Vetus is one of the few marine suppliers that offers mechanical,
hydraulic, and electric drives for the same small trawler sized engines.
According to their 2006 catalog the overall cost of a mechanical drive
is about $1500, exclusive of the propeller. The price of the hydraulic
drive is unlisted, but I estimate that the cost of better quality
components from a supplier like McMaster to be in excess of $3000,
probably closer to $4000. The price of an electrical drive is $7700. An
additional traction battery for short periods of powering without
running the engine is $597.

These components are for small engines suitable for powering trawlers up
to 36 ft. Certainly the costs  will he higher for more powerful engines
but the price relationship between driveline systems should remain about
the same.

Larry Z

-----Original Message-----
From: Lawrence Zeitlin

Vetus is one of the few marine suppliers that offers mechanical,
hydraulic, and electric drives for the same small trawler sized engines.

REPLY
Siemens is a European company as is VETUS and Victron which also offers
a D-E drive.
It would appear that small scale D-E propulsion has seen more R&D in
Europe.

In fact, even for the bigger ship systems, much of the new development
has originated in Europe.
Doesn't that suggest that some factors in Europe is encouraging such
development?
Reducing fossil fuel consumption, reducing engine emissions and air
pollution seems to be major factors behind many European developments.
Food for thought.

Arild