As Morski writes, Tino Sturlic from Zagreb is a former employee of Rimac Automobili and recently finished work on his boat, and the key modifications were the installation of solar panels and electric motors, writes rep.hr.
He bought the boat as a joint venture with his brother and sister two years ago, but he wasn’t satisfied with the ”vibrations” of the old Tomos 4 pente, so he immediately sent the boat to Zapresic, where he has a workshop. A lengthy restoration followed, followed by the design of the battery. The owner of Torp, who is also a former employee of Rimac Automobili, helped him out in his task.
He also installed a Battery Management System originally developed for an electric scooter that allows for the monitoring of battery status via mobile phone apps, as well as other data such as consumption and charging via solar panels.
The battery with a capacity of 110 Ah and a voltage of 48V can also be charged via a socket, but for shorter and occasional use of the boat it is enough to use tilting solar panels, which can be rotated laterally to make better use of solar energy depending on the sun’s strength and position. In the strongest sunny conditions, they produce 500W of electricity per hour, while the boat at a speed of 3.2 knots per hour (5.9 km/h) consumes about 1kW. The range of the boat with a full battery at that speed is almost 16 nautical miles, and charging while driving increases this by up to 30 percent.
A necessary part of Tino Sturlic’s system is the charging controller, which can be removed from the front of the ship together with the battery. It was developed by the Croatian company Infoton and then fully adapted to the aforementioned battery. In rare situations when the battery needs to be carried on the mains, it can be pulled out and taken away so that it doesn’t have to bring electricity into the boat.
Unfortunately, the weakest link in the system was the old electric motor that was once used in Koncar’s forklift and which still needs to be fitted with cooling to prevent overheating that occurs after an hour of sailing.
Tino Sturlic’s unusual and impressive project worked for itself, but the interest and reactions of the public were positive, so it is possible that one day everything will result in a business project. The above example shows that the added value brought by innovative companies such as Rimac Automobili and the knowledge and experience gained by employees can one day see them start up their own new innovative companies. It’s worth mentioning that Tino Sturlic was praised by his former employer, Mate Rimac, and he proudly pointed out that Tino, as well as some other former employees, had all started their own businesses, but not all of them have gone public yet.
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