. Under forward motion the motor would stay in the proper position but with the cable pulled, hence releasing the factory lock, the motor would be able to swing up and over the rock or sand.

Releasing the cable would let the factory lock 'lock' into position and let you run your motor in reverse without it raising out of the water.

A few thought on your 'canopy idea' First off it's Great, I found out many times sitting in the sun Sucks, 'almost as much as paddling lol. I've got a 'canopy under construction on a canoe I'm building and made it with it in mind that 'the lower the better' in regards to the center of gravity. I made mine to let me sit straight up at the back of the canoe on the gunnel, and hence in the seating/cargo area.

The canopy runs from the very back of the canoe to some 2 feet short of the front. This will let me/my passengers stand up to stretch their legs and make boarding easy when 'beached'

I'm even now looking forward to reading more and seeing updates etc. on this thread.

I'll start a thread and see if I can add pics of my solar projects.

A 16 foot canoe, 2 outriggers, 1 motor and 520 watts

A Thrown Together 8' kayak, 1 outrigger, 1 motor and 130 watts

My current Keeper Project: a 16 foot canoe with 1 outrigger, 2 motors and 780 watts.

I'm glad I found this site and will probably have trouble sleeping tonight. later

[SolarCanoe]

Welcome dudevato

Thanks for sharing your ideas. I'd love to see some photos and get some details on your past and present projects. Whenever I get discouraged or just need a little boost I look at youtube videos or images of electric solar boats and canoes. By all means start a thread or just post to this thread if you like. If you do start a new thread please post a link here and I will link your thread in the opening post of this thread.

You made a good point about the motor being rigid and hitting a rock or other underwater object. I have been thinking about a way to make the motor kick up instead of breaking something. I will have to do some more thinking and prototyping before I commit any fine wood or expensive hardware to a final design.

I did a little research into why many fishing boats have the trolling motor bow mounted. It turns out that it is easier to control the boat in windy conditions if the motor is bow mounted. For that reason I will probably mount a single motor on the bow of the 14 ft canoe. That is why I am trying to design a motor mount that is remotely steerable and retractable. I am still debating whether to mount one motor on the bow and one on the stern of the larger canoe. This would be the most maneuverable but represents the more complicated setup. This arrangement also allows for one motor to be retracted and run on just one motor to conserve energy. The alternative would be to mount both motors just ahead of the rear seat. This arrangement would mean I could use the standard motor mounting hardware. Steering would be accomplished by controlling the speed of each motor, like steering a skid turner. The only down side I can see is that I would have to use both motors at all times.

I feel I must mention that I am aware that there has been very little talk about solar panels and there are a lot of details to sort out before the solar panels become the center of the discussion. I hope that won't be an issue with the moderators because when I get to the solar panels and charge controller I will probably need some input from the experts here.

[SolarCanoe]

Minor Update

I lubricated the motor shaft and put some plastic washers under the top clamp. It turns much easier now. If I stretch the plastic tube out straight I can turn the motor quite easily by pulling on the ropes. If I let the plastic tube curl then I can't pull hard enough to turn the motor. So the problem seems to be the rope in the nylon tubing that does not work as well as I had hoped. Back to the drawing board . . .

I just had a look around for bicycle cable and it looks very promising. The cable, housing, and mounting hardware are easy to come by and may work much better than rope.

[TomCat58]

[QUOTE=SolarCanoe;
I just had a look around for bicycle cable and it looks very promising. The cable, housing, and mounting hardware are easy to come by and may work much better than rope.[/QUOTE]

Yes I am looking also. I just have to figure out the best hardware to attach on the motor end and the steering end. The price is pretty cheap for a cable. One for left turns and one for right turns might do the trick

http://www.amazon.com/XLC-Brake-Cable-Housing-Universal/dp/B000C128MK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1394347984&sr=8-4&keywords=bicycle+brake+cables

[SolarCanoe]

If you look on eBay you will find all kinds of bicycle cable components, including inner cable and outer housing by the foot. Some are stainless steel and have a Teflon coating for both cable and housing.

I also noticed that headsets are 1 1/8" and therefore the stack spacers are 1 1/8" inner diameter. The trolling motor shaft is 1 1/8" diameter. Therefore there may be bicycle stem and headset components that would serve our purposes. For example you could use a stem and handle bars on the top of the motor shaft to attach the steering cable to.

It looks like the world of bicycle components may offer some interesting possibilities and solutions.

[dudevato]

hey SolarCanoe .........

I can't post any pics here at this time. I was told it might be because I haven't made enough posts. Send me an email address that I can send you some pics of my 'under construction canoe' I have some good working steering linkage that is simple, low cost and ought to be maintenance free. Those are 3 important things I try to keep plenty of in my life solarson1@yahoo.com Gary Boehm