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Peter Volken Smidt – episode 1 – Electrifying a Contest 30
He who cannot share cannot multiply! At Robust-MT Marine Technology BV, we believe that success is a combination of factors. Knowledge is just one of them, but it's useless without facilities, resources, capabilities, and so on. For this reason, we will never be complacent about sharing knowledge or providing a platform to someone who deserves it, or when there's useful knowledge to share.
Our own boat is featured in the April 2023 issue of Maandblad Zeilen (Monthly Magazine Sailing) in an article about the electrification of sailing yachts. That same article also features Peter Volken Smidt's Contest 30. Like us, Peter electrified his boat himself with an ePropulsion Pod 6.0 Evo . Following the article, Peter Volken was kind enough to contact us and spend a morning discussing shared experiences. During this conversation, Peter mentioned that he has written several articles about his project. We are truly delighted to share his experiences here on Peter's behalf.
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Peter Volken Smidt. I'm a professional designer, father of three daughters, and live with my family in Rotterdam near Kralingse Plas lake. I've been an avid water sports enthusiast since my early childhood, and I always said, "I'll buy a boat with my first salary.".
Unfortunately, that didn't work out, but now that my daughters are old enough to swim, I decided in 2019 to look for an affordable sailboat. And I found one, and what a one! A neglected Contest 30 from the 1970s. It meets my needs perfectly. It's a fixer-upper with enough sleeping accommodations to eventually take her on vacation, enough DIY to make my designing heart beat faster, and an old Volvo Penta diesel engine with a leak in the cooling element. I'm temporarily having the engine rebuilt upon purchase so it can reach its home port.
I'm working hard to spruce up the boat, all of my efforts. The paint on the polyester hull is in poor condition, the underwater hull desperately needs new antifouling, and all the electronics on board date back to the era when incandescent light bulbs were the norm. The wiring is old and worn.
I'm enthusiastically embarking on the refit of my new dream boat. The 30-footer is being completely stripped of its old paintwork and then rebuilt with modern paint systems. Inside, the tangle of old electrical wires is being replaced with new, safe wiring; LEDs are now the order of the day. Navigation, AIS, wind indicators, NMEA 2000 data cables—the whole package is slowly but surely turning the boat into a truly modern vessel. But there's still one thing nagging at me: the engine. Although the purchase order was to fix it up so we could reach Rotterdam, I don't trust the 40-plus-year-old engine. It smokes, stinks, and overheats far too quickly.
My enthusiasm for the boat remains undiminished, so much so that I decided to invest in a different propulsion system as well.
In my ignorance, my search for a new propulsion system begins with traditional engine suppliers. Because the current Volvo engine is apparently very compact with a short distance between the gearbox and the gearbox, I quickly realize that a standard diesel engine won't fit in the current location on the boat. I also notice that the suppliers aren't overly enthusiastic about the conversion project. This, infuriatingly, gets me thinking. Slowly but surely, I realize that old-fashioned diesel can no longer be the fuel in my boat. I want to switch to a sustainable alternative—something I can install myself, that saves space, and is maintenance-free.
After a lengthy online search exploring all sorts of options, I finally decided to go for an electric drive. I was also looking for something that would eliminate the need for the old propeller, which sometimes lets water into the bilge, and that's how I ended up with Epropulsion electric motors.
I calculate the required capacity. The Contest30 is, as the name suggests, 30 feet long (9 meters), weighs approximately 4,500 kg, and the current 10 hp diesel engine is sufficiently powerful to move the boat functionally. After various conversion factors, I'm advised to go Epropulsion Pod drive 6.0 EVO Epropulsion E-series battery E175, I should theoretically be able to sail for six hours at an economical speed. This is sufficient for the use I intend to make of this boat.
