1920’s Tug Converted to Battery-Electric Drive – copyright Peter Marsh
On Labor Day Weekend, 2014, purely by chance, I arrived by bike at the Waterford Tug Round Up in New York state at the east end of the Erie Canal. There were 30 vintage tugs on display, some old enough that they were once powered by steam. But the most remarkable old workboat in the region was unable to attend the show. It is one of the Erie Canal Authority’s 40 foot steel tenders built in the 1920’s that has taken a step beyond diesel power.
40′ Erie Canal tender, the workboat on the canal since the 1920’s.
Last spring, its aging two-stroke 175-hp Detroit Diesel 6-71 was pulled out and replaced by a bank of batteries driving an electric shaft motor. This smokey but reliable diesel, commonly known as the “Jimmy,” is still found in many older motor boats out here on the northwest coast. But it’s days are numbered as the EPA emission rules aim to clean up the air on the water and in port. This was such a breakthrough in the north-east US that it was announced last June at a press conference by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Fittingly, the pair of 100 hp electric motors were supplied and installed by Elco Motor Yachts, based nearby in Athens, NY on the upper Hudson River. Elco introduced the first marine electric motor at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, where electric boats shuttled more than one million passengers to and from the Fair. Today it provides environmentally friendly electric propulsion motors from 5hp to 100 hp.
Twin Elco 100 hp electric motors
The two EP-10000 electric motors, each weighing 740 lbs, were installed in tandem on the existing driveshaft turning the original 33″-diameter propeller. The 36 AGM batteries (absorbed glass mat) were installed on each side of the engine room. The boat consumes about 55kw of energy per day on average, so the batteries were designed to provide 66kwt. About 10 hours of battery power is achieved in one charge of 6 to 8 hours at a cost of $5 to $6.
This system can utilize a standard shore connection, single phase 208v – 240v input. Outlets for recharging are found on the canal at workshops, marinas etc., but the tug can also charge via the genset on the barge or dredge that it is pushing. The electric motors provide instant response with no warm-up, and full torque immediately with a bollard pull of 3,500 pounds-the largest yet achieved by an Elco-powered vessel. This all-electric drive creates no smoke (zero-emissions), noise, or vibration, making it easier for the crew to work a full day on board–and there’s no coolant, so no need to winterize when the canal freezes!
The EP-10000 electric motors are priced at $21,000 each and the 36 batteries come in at about $10,000. Joe Fleming, Elco’s chief engineer, expects the batteries to last at least eight years. By then he figures the price of batteries will have dropped appreciably while they will provide several times the energy storage. Interestingly, the tug was built before the Great Depression with a hybrid method combining a traditional riveted deckhouse with one of the first welded hulls. Now, in what is probably a world “first” for electric drive, it is leading the Erie Canal system into the 21st century and towards an all-electric or hybrid-electric future.
“Up until the EP-10000, there were no electric motors for boats that require 75 – 125 horsepower,” explained Elco CEO Steve Lamando. “Now they have a viable electric power source that can handle a heavy workload while keeping the air and water clean.” Elco EP motors are installation-ready and come complete with everything needed, including battery charger. Elco offers a full line of EP motors, suitable for powering sailboats, launches and catamarans from 15 feet to 85 feet.