Peter Volken Smidt – episode 1 – Electrifying a Contest 30
Introduction Robust-MT Marine Technology BV
Those who cannot divide cannot multiply! We at Robust-MT Marine Technology BV believe that success is a combination of factors. Knowledge is just one of these, but it is useless without facilities, resources, capacities, etc. It is for this reason that we will never be frenetic about sharing knowledge or providing a platform to someone else who deserves it or when there are useful knowledge to be shared.
Our own boat is featured in Maandblad Zeilen No. 4 of April 2023 in an article about electrification of sailing yachts. The same article also discusses Contest 30 by Peter Volken Smidt. Peter, like us, electrified his boat himself with an ePropulsion Pod 6.0 Evo . In response to the article, Peter Volken was kind enough to contact us and spend a morning discussing shared experiences. Peter indicated in this conversation that he had written a number of articles about his project. We are sincerely pleased that we can share his experiences here on behalf of Peter.
How it all started
First of all I would like to introduce myself, my name is Peter Volken Smidt. Designer by profession, father of 3 daughters and living with my family in Rotterdam near the Kralingse Plas. An enthusiastic water sports enthusiast since my early childhood, I always said I would buy a boat with my first salary.
Unfortunately, that didn't work out, but now that the daughters are old enough to swim, I decided to look for an affordable sailboat in 2019. And I find it, and what kind. A neglected Contest30 from the 1970s. It meets my needs exactly. It is a fixer-upper with enough sleeping places to take me on holiday one day, enough DIY work to make my designer heart beat faster and an old Volvo Penta diesel engine that has a leak in the cooling element. Provisionally, I have the engine patched up when I buy it so that it reaches its home port.
Refit
Together I work hard to repair the boat. The paint layer of the polyester hull is poor, the underwater hull desperately needs new antifouling and all electronics on board date from the time when light bulbs were the norm. The wiring is old and worn.
I am enthusiastically starting the refit of my new dream boat. The 30 ft is thoroughly stripped of the old layers of paint and then rebuilt with modern paint systems. Inside, the tangle of old electrical wires is replaced by new and safe wiring, and LED is now the dominant feature. Navigation, AIS, weather vanes, NMEA 2000 data cables, the whole thing slowly but surely ensures that the boat is actually starting to become a modern ship. But there is still one thing that is nagging, that engine. Although the assignment when purchasing was to patch it up so that we can reach Rotterdam, I do not trust the more than 40 year old engine, it smokes and stinks and overheats very quickly.
Electrification
My enthusiasm about the boat is as great as ever that I decide to invest in another propulsion.
In my ignorance, my search for new propulsion starts with the traditional engine suppliers. Because the current Volvo engine is apparently a very compact engine with a short distance between the gearbox, I quickly notice that a standard diesel engine will not fit in the current location in the boat. I also notice that suppliers are not too enthusiastic about the conversion project. This really makes me think. Slowly but surely, the realization is growing that old-fashioned diesel can no longer be the fuel in my boat. I want to switch to a sustainable alternative. Something that I can install in the boat myself, which saves space and is maintenance-free.
After a long search on the internet, investigating all kinds of options, I finally decided to go for an electric drive. I am also looking for something where I no longer have to use the old propeller that sometimes lets some water into the bilge and thus ended up with the electric motors from Epropulsion.
I calculate the required capacity. The Contest30 is, as the name suggests, 30ft long (9 meters), weighs approximately 4500 kg and the current 10 HP diesel is sufficiently strong to move the boat functionally. Through various conversion factors I am advised to go Epropulsion Pod drive 6.0 EVO Together with an Epropulsion E-series Battery E175 I could theoretically sail for 6 hours at economical speed. This is sufficient for the use I have in mind for this boat.
