Disabled boat drive controls

[JohnnyHaigh]

Hello all at WCD,

I hope you can help me with a boat project designed to allow wheelchair users to drive a small boat. The ABLE scheme through Kirklees council (Yorkshire) has granted a local company (green future building) planning to dig a fishing lake with specific design features to allow full wheelchair access.

I am involved with green future building through our local college and I am a keen angler who has fished with wheelchair users from a boat. Generally, reduced mobility makes it difficult for a wheelchair user in a small boat to operate an outboard and as my pal Steve says he would love to drive the boat. This compined with the local building project sparked an idea to tackle the problem and offer some ideas for an electric drive system that can be operated via a joystick or simillar.

I stumbled on this website whilst looking for a high ampage dual motor controller with digital imputs. The roboteQ HDC2450 is ideal for this application. (those custom high performance wheelchairs are a superb bit of kit)

My question is where can I get this hardware in the U.K? As I understand RoboteQ is an American company.

Kind Regards
Johnny Haigh

[Burgerman]

Hi, I bought mine in the US. Cheaper, once I fought the customs to get the VAT back they stole...

But you are going to struggle powering a boat with batteries. I know a few people that tried this. It eats batteries like you wouldnt believe. I suppose if you go slowly and use a lot of lead batteries. Many Ah needed.

[Fulliautomatix]

Generally, reduced mobility makes it difficult for a wheelchair user in a small boat to operate an outboard and as my pal Steve says he would love to drive the boat. This compined with the local building project sparked an idea to tackle the problem and offer some ideas for an electric drive system that can be operated via a joystick or simillar.

Presumably he means "operate the outboard using a joystick - and an electric drive system".
Although a standard console wheel/throttle system would suit a para and many quads...I suppose it might be too heavy to operate for some.