E-Scooters for Use Ashore

[Lexi22]

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

Thanks for your warning Lexi22, but I'm good (I am the OP and purchaser, not Captlloyd.)

As stated, I'm very familiar with Lithium battery technology/limitations and am not counting on the manufactures range statement, rather real data from dozens of other owners.

Good luck, man. If I were you, I would rather check out these bad boys,
https://powersports.honda.com/street/minimoto/monkey
https://powersports.honda.com/street...o/trail125-abs
reliable!

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by Lexi22

Good luck, man. If I were you, I would rather check out these bad boys,
https://powersports.honda.com/street/minimoto/monkey
https://powersports.honda.com/street...o/trail125-abs
reliable!

#300Lbs with a gasoline engine... Sigh

Had you bothered to actually read the thread, you would understand the many reasons those would not work.

[sailingabe41ds]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

And still no intelligent data from any of your posts.

Second that....from "always buying new" to now used, to all over the place on which boat to buy, to expert in all sorts of socio economic topics, dog training, and battery techonology. ... not to mention complaining about her deleted posts while telling moderators to close a very interesting thread.
Something is fishy IMHO.

Abe

[Lexi22]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

Second that....from "always buying new" to now used, to all over the place on which boat to buy, to expert in all sorts of socio economic topics, dog training, and battery techonology. ... not to mention complaining about her deleted posts while telling moderators to close a very interesting thread.

sorry if i offended you with my posts.

[Lexi22]

again, i kindly wish the op good luck.

[crooks]

As I mentioned before, I bought an E-Joe. It folds into a small space. It has folding frame, folding pedals, quick release seat and handlebars. It has a range of 20 miles based on the way I ride. It has 7 gears and five levels of assist. The bike also shows how my battery is doing so I know when it get's low. Plus, it is not expensive. I can go up to twenty miles an hour by pedaling hard. There is a local dealer where I live and a national dealership network. I like my pedal bike and bought this for a cruising boat.

[wryanddry]

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

Thanks - We have a tandem at home. It works (although she cheats and I end up doing most of the work.) I haven't looked at folding tandems, but I would be concerned about the size and weight. I think it would also need to be powered to be most useful (the hills in many of our destinations would be crushing.)

Ha yeah, we have a WeeHoo for Sophie and she cheats ALL the time. Again a 27 yr old won't fit in a WeeHoo. Also I don't understand why they make these transport appliance out of heavy steel, towing Soph uphill is bad enough without adding another 50 lbs of steel.

[crooks]

I have a Cannondale tandem. It is made out of aluminum and is quite sweet. A Craig's list find. She kept his tandem, he took his seat and pedals!

Tandems don't fold. They do make screw on junctions to install in the middle to keep them at half the length. Truly fun bikes.

[CalmSeasQuest]

I've had the scooter (eMove Cruiser) for a few weeks waiting for weather in Michigan to break. Per other owner recommendations, I added the seat which provides additional shock absorption and a much more stable ride (especially with the twist throttle.) After about a dozen rides, I can report that I'm cautiously optimistic it will serve it's intended purpose aboard.

It's well built and appears to comply with it's claimed IPX6 water-resistant rating.

Single Rider - Amazing. With just me aboard (#205Lbs), it easily reaches 25MPH and provides a smooth, easily controlled ride. With a 60 mile range, I believe this will work well in many of our destinations.

2 Large Adult Riders (~#360Lbs) - While usable for short distances, this is a challenge. The rider standing in front significantly blocks the view of the driver. While you can look aside, it's less than ideal.

Riding with my Daughter - The primary goal of this is to provide basic, short-distance transportation for my special needs daughter (Down Syndrome.) After a couple rides, I think I can declare a partial victory. The platform is stable, and she had no problem staying neutral. There is more than enough deck and hand-hold space for her to feel secure. Braking is solid and predictable and with her diminutive height, visibility is not impaired. With a helmet and our lower operation speeds, I'm comfortable it will provide a good solution in many areas.

Cons

• Weight - It's not exactly "svelte" - Although it folds, with the seat it's ~#55Lbs. We have a large tender but it will still be a bit of work to get it ashore and back.
  
• Smaller Tires won't deal well with poor roads / potholes. This will no doubt limit use in many places with poor surfaces, narrow roads and/or dense traffic.

The jury is still out on how well it will hold up in a saltwater environment. Our intent is to fresh-water rinse prior to storage below (midship cabin)...time will tell.

[CalmSeasQuest]

I was able to put some miles on the cruiser (solo and with my daughter aboard) before moving aboard Ghost. After thorough consideration, I decided NOT to onboard the scooter. The primary factor was safety.

Rarely does a day go in the various e-scooter forums on Facebook without someone posting x-rays of broken hands, wrists and other related injuries. Although reasonable safe on near "perfect" asphalt roads, IMO, the small tires make it unsafe for our purposes on island roads.

It's a great scooter, and I'll probably keep it for solo use at home and future RV adventures - but it is wholly unsuited for our purposes while cruising.

We're in Aruba for another month, then island hopping (Curacao, Bonaire, DR, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas...) before returning to Florida for some outfitting. I'll order a high quality folding ebike. I like those now being made in Carbon Fiber (including a CF belt instead of chain.)

[Cynara]

All the cruising we did was in central America. People in other countries drive a lot different. I wouldn't even rent a car. We took buses or taxi. Felt much safer.

Plus do you plan on staying in a marina all the time. Loading unloading a scooter on a beach, through to the surf will be a PAIN..

[CalmSeasQuest]

Originally Posted by Cynara

All the cruising we did was in central America. People in other countries drive a lot different. I wouldn't even rent a car. We took buses or taxi. Felt much safer.

Plus do you plan on staying in a marina all the time. Loading unloading a scooter on a beach, through to the surf will be a PAIN..

Safety, including road conditions were the major reasons I didn't move forward with the scooter. Transportability wasn't that big a deal - it folds into an easy to manage size and is light enough to manage when beaching or in marina.

For us, I believe the best solution is a folding (salt resistant) eBike. I like the Carbo, but it's tough to get around the crazy price tag...

https://ridecarbo.com/products/carbo...31309818953791

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

Safety, including road conditions were the major reasons I didn't move forward with the scooter. Transportability wasn't that big a deal - it folds into an easy to manage size and is light enough to manage when beaching or in marina.

For us, I believe the best solution is a folding (salt resistant) eBike. I like the Carbo, but it's tough to get around the crazy price tag...

https://ridecarbo.com/products/carbo...31309818953791

I love this too and have come close to buying a couple of them more than once now. The price is big. Plus the worry of theft is ever present.

Good luck with your search for the right device.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest

We're finally planning on moving aboard this summer (Caribbean for the first year) and have been struggling to improve transportation options ashore. I have a Daughter with special needs (Down Syndrome) who is limited in how far she can hike, can't ride a bike and is prone to overheating. The goal was to find a simple solution that could transport both of us and still be easy to transport by tender and store aboard.

I found what I'm hoping will be a great solution. I ordered an eMove Cruiser electric scooter.

https://www.voromotors.com/products/...21706217554009

It has a 50+ mile range, #352lb weight rating, large deck and optional seat. Although it weighs #52lbs, it folds relatively compact for storage. One concern is corrosion. It is IPX6 rated but I was unable to get specifics about the construction materials used and protection from saltwater exposure.

I plan on using it at low speeds (with her in a helmet) and am hopeful it will provide a viable solution for day-to-day island trips (checking in/out, provisioning (drybag backpacks), touring, restaurants...)

I wonder if any other cruisers have used this or similar models for this purpose? I'll share my results once we get back aboard.

Have you actually ridden any electric scooters? It's very useful to get some actual practical experience.

I ride them a LOT since I don't own a car, and use by the minute rented scooters all over the Baltic region for last mile and other short range transport.

Electric scooters are NOT a replacement for a bicycle. The small wheels limit their use to pavement, and quite smooth pavement at that. They are more or less unusable on cobblestones. You can be seriously injured if you hit a rather small pothole and go posterior over elbows like I did one time in Warsaw. It's very difficult to carry anything on them.


They are extremely unstable and unlike the case with bicycles, you cannot take a hand off the handlebars.


That said, they are GREAT for just personal transport and along routes where there are smoothly paved bicycle paths. They are GREAT for last mile transport in cities with a metro, and with good bike roads.

For third world conditions and remote ports, I would think they would be almost useless.

Maybe in combination with bicycles this is a good solution, but if you already have bicycles, then maybe no point in having scooters too?

Something to think about.

[Stellar1970Cat]

I am a walking paraplegic and use my DIY 3-wheel kick scooter for shopping.
I use canes for walking as my lower feet muscles are not yet working.
In New Zealand I was able to push shopping trolleys but not in Australia!
The difference is the trolleys in New Zealand have rear wheels which track straight unlike these trolleys in Australia which have 4 wheels going all different directions.
Dangerous for me so I use my utility kick scooter on shopping.
As far as I know, nobody else in The World makes these kind of utility kick scooters.
There are similar 4-wheel kick scooters which are designed for Nordic climate made in Finland. https://www.esla.fi/en/product/kickcycle-3300/

I asctually imported one to New Zealand where lived. Then my inventive mind came up with improvements over the years and now I have my 6th model and changed from 4-wheeler to 3-wheeler.

I have been told to put a motor on mine but it would complicate, make it heavier and more expensive. I need excercise anyway and charging the batteries would be problematic as I do not have the space for additional panels.

I have made a few of my scooters for sale but it has not been that profitable and hard work doing most of it myself.
I need to look into licencing my idea. Anyone witch contacts to manufacturing industry who could make these?

My scooter folds easy so it does not take much space in my small cat.
The frame is made of mild steel so rusting is a problem in marine environment.
Next one I make is going to be more marine proof. Made of aluminium perhaps.