Today I towed the Sienna out of the shed and into the sun to test the solar panels and the charging of the lithium batteries. This is the first time the batteries have been charged as a group and they need to be watched carefully for the first few cycles…
I’m now back at Mt Tamborine to finish the electrical installation. I know, I know! Its taking longer than expected to complete this boat. On the back of an envelope I estimated another 16 days to finish the electrical work and get her launched. Allowing for weekends and other projects…
Overcast with passing light rain was not what we had in mind for a solar powered journey. Maybe I’d be rowing after all… We left on the mother ship about 5.30am and towed the solar powered zodiac to the start point at Station Beach, at the back of Palm Beach.…
This project has been occupying my attention since March when I somewhat spontaneously decided to go ahead with it. I had been looking at various boats with an eye to finding one suitable for rental, but I hadn’t seen anything I liked when my friend Claude (Torqeedo Australia) told me…
The Sienna will be an easily driven boat and so we don’t expect to need a lot of power to have her at 5 knots. My guess is that her performance would be similar to the Dash 750 and if we look at the power curve for that boat it…
Here’s some pics of Turanor in Brisbane.
Well, we made it to the boat show! The Sienna was not totally complete but was in pretty good shape and complete enough that visitors could get a good feel for her. I’m really pleased with how she looks and her lines are better than in the artists rendition. There…
I’m gonna have to kiss goodbye to warranty on the motor cos I took to it with a hacksaw. It doesn’t sound pretty but it has turned out alright, as you can see from the photo. Its more or less the same as a regular Cruise 2, only shorter. I…
Noah thought it a good idea to built his boat up on a hill, so why shouldn’t Scruffie Marine build their boats up on Mount Tamborine? I’ve been at the Scruffie workshop for a few days to help out with building of the first solar Sienna, and to bond with…