Electric outboard motors

[Figment]

Are any of us running Torqeedo or other electric outboard motors on the tender? How's that going?


I see electric outboards on some daysailors but I don't see them on dinghies... there must be a reason why (other than $/hp). What don't I know?


My individual perspective is that I don't need the RIB to hit planing speeds, and I think I'd rather not have to deal with gasoline on board.

[DDW]

I've been quite happy for three years with my ePropulsion Spirit. My one complaint is their coatings for the cast aluminum bits isn't as good as say Honda or Yamaha.

The motor pushes my heavy dinghy at its hull speed and will go quite a long way if you want. We use it to putt around the anchorage or go ashore nearly daily, and have to charge it once about once every two weeks or less. The (relative) silence, instant on/off/reverse, and ability to throttle down to <50 rpm are big plusses.

[O C Diver]

Very happy with my Epropulsion Spirit after 2.5 long seasons. It pushes my Trinka 10 at hull speed with a range in excess of 24 miles. I've not had any paint issues, but rinse it off when in salt water and spend 4+ months a year in fresh water.

Ted

[FWT]

I have a new ePropulsion. I just used it for the first time, and like it so far.

Folks who have had both have told me the ePropulsion is better built than the Torquedo.

On the other hand, I will say that after getting the ePropulsion I got carry bags for storage when not in use. That took quite a few months, and I became aware that parts are only available from the limited dealer network. Its made me wonder how long a wait would be for more critical parts. The Torquedo dealer network is more robust

[Mambo42]

Great question, since I am thinking about exchanging my Honda 15BEF for an electric outboard this winter. I also don't need planing speed, don't like to have 50 liters of gasoline onboard, was thinking about Torqeedo, but now I hear ePropulsion is also an option.
So will follow this topic with interest.

[rwidman]

I have used the ePropulsion Spirit for a year and am quite happy with it. My Honda 2HP was a PITA. The carb had to be serviced every year and I could never be sure it would start to get me back to the big boat.

At least for a small outboard, electric seems much better.

BTW: For those concerned about a cover or bag, I had some leftover Sunbrella marine canvas so I made my own. A canvas shop would make quick work of this if you can't sew.

[socalrider]

We've had the ePropulsion spirit for 3 seasons now and love it. The only issues have been:

1. Shaft is too long; they've since come out with a 15" version which I wish we had. As it is, the tail of the unit doesn't clear the water when tilted up, so we get growth.

2. The LCD has washed out after 3 years uncovered in the bright SoCal sun. The dealer sent me a new unit to install, so no issues there. Going forward I'm going to put a sleeve over it to keep the sun off.

It's way better than our old Suzuki 2.5hp, particularly because the kids can use it safely and easily without messing with starting, finding ethanol free gas at $20/gal, etc. etc. It's so quiet it feels like sailing.

I have been flirting with getting a 15hp to give our dinghy more practical range, but I'd never ever go back to a 2-3hp gasser.

[ancora]

We've had our Torquedo for three years now and love it. Works like a charm with a computer that monitors everything.

[Hippocampus]

Think it makes sense if-
You only need low HP.
You have no range concerns ever.
You don’t see very strong currents nor headseas. people often put ICE of higher than usually needed HP for that reason.

We fish off the dinghy. Often will spend a whole day dinghy exploring. Not infrequently load it up with people and their kit or groceries and heavy fluids. We also may need to take long runs in less than ideal conditions. So as much as I’d like to go electric have stuck with ICE. Dinghy has needed 20hp or more for the last 4 boats. Current one has a 40hp. Unfortunately the electric world doesn’t give good cost effective options with good performance capabilities in that range. As soon as it does and current Yamaha times out will go electric.

[socalrider]

Yeah it's a 2-3hp replacement, not a 20-40hp replacement. It'll stay that way for quite a while as much as I'd like a 20hp planing electric dinghy.

[Benthic2]

Originally Posted by socalrider

Yeah it's a 2-3hp replacement, not a 20-40hp replacement. It'll stay that way for quite a while as much as I'd like a 20hp planing electric dinghy.

Top speed: 25 mph.
Range: 50 miles

[Marco Flamingo]

I just spent a few months cruising with our electric dinghy motor. It's a Newport 36 trolling motor ($140). Battery is 12V 100 amp. lithium ($250). Doesn't plane, of course, but we were pleasantly surprised at how long the battery lasted. Several hours and +4 miles was 30% drained. For us, getting close to dolphins, grizzlies, etc. was more fun than planing. Listening to ravens flying over (just their wings in flight) was a treat.

But, if I was starting over again (and I might), I'd spend a little more and get the 80# thrust ($250) and a 24v 100A lithium ($650). Still under a boat buck and likely to plane our dinghy. Hopefully just as silent.

[Delta Riverat]

I'm considering the new NT300 with (3) 12 volt 100 AH LiFePO4's wired in series.

About 2 "boat bucks". Have Newport Baja as tender.

[RedRascal]

I recently experimented with with a 30lbs thrust Minn Kota on a 10' Zodiac Cadet RIB. This motor has 5 forward power settings however the settings are not evenly spread. Settings 1-4 seemed to have about 60-70% of available power and setting 5 was like a "turbo" 30-40% of the power curve. Other than docking we cruised at about 2 knots on setting 4 with 500 pounds of weight onboard. What was amazing is how quiet moving along at 2 knots can be. It was like being in a canoe. Setting 5 was probably 2.5-3 knots. I don't think we broke 3 knots with setting 5 however it was fast enough that it create noise of water swirling behind the boat. So no longer the quiet canoe type experience on setting 5 which was closer to 3 knots.

30lbs of thrust from my understanding is about a 1/3 of a HP. We ran this off a 100 amp lithium battery and I figured it would run about 4-5 hours on setting 4 or 2 knots. Good enough for short ship to shore runs but not something I want to depend on with currents above 1 knot or wind above 10 knots.

I would absolutely consider this flavor of outboard for either a backup outboard to have onboard or a primary if you have an itinerary with short protected dinghy routes. The "quiet" is really nice, I could see something in the 1-2hp range in my future to compliment one of my trusty 2 smokes. I do wonder if a 40-50lbs thrust motor would have gotten into the solid 3 knot range. I think once above 3 knots you need some real HP because you get so far away from hull speed of a dinghy that you really start to push water.

[catalinajack]

Originally Posted by socalrider

We've had the ePropulsion spirit for 3 seasons now and love it. The only issues have been:

1. Shaft is too long; they've since come out with a 15" version which I wish we had. As it is, the tail of the unit doesn't clear the water when tilted up, so we get growth.

2. The LCD has washed out after 3 years uncovered in the bright SoCal sun. The dealer sent me a new unit to install, so no issues there. Going forward I'm going to put a sleeve over it to keep the sun off.

It's way better than our old Suzuki 2.5hp, particularly because the kids can use it safely and easily without messing with starting, finding ethanol free gas at $20/gal, etc. etc. It's so quiet it feels like sailing.

I have been flirting with getting a 15hp to give our dinghy more practical range, but I'd never ever go back to a 2-3hp gasser.

Whoa, $20/gal for ethanol free gas. On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, it is available at the pump at some stations and at many marinas for about $5.50/gal.

[Circumnavigator]

Got tired of carrying gas and trouble starting with the automatic choke on a 2017 Yamaha 15, so I bought a Newport NT300. It won't plane the 10' RIB, but we use the RIB only to get from anchored boat to shore. It's much lighter -- not a big deal since Morning Light has a 1500 pound MarQuip crane, but it's easier to tilt up and, of course, there's no gas and it starts at once.


Jim

[socalrider]

Originally Posted by catalinajack

Whoa, $20/gal for ethanol free gas. On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, it is available at the pump at some stations and at many marinas for about $5.50/gal.

Yeah - this is our bet option (that I've found) in CA.

Honestly not a huge deal for a 2.5hp outboard since it uses so little gas. But still a pain in the neck.

[gilbertpark]

I have had a Torqueedo for about 10 years, never needed a service just a new pin between the prop and the drive when a friend drove it into some weed! 5 minute fix and the same happens on petrol outboards. It also comes with a USB connector. If ever all my electrics go down the diesel will still run (its old) and I can use my tablet with maps on it indefinitely and even charge my phone.

Wouldn't be without it

Gilbert

[Mr. Blu]

I have a Torqeedo Travel 1103 CS with a spare battery. The dinghy is a Whaly 270. Works great.
Especially interesting for me is that the Torqeedo can be mounted in three separate parts, (shaft with motor part, tiller with the throttle and display and the battery).

So the outboard is easy to handle. No maintenance up to now

[Stonechamps]

For those interested in following the evolution of e. Propulsion systems Plugboats.com s publishes a free newsletter on line that is quite informative and links to all manufacturers - I have had both ePropulsion and Torqueedo , prefer the former but differences are mostly style points. So far getting higher nominal hp equivalent requires separate battery which poses challenge to rig charging system to the dinghy in the davits. Confident that there will be increasing choice in the under 10hp range …love not having to carry gasoline for ICE