WPSU

Monday, May 31, 2010

Sea Trial

Son Ben helps test systems
We’re docked at our home port, Macedon Landing, while we make our final preparations. Today Bill piloted the Dragonfly out of the harbor and up the Erie Canal, making a successful test cruise under electric power.

The weather has been perfect and our solar panels had our half-ton bank of batteries fully charged.

Notice that the GPS in the photo below reads 2.3 miles per hour . . . but don’t let that fool you; at one point we were motoring along at a blistering 5 mph (exceeding expectations!)
The electric motor is so quiet, you can hear birds singing as you cruise.


Notice (photo at right) the unorthodox but functionally engineered throttle for the electric motor, which uses a pair of vice grips to exert pressure on a cable tie. 

Meanwhile it is carp spawning season on the Erie Canal. So everywhere you look, you see fish breaching, lobtailing, and rolling on their sides and waving their fins. It’s just like going on a whale-watching cruise, only in miniature!

5 comments:

  1. Bon voyage, Cynthia & Bill!!! - Kris

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  2. Bon Voyage! Safe travels - and come see us. J.V.E&A&M

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  3. We'll have a blog function soon that lets you "reserve your berth" for a cruise when we come through town!

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  4. ~YES~ Bon Voyage~ Glad to see someone GO FOR IT! There are so many ARMCHAIR Skippers that have planned for years and one day they realize they're too darn old to follow through. Don't get me wrong, I've sure done my share of ARMCHAIR Cruising and haven't done more than bareboat in the Bahamas. But once I did, it sure changed me and my dreams.
    Your boat is very intriguing,is there a website with your preparations, etc? Did you build your boat or renovate an older craft? I would love to know more about your Canal Boat and the fact it's eletric is awesome, akin to being under sail with no noise except the wind.
    I've had both Sail and Power and I love sailing, but I love inshore Saltwater fishing as well. I'm not much of a computer guy but I'd like to follow your adventure, your trials and tribulations, heh heh.
    ~Fair Winds and Following Seas~
    Tony Yates
    Winston-Salem, NC

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  5. Who is in the Sea Trial picture?

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