I built my first St. Pierre Dory 21 years ago and decided to go all electric when I found out they needed to be heavily ballasted. At that time steel nails were $0.50/lb and batteries were $1.00/lb. The choice was obvious. My third version of the Glen-L Lucky Pierre is powered by two 36 volt trolling motors that can get it up to hull speed (5.2 knots) without a problem. Originally I used 12 golf cart batteries (6 per motor) and had a range of 20 nautical miles. When I switched to lithium batteries that fit in the same battery boxes my range jumped to 50 nautical miles. Two years ago I added solar panels that will extend my range. In direct sunlight they will power the boat at 2.8 knots, and it takes 4 hrs of sunlight to get 1 hr of cruising at hull speed. This is the perfect boat for cruising in Puget Sound; safe, quiet, and a great conversation starter. Our first visit to the Festival was last year and we really enjoyed it, so we want to come back!
