Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:09 pm

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Evolve V2 Advice
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:11 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:45 am
Posts: 13
I recently purchased a Hobie Evolve V2 for my AI and took it for its first trip.
The drive seemed very loud. I ran the unit in the drive well. Ideally i would like to use my mirage drive at the same time but not give up my sailing rudder.

Has anyone mounted the Hobie Evolve V2 off an AKA? How would i do it?

After i finished my first trip I removed the propellor and found if full of seaweed wrapped around it very tight.

Is there anyway to minimize the amount of weed collected by the prop?
Can i put a different prop on the motor which minimizes this problem?

Are there impacts on the drive with the shaft full of seaweed? Will it consume more power and my battery deplete faster?

Thanks for your advice


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Evolve V2 Advice
PostPosted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:42 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:02 am
Posts: 318
Location: Cape Coral, FL
Hi

I don't have an evolve but can answer some of your questions. Seaweed or anything else wrapped around your prop will reduce your efficiency and speed. its best to avoid seaweed altogether either by going around it or by pulling the evolve out and paddling. if drive has reverse, after a patch of weeds go hard reverse for five to ten seconds to throw the weeds off the prop, but you lose all your forward way (momentum). pulling the drive out and removing the weeds by hand is more efficient.

easy answer - STAY OUT OF THE WEEDS! lol.

"weed free" props are made but less efficient

j

_________________
2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker!
also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny...
&
the TI3 rear ama mod


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Evolve V2 Advice
PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 5:22 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:45 am
Posts: 13
I took my Evolve around Reef Island in Victoria Australia. It has seagrass beds around it in water <1.2m. The water has floating debris in it. Its not heavy but its there in patches. Small boats with outboards are fishing there all the time.

With the Evolve prop the weeds/seagrass get under the prop and wraps around the shaft not around the prop. You cant see it without removing the screw and prop. I am not sure going in reverse will remove it. When i bought the Evolve there was no warning on it that u can only drive it in water that is free of all weed.

After 1 trip with my evolve going thru water 2m-5m deep and not hitting anything the shaft no longer spins properly. Full throttle is only 40w. I tried recalibrating it and removing and resetting the prop. No resolution. With no prop the shaft doesn't spin. I hope a bit of weed hasn't killed it. Anyway back to the dealer. Not sure what the issue is and whether its related. Will report an update.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Evolve V2 Advice
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 3:38 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:45 am
Posts: 13
I had my unit fully repaired by the AU Torqeedo rep. The problem was a manufacturing issue, nothing caused by me. From drop off to repair returned was 4 days. :D

During a boat show i managed to see Torqeedo's new solar recharger in operation. The unit costs ~ $1500 AUD and on a day of 32C in full sun was giving a drive about 40w which would be enough to drive my loaded AI at maybe 2.5km/h. The rep stated the panel could survive repeated short term submersion but i was skeptical.

What was more interesting was that i got to play with their batteries. I managed to connect the Travel 1003 Battery to the Evolve V2 drive. This battery is a 520 Wh or 18 Ah unit and has 60% greater capacity than the battery that comes with the Evolve V2. It weighs 2kg more and all the connections plugged in and worked for both Evolve drive and controller. I also managed to pickup the battery and put it inside the front hatch of a 2012 Hobie AI to make sure it fitted. I have my Evolve V2 battery mounted in there in a custom built harness. The footprint of both batteries are the same so should fit in my harness. This battery is not cheap but if u want a longer range at higher speed this maybe a better upgrade on the Evolve V2, than buying another Evolve V2 battery. I also confirmed from Torqeedo this will not impact your Evolve V2 warranty.

I quizzed the local rep on prop options for the Evolve V2. I observed the Evolve V2 and Ultralight have different props, one is less curved, i suspect to fit in the mirage drive slot. Got confirmation they are different. I could not get an answer if it compromises efficiency. I learned there is no option to change the prop in an Evolve V2 drive unless u convert it to a Ultralight and even then the prop is very similiar. The weedless designs i learned are less efficient and only start for the Travel and Cruise models.

Lastly after 1 trip with the Evolve i convinced myself that I want my Mirage drive and Evolve v2 working together but i don't want to install the unit on my rudder and reduce its size and not be able to sail. My logic is that i need to take my mirage drive anyway as a backup so i might as well use it instead of it sitting on a tramp.

So i decided I am going to install the Evolve on my rear AKA on my AI and get hopefully the best of all. First i need to convert the drive from an Evolve to an UltraLight and then work out a mount option. I ordered the parts for the upgrade from Torqeedo. Just need to do the upgrade and mount. Will update later. Hopefully this info is of value to people.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Evolve V2 Advice
PostPosted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 8:26 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 2:03 am
Posts: 218
Location: Bundaberg QLD, Australia
Ammo wrote:
I ordered the parts for the upgrade from Torqeedo. Just need to do the upgrade and mount. Will update later. Hopefully this info is of value to people.


Do you have details of the parts you needed?

I'll be interested to see how this works for you.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 5 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group