Electric Outboards - What do you think?

[CSR_Admin]

One of my suppliers just started to carry electric outboards. I have never seen or used one, however I have used electric trolling motors before. These new outboards are completely self contained and have easily replaceable battery packs for extended days. I thought it makes perfect sense to use one of these for a dinghy on a Sea Ray, since you won't need to worry about spilling fuel or storing an oil filled engine. You could practically store one of these in your cabin or under a seat cushion.

So what do you all think? Curious what people that use a small dinghy as a tender to your Sea Ray think of these, both pros and cons. Here is a link to them:

http://www.boemarine.com/products/c...cturerID=252b26c8-56bf-47e5-bb7d-3e823d04b658

 

[Turtlesboat]

I saw one on a dink this weekend, really quiet. Looks a lot lighter than a gas motor.

 

[Nehalennia]

Looks pretty cool to me.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I've thought they looked every interesting, except the cost seems high given the uncertainty of the battery life. As I recall the batteries are something like 30 - 50% of the cost of the motor.

Henry

 

[boatrboy]

Jim -my 2c from when I looked at these.

1) I do not have a generator, so if I am out on the dink and the battery runs dry I am stuck, unless of course I have a spare battery $$$ - with a gas motor I can pretty much get gas anywhere.

2) I did not see a way to monitor amount of charge left (I did not dig that deep though)- with a gas tank I can look in and know- and even bring a spare gas can as reserve.

3) In general - I can't repair electric motors but I can work on gas motors. I also had concerns on parts availability if I could fix something - you can get parts for merc motors everywhere.

Now I do like all the nice things mentioned ie. light weight, compact, no gas fumes BUT - not enough to overcome my concerns listed above.

BTW - I really appreciate this site - Thanks again.

Mark

 

[fc3]

Power density is the major problem with portable electric drive systems. Batteries have very low power density. That is, for a given weight, a battery delivers a small amount of power. Gasoline has a very high power density. A few pounds of gas provides quite a bit of power.

If one uses the dink strictly to go between the boat and shore, it night make sense to use a battery operated unit. But it one wants to ride around on the dink for a bit, then the power density issue may become a problem.

Finally, a grand for an electric outboard? Not sure about that price / benefit ratio

 

[jmunro123]

I owe a 801 Torqueedo and use it to power our 9 foot dink. It runs like a 2hp motor. At full throttle it runs for 30min, at half it runs for 1 hour, at low speed it runs for 6 hours. However, at low speed you are not moving and overcoming wind and current would be a problem.

I have two kids 8 and 12 and I wanted a motor that did not rely on them pulling the cord incase it stopped. I also wanted to have something that would easily fit in the aft hatch under the back seat. The Torqueedo folds and comes apart into three pieces and stores in a waterproof bag.

We use to when cruising to get from the boat to shore and around the marina. For that it is fantastic.

We would however like to do more extended exploring with the dink and the electric does not have the range so that is a problem. It depends how you use it

 

[george2064]

This electric motor looks good, does it have the power if you have say ... 4 adults in the dinghy?

To buy a new 2-stroke 4 HP engine you need over 700-800 $ right ?

 

[Lazy Daze]

We've been carrying the Torqeedo line for about 6 months, Jim. They are impressive. The motor design is supposedly much more efficient than anything that's been out there, before. We've been using the 4.0 (10HP) on a small pontoon that we take out once in a while (most recently, today). We are not using Torqeedo's battery pack. Like Henry said, it's expensive - although it's supposed to be better than any other rechargeable out there and represent the a step up over lithium ion. That's what I've read, anyways - I don't know much more about that, though. We just have it wired to 4 wet cells. If I recall correctly, about 2/3 throttle gave a range of about 25 - 30 miles.

For us, we have a lot of small, electric-only lakes in the area. The compact pontoons have taken off quite well - hoping the Torq's do, as well. They're not "rushing" out the door, but they are selling.

 

[Sundancer]

So the big question is how long before the battery is toast and you have to replace it? Will I regret it at that point if it only lasts two years? And is this LiPo technology or something else? I use a lot of lipo's and they swell up when abused. Swelling means they can burst into flames! The other question is how long does it take to recharge them? And, as mentioned above, it's hard to recharge when you don't plug in after two or three days. If it could solar charge itself every 6 hours or so depending on where you live that would be swell!

I'm not a big fan of early technology! I'm sure its good, but I'd rather go with an icky oily gas engine for now. A few years from now someone else will come along with a better version to force competition and maybe the technology and prices will be more competitive with gas engines?

 

[Lazy Daze]

So the big question is how long before the battery is toast and you have to replace it? Will I regret it at that point if it only lasts two years? And is this LiPo technology or something else? I use a lot of lipo's and they swell up when abused. Swelling means they can burst into flames! The other question is how long does it take to recharge them? And, as mentioned above, it's hard to recharge when you don't plug in after two or three days. If it could solar charge itself every 6 hours or so depending on where you live that would be swell!

I'm not a big fan of early technology! I'm sure its good, but I'd rather go with an icky oily gas engine for now. A few years from now someone else will come along with a better version to force competition and maybe the technology and prices will be more competitive with gas engines?

Good questions - I share some of them, as well. We got these as sort of a "secondary" thing to the pontoons (which are already secondary to our Sea Rays). So, while I'm familiar with them, I can't really answer a lot of technical questions. Their website is pretty informative, though.

The company is about 5 years old (still young). The batteries are Lithium Manganese.