The Electric Sailboat

Disc dog here. Time for another kick-ass i'ble .

Hey everybody! You may remember me as kentucky Bum…I was the author who wrote such favorite Instructables as How to Save A Bridge, How to Build a Better Disc Golf Target and How to build a 96-Volt Motorcycle.

My electric bike bought me Independence from the gas pump. I’m hoping that Jack Daniel’s Independence Project helps me cuts the gas line for good. Here's my entry for it.

My other half and I live a on a sailboat. You’ll see her in the video. Her name is Alis Volat Propiis which is not only our home state motto (Oregon) it is Latin for “She Flies With Her Own Wings”. Perfect name for a sail boat.

The beauty of a sailboat is that it’s the cleanest form of transportation there is on this planet, and wind is free. As y’all may now, I’m not just an Alternative Energy junkie, but somewhat of an expert in wind, solar & hydro power.

Right now she still has her auxiliary diesel engine on board. We don’t use it often; probably putting less than 50 hours a year on it. But when I need it, I need it. With that being said--I would love to make a boat anchor out of it and ‘fly’ on nothing but cloth and solar wings for the rest of my life.

It’s been a dream of mine to convert our sailboat to an all-electric drive, and modern electric motors and batteries makes it more feasible than ever. I can use wind and solar to keep her fueled up for when I need the drive. But I also know that it will cost me about 25 grand to do it right. Winning this contest can make that happen.

Should I win this prize in return I promise to send one more internal combustion engine to the scrap heap, and then write one helluva Instructable on how to covert a boat to electric drive. I also hope to show everyone else who has ever dreamed of 100% oil independence that they can do the same.

Come, sail away with me on my next big Instructable.