17m Aluminium Expedition Yacht
Cu Lir is the 5th Good Hope 56 to be built to plans by yacht designer Ed Joy of Camden Maine.
Click Ed Joy's Good Hope 56. for more information on this and other designs by Ed.
Ed's design was adapted for ocean science and marine archaeology.
KM Yacht builders in the Netherlands were chosen to build the aluminium hull and DCM worked closely with Ed and the team in Makkum to incorproate a number of additional features into Ed's design.
The bare hull was transported to Ireland where DCM undertook outfitting and developed the design basis for a hybrid propulsion system specifically for this boat.
Core to the electrical system is the Danfoss liquid cooled multifunction converter with 750V DC Link. This enables the bi-directional distribution of 3 phase 400V AC, via three Victron Quattro 48/10000 units, to and from the water cooled 400V hybrid motor/generator and the 48V DC propulsion battery bank.
We designed the boat to have the following modes of operation and redundancy.
1. Sailing Yacht
Mainsail, Staysail, Genoa or Tradewind Sail
2. Conventional Mode
Diesel Engine Propuslion,
3. Hybrid Propulsion PTO Mode
Diesel Engine Propulsion with 22kW Electrical Power Generation
4. Diesel Electric PTI Mode
Propulsion power supplied directly from a 400V Fisher Panda 25i Generator.
5. Pure Electric/Green Propulsion PTI Mode.
Propulsion power supplied from the 48V DC Battery Bank.
6. Hybrid Boost PTI Mode
Combined Diesel Engine and Hybrid Motor Propuslion
SIngle Line Diagram (right click menu on this image to enlarge)
Supply to/from the 400V board to the Victron Quattros means 3 permenant 230 V Single phase supplies and power to a seperate 24V DC battery bank which is dedicated for the supply of essential services and navigational loads.
The facility for wind, hydro or solar power at either 48V or 24V DC is also incorproated.
A seperate 230V Fisher Panda generator will keep the battery banks topped up should the renewable sources be insufficient while passage-making as a sailing yacht.
A power supply is available directly from the DC Link so that Cu Lir has the unique ability, in additon to supporting 400V 3 phase consumers, to also provide a variable supply to DC consumers at any specified voltage up to 600V.
This allows equipment such a DC powered ROVs to operate deeper in circumstances where the resistence of the tether becomes less limiting.
This microgrid was engineered and built by Baumüller and the 48V and 24V DC systems were engineered by Technical Design Solutions.
Elctrical instalation was undertaken using highly experienced shipyard electrcians from Gdansk who were sourced through Green Marine Ireland Ltd.
With less internal volume than other comparable boats employed for the same purpose the Hybrid Propulsion and Microgrid give Cu Lir the opportunity to support the deployment of a broader range of equipment.
The flexibility of the boats propulsion, microgrid and energy storage systems offered the possibility to attempt dynamic positioning in "green" or "diesel electric" mode.
This has been incorporated in her design with integrated control of bow, two stern thrusters and hybrid propulsion motor.
It remains, however, to see how a hull designed to sail to windward will perform in DP Mode.
