Electric Thruster |
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The Microship has
three modes of propulsion -- pedal, sail, and electric. The electric
thruster is a Minn-Kota 42EX trolling motor, apparently now a
discontinued model (judging by a quick check of the Minn-Kota
website). The spec for this unit is approximately 36 amp maximum
draw at 12 volts, which yields 42 pounds of static thrust. The company
has a wide range of motors, including some rated at over 100 pounds.
The heavy fiberglass thruster support shaft is indexed into a retractable steering motor, which allows our software to control the thrust angle. (With the later addition of a rudder autopilot interfaced via the hydraulic system, this will give the Microship extremely precise automatic steering capability.) The whole assembly is mounted in an aluminum bracket that allows the motor to be extended and deployed from the cockpit. There's a fairly poor video frame-grab of the thruster itself here. The real smarts behind this is the adaptive thruster control system, which both steers the motor and delivers a continually fine-tuned power level that exactly utilizes left-over solar power after the battery and other system loads are satasfied. |
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