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Yes the inflatable PFD's (personal floatation device) are more comfortable and most people use them (I do). However there is one aspect of their use that is different from the foam PFD's, and often forgotten. The "activation bobbin" has to be replaced every three years, or the PFD does not...

If you have the choice I would recommend having a separate lead acid deep cycle battery for the house loads and a starting battery for the motor. Charging can be from the alternator with a switch from one to the other. The other option is to charge the house battery from shore power and the...

When I first looked at the 22 ft cruiser I had the same concerns about the V-berth. I am 6'1" and have a bad back. Getting in and out of the berth was an issue for me, so when I ordered my cruiser from NMI, I had them modify the main cabin so I could put two berths in it. The port side berth...

Yes the data I report are based on using the two motor simultaneously. When I run at 5 mph I am putting 1 kW into each motor. Since each motor is rated at a maximum of 3kW I could potentially cruise at 5 mph by putting 2 kW into only one motor. I have not tried it but I expect that it would...

The summer is pretty much over for us and I have put WATT NOW "to bed" for the winter on its trailer. We spent a total 19 days on the water this summer of which 11 days were overnight. This has given me a good idea on how much electricity I use under a variety of conditions. With just my wife...

OOPS! I missed answering some of your other questions. First, I have written a book about electrifying cruising boats and it is available at Duckworks Boat Supply. It is called "Plug-in-Boats: a primer for converting to electricity.". I have talked about my experience and hard won knowledge...

I have been cruising electric in Puget Sound for 26 years now. I had three 26 ft St. Pierre Dories before the C-Dory. Electrifying a cruising boat is not that difficult if you are content with cruising at or below hull speed (like sailboats). I have two 3kW outboards on my C-Dory, which is...

Hi, I had a 22ft cruiser built by NMI this year. I had a great experience with them and Michael Millison (production VP) was very helpful (maybe because I was having the first electric C-Dory built??). I first contacted Michael in August 2023, placed my order in early October and they...

FYI The 22 ft C-Dory comes with two options for cabin height - 6'2" and 6'9". I am 6'1" and when I ordered my 22 ft cruiser from NMI I was able to specify the higher top. My wife and I were not comfortable trying to sleep in the forward area so I had NMI not build the sink and stove area. They...

To respond to some of Bob's comments: I have not had problems sleeping in small spaces in the past but I am no longer as flexible as I used to be. I have a old back injury and scoliosis of the spine that limit the contortions to which I can subject my body. It is not the length of the berth...

The pedestal is electric (120 V shore power), but since it only uses 250 Watts it can be run with a small inverter off the house battery. I bought it from Progressive Automation who have their US office in Arlington WA. The cost was actually less ($350) than the hydraulic pedestals sold in...

I have found that the C-Dory 22 and the 25 as usually configured are not very comfortable for sleeping if you are larger and older. The forward cuddy is too low and difficult to get in and out of. I am 6'1" (and 76 years old) and had to really scrunch down to get in and out of the berth. When...

Yes there will always be variability between boats, motors etc. We can however try to normalize to variables that are universal. David Gerr in his Propeller Handbook attempted to do that using his knowledge and empirical data. Using his equation I calculate that it takes 2 shaft horsepower...

This is great data I can use to compare actual energy efficiency between gas and electric. First off I should mention that my top speed is only 6.8 mph, so I have to use the slower speeds. At 4.8 mph Rob was using a tenth of a gallon per mile. Since a gallon of gas holds 33,000 watt hours of...

It all depends where one is cruising. My cruising territory is Puget Sound where I have been cruising for 26 years in three St. Pierre Dories which had a completely flat bottom, and I never have felt unsafe. in fact, the St. Pierre Dory is considered one of the safest small boats (they used to...

Karl, I suggest you get a copy of my book I mentioned above to calculate your power requirements for converting to electricity. It all depends on what you want your trolling speed to be. You can start with the power curve I posted on my album for my 22' C-Dory. I expect yours would be very...

A few post ago, FOGGY questioned the choice of a planing hull for e-propulsion, and yes form does follow function. But the question is not whether the hulls is planing or displacement, but rather how much power does it require at the lower non-planing speeds. All the information I was able to...

For C-brats the conversion is easy if you are willing to forego the high speeds. A couple of 3kW outboard motors will move my C-Dory 22 cruiser at speeds up to 6.8 mph. My cruising range is 50 miles at 5mph with only 360 lbs of batteries. The batteries fit in the space where the fuel tanks used...

I use the port berth in the main cabin daily and got tired of having to lift the table using the pedestal provided by NMI. I had to crawl under the table and lift it with my back so I could tighten the knob properly. After a long search on the web I found a powered pedestal that was the right...

new pedestal for table