Living Aboard and Sailing a Proper Electric Sailboat with SV Vagari

Offshore Sailing and Cruising with Paul Trammell

Keith and Becca bought a Pearson 424 that needed a refit, and when the time came to repower, they found an inexpensive electric motor and made a quick decision to build an electri-motor system. They eventually sailed off from Texas to the Caribbean, worked their way upwind to the Windward Islands, then to the Azores, where they were when I talked to them. They've been sailing and living aboard for six years, and have a wealth of knowledge and experience with their electric-motor system.

We get into all the details about their system, but we also talk about the Azores, free and silent motor assist sailing, having unlimited power, refitting their Pearson 424, sailing upwind through the Caribbean, losing the prop shaft coupler, cavitation caused by seaweed on the prop strut, micro-route-planning offshore with Starlink, unexpected issues, their 48-volt system, life at anchor with 2500 watts of solar and a large lithium battery bank, comparing the electric motor to a diesel motor, comparing costs of repowering with a diesel motor vs electric, how to make the decision to go electric or diesel, batteries, and more.

Shownotes are at https://www.paultrammell.com/podcast-season-6

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