Electric Outboard

[JohnnyC]

Has anyone tried an electric outboard yet? I am wondering if they are practical (motor strong enough, battery lasts long enough, charges quickly enough) for everyday use. Sure would be nice to get gasoline off the boat completely.

[Vasco]

They're fine if you do short trips and there's a spot ashore to charge the battery. Know a guy anchored in Charleston that comes ahore everyday in one and charges it up at the dock. I would not have one if you're out cruising.

[Island Mike]

We just purchased a Rip Tide 50lb thrust motor for our Zodiac with a 105 Amp/hr deep cycle battery. It pushes us along very well, my wife and I took it around an island in the CT river with a very strong current running. It took about an hour and could easily have gone back around the island again. We have never come close to depleting the battery. The literature says we can get around 5 hours on the middle speed setting. Obviously if you want lots of speed this is not the way to go. However, we like the idea of not having gas on board and we can recharge the battery with our solar panels. I am very happy with it at this point.

[Doghouse]

With electric motors, the faster you run them the shorter the battery life. Now I know that seems logical, but it is not an equal relationship. As the discharge rate goes up, the battery life substantialy decreases. I learned that the hard way as I tried using a trolling motor as an outboard. It worked great until the battery went dead half way back with very little warning. I now have a gas and only use the electric for "stealth" mode.

(bringing the dog ashore at night , and Yes I do bag it out...)

[Jackstee]

Hi Guys

Try doing a search on Torqeedo.

A member of HTOWOA is currently trying out a unit. He wants to use it like a thruster but I will(maybe) use two for manuvering. Each is supposed to be equal to 6 hp, the difference is the thrust.

Steve

[fastcat435]

We use a torqueedo 2 Kw unit on our lightweight ribs and out of 2 battery,s in series each 75 amps we get 3 hours of running time without completely depleting the battery,s
full speed is 9 knots but we are getting a prop with a higher pitch and that should make it plane at a speed of 13 knots the max RPM setting is now 920 and without slip that would mean a max speed of 10 to 11 knots but unfortunately there is always slip.

[SkiprJohn]

JohnnyC,
If you do a search here on the forum, you'll get lots of info on Electric Outboards. I've been using them for several years and they work great. We use them on many of our club boats for on and off moorings (not for cruising) and have powered a 26 foot Folkboat in and out of a River Mouth to the local dock. I don't think they can be beat if you have a solar panel aboard to keep the batteries charged.
I also use one on a dinghy. Proper battery care is essential.
JohnL

[High Cotton]

Originally Posted by Doghouse

With electric motors, the faster you run them the shorter the battery life. Now I know that seems logical, but it is not an equal relationship. As the discharge rate goes up, the battery life substantialy decreases. I learned that the hard way as I tried using a trolling motor as an outboard. It worked great until the battery went dead half way back with very little warning. I now have a gas and only use the electric for "stealth" mode.

(bringing the dog ashore at night , and Yes I do bag it out...)

yeah..... sure you do....... I could never figure out the problem with a little dog poop on the ground...... that's one thing I refuse to do, and so far the "poop police" haven't nabbed me... but I've trained MAX not to make any noises when he's taking care of bidness.

[olivertwist]

Here's a company that makes an electric top end that makes to a Yamaha lower end:

eCycle Marine Systems | Electric Powerhead for Yamaha 6, 8, & 8 HT

It appears to be more powerful than the trolling motors. They claim 9 hp. I have no first hand experience with their product.

[Kanani]

IMHO...battery theft may be your biggest concern.

[David M]

It would be interesting to see of comparison of watts per pound of thrust for different electric outboards.

Edit: Johnny, I found this article on the subject.
Electric Trolling Motors for Auxilliary Propulsion on Sailboats

Technical info about the Torquedo.
West Marine: Travel 801 Folding Electric Outboard with Battery Product Display



Pretty cool how it folds up. That would surely freak out guy with the leaf blower strapping one of those on your back.

[waterworldly]

Thanks for that link! I love the idea of motoriing without the noise, although I would also have a gas powerered in reserve.

[fastcat435]

Originally Posted by David M

It would be interesting to see of comparison of watts per pound of thrust for different electric outboards.

Edit: Johnny, I found this article on the subject.
Electric Trolling Motors for Auxilliary Propulsion on Sailboats

Technical info about the Torquedo.
West Marine: Travel 801 Folding Electric Outboard with Battery Product Display



Pretty cool how it folds up. That would surely freak out guy with the leaf blower strapping one of those on your back.

Hallo David
The 2.0 KW compares well with the 6 hp outboard
With this unit we reach over 10 knots combined with the african lite cata rib of 14 ft and a total load of 440 lbs
the 801 compares with a 2.6 or 2.8 HP
We import them into South Africa and the 801 travel is standard equipment on the FastCat in the Ocean Crossing Package instead of a gas powered 3.5 HP Mercury .
Greetings
Gideon

[CaptBadger]

I have many questions and few answers so it is my hope Cruisers Forum can help me. I own a Catalina 400 in Florida and enjoy listening to people and their stories. I have found boat people to be very willing to help. I am pleased to be a member of the Cruisers Forum. CaptBadger

[Patrick_Seattle]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

We use a torqueedo 2 Kw unit on our lightweight ribs

When you say 2kw version can you be more specific and refer to the models on the product site:

• Travel 401
• Travel 801
• BaseTravel 401
• BaseTravel 801
• Cruise 2.0

Thanks,
-p