Working the boat
Firstly, a kind of disclaimer: there are plenty of holes to pick in the environmental benefits or ethics of this boat. It's not perfect, and there are arguments that can unbalance all the benefits. However, the overall big picture is that it does and can fish at a commercial and competitive level without burning any diesel, and that’s the brief we should be focusing on rather than the comparable costs.
There are many people who are not in a financial position to change their lifestyle dramatically. There are plenty of people who have the wealth and resources to invest in reducing their impact, consumption, waste, or whatever you want to call it.
Very broadly speaking, I see two huge groups or sectors of people: fishermen and environmentalists. They hardly overlap or integrate. Within each group, there are organizations and sectors with different interests, approaches, and voices. Both groups need to find a way to overlap. There needs to be give and take from both sides. I am very much a fisherman and a boat builder and struggle with our industry being guided, directed, and controlled on the whole by bodies of people without sea time. If individual fishermen, as well as fishermen's organizations, do not go some way to connecting with the regulatory bodies, the NGOs, and policymakers, then the industry as we know it has no future. Bold statement there, eh?
This boat, for me, is a connection or a bridge between the two opposing groups.
After Getting the Boat Coded and Ready to Fish
Though the boat is capable of much more, I aimed to fish 2 days a week lifting parlour creels for lobsters and crabs. I mostly fish single parlour pots and short fleets of 8, as this suits the 2-day-a-week approach. I work a total of 62 creels in the water. I could have fished more pots and a regular 6-day week or more with the boat based in Tayvallich where the pontoons have shore power sockets. From Tayvallich, there is an 8-mile steam to the fishing grounds. At the start of July 23, once the boat was trialed and up and running, I chose to work until the end of September from Carsaig with no charging facility and relying on solar only. The advantage of fishing from Carsaig is that the fishing grounds are very close. With this in mind, a 2/3-day week is feasible purely from solar. I still averaged over 22 miles a working day, and last year August had the biggest mileage, which was almost entirely from solar (with a wee bit of generator). An intermittent miscommunication issue between the batteries and the solar means that when relying entirely on solar, I have to use a generator on occasions to reset the batteries' management system to full. Working with the battery manufacturers, we hope to resolve this through summer 24. I will keep this updated on the website blog.
Figures are for when the boat was fished between July and December 23
- A total of 46 days fished (emphasize this was by choice, not restriction)
- Average just under 7 hours a day
- Covered over 1000 miles, averaging 22.65 miles per working day
- The month with the greatest mileage was August, which was almost entirely from solar
- Spent £465.50 on electricity at an inflated £0.75/kW, averaging £10.11 per day
- With pontoon and generator petrol costs included, a total of £18.17 expenses
- Grossed £13,173.14
The boat was taken out of the water in early January. I did a few wheelhouse layout modifications and antifouled the boat with Hempels Silic One. This antifoul is remarkable in that nothing sticks to it; fouling or growth cannot adhere to it. The finish is seriously slippery and must save on friction through the water. The waterline on the hauler side has to be done with a hard antifoul as the ropes quickly wear the rubbery finish of the silicone off. This aside, I am sure this antifoul appears to be the best I have come across at staying clean.
I relaunched the boat late in March 24 and started fishing on the 29th. In the 6 weeks since then, I have done 16 days, averaging 9 hours per day and just under 30 miles per day. I have not yet been anywhere near running out of power. The biggest mileage day was 43 miles, and I still had 30% battery power left at the end of it. I do not have accurate running costs from before the conversion, and it would be hard to compare anyway as the boat is fishing different patterns. In a little over 6 weeks, I have spent £158 on electricity (under £10/day). It is worth noting the high price paid for electricity at 75p/kW.
Flaws or backwards steps
Ropes in the prop are a real and potentially dangerous hazard. They cannot be broken free. The motor is designed to cut out on overload long before it would break a rope out. It is likely it would also cut out before a rope cutter served its purpose. I do not have room to fit a spurs-type rope cutter as that might be effective. The only rope I have had in the prop (so far) untangled very easily because of the motor shutdown; it had not been wound in tightly. After discussions with the motor manufacturers, Fischer Panda, it became clear that there is not really a fix for this. Thinking outside the box, it might be possible to lower the threshold that the motor cuts out at, meaning that any rope would hardly be wrapped around the prop and might pull out by hand. This obviously needs to be experimented with. To attempt to mitigate this risk as much as possible, I have fitted removable weld mesh to the scuppers to stop my own ropes from being washed out through the scuppers. I also am as aware as possible of floating ropes or debris. Over the years as a diver, I have removed a fair number of ropes from propellers with this observation: some skippers are much better at getting wrapped up than others! Patience and awareness are good preventative tools.
5 knots is slow. With the original diesel engine, I just pushed the boat above its comfortable hull speed. 5 knots is where this GM21 is at its most efficient. I have plenty more power to give it to get around a tidal point or push through weather, but that is at the cost of range. Vessels with longer waterline lengths will be more efficient, but I don’t see speeds of over 7 knots on any battery-powered boat being practical. I have very quickly adapted to make the most of what I have and now work the tides with a bit more thought and attention. I set and work the gear to my capabilities and do not feel handicapped. Slower means more range. To cut back fuel use, we cannot have both speed and range. When I first started fishing and long before, between 5 and 7 knots was the speed boats did, and we built an industry.
The 20 kW electric motor can equal the equivalent power of the original Vetus M17 40 hp diesel engine. With the electric motor, 5 knots is the most efficient speed for the hull. Much faster than that uses a disproportionate amount of the limited battery power. From the percentage and kW usage readouts, it becomes quite clear that going faster uses up lots more power. As the fuel/battery supply is limited, I tend to go slow on the way out, and near the end of the day, I can start squandering power by upping the speed if necessary. We are adaptable creatures and can work to the means we have. Though I have labeled this as a dislike, I am now content with the speed the boat goes at, almost enjoying the time on the boat in peace and quiet.
Most of the day's battery power goes into the fishing section of the day. Steaming uses surprisingly little power. The nature of potting is start-stop. Getting the boat moving and stopping uses up the majority of the day's power. I’m guessing the boat could steam in calm conditions for 60 miles; this would be reduced in bad weather. The hauler uses surprisingly little, with the solar often covering its use while lifting. The boat will lift heavy gear out of 30 fathoms comfortably.
Bad weather affects range. In heavy seas, more power is needed; it’s kind of obvious when you think about it. The difference with electric is that the management systems give you readouts of just how much. Every day is different and presents different scenarios, but on a bad day, I could see a 60-mile range dropping to 40 miles. Having said that, you have an accurate readout of how long you have left and can work around that. There have not been many days that I have altered my plans because of fear of running out of battery. I have not yet returned home on “fumes.”
Onlookers' attitude seems to be interested and supportive but “it wouldn’t work for us the way we work,” biasing the opinion to how it won’t fit their operation rather than looking for how to try to adapt to what would work. My fear is that so many good fishermen will be left behind in the rapidly changing times we are in.
The only maintenance I have had to do in almost a year is change the motor seals (45 minutes), check and tighten all the terminals once, and spray bare or open terminals with silicone spray. I haven’t pumped more than a bucket of water out of the bilges in almost a year. In almost a year, I have not put a spanner or screwdriver on the boat. I have not had daily oil, water, and bilge checks, I have not had monthly oil and filter changes, I have not had choked water intakes, loose belts, leaking pipes, or dripping stern tubes, I have not been drenched in diesel, I have not had to hump fuel drums around or meet tankers at specific times—the list goes on.
The problems will come when I do get electrical faults or breakdowns. These can be hard to diagnose, as generally, people have less of an understanding of electricity than mechanics. Electrolysis is quite high up on my list of things to worry about. Regular anode checks are something I do. Anode wear can be very hard to troubleshoot. I have yet to go through the ball ache of finding an electrical fault, but I have no doubt it’s coming. I will update this on the website blog when it happens.
Support is necessary from the funding bodies, not just to make the conversion but as a follow-up. I have effectively stepped onto a tightrope with no way back and no safety rope. I have had a relevant investment from the funders but was then left to manage the boat without any backup. This seems like bad money management from the funding bodies.
For further information, a blog, the ‘watch it work’ and ‘How it works’ films, and a direct link to rent the blockbuster documentary film of the full story behind breaking the boundaries to getting this boat into the system, go to https://itllneverwork.boats/
