Budget Fisherman dinghys ....

OK .. the AQua Marina Dinghy has arrived and taken out of box and checked ... its better than a beach toy as some here have been implying - but its not a serious replacement for an Avon etc .. Which I made plain from the start - I never intended as.

Its actually quite good ... the material is not as thin to the touch as the usual offering seen in the DIY / Camping shops .. its quite thick. I will micro the repair patches supplied later ...
It had proper diaphragm valves to the main air chambers (2) but air bed style to the floor and seat.

It has a CE Certificate - and is certified Class D. Which complies with my intended use - in fact I would not want to be at the limits of that classification ...

Aqua Marina Class D (1).jpgAqua Marina Class D (2).jpg

It folds up to a nice manageable size into a bag that that appears to let the contents 'air' ... not like my old Avon and Soviet that had waterproof bags that after a while - mould started and needed regular washing out ...

As a quickie dinghy to shore in a sheltered bay etc - I think this will do.

The motor is light and two speed FWD / REV ... rated at up to 15A ...
Daft idea - but wonder if solar could at least power the low speed setting ...

One concern would be to source a power battery that can deliver the 15A for a reasonable period ... assuming full speed is only 75% of the time .. means a battery of about 60Ah .... chargeable by on board system .... and is spill proof. This is where Lithium shows its self as a possible best way ... and is lighter Ah per Ah LA .... will update once sorted.
 
Looks much better than my vevor but then again the price is appreciably more. Material sounds similar quality but certainly looks more like a boat than vevor. Vevor does what I need but if i was buying again, would certainly consider one like yours.
 
Why do you need such a big battery?
If the motor only draws 15A then your 100Ah lithium battery is going to last you nearly seven hours!

I used to have a Bison 68lb trolling motor, which is the most powerful 12v one they do. I paired that with a 60Ah battery. Max current draw was about 58A.
Your 15A motor is presumably much, much smaller.
 
Sea Change said:
Why do you need such a big battery?
If the motor only draws 15A then your 100Ah lithium battery is going to last you nearly seven hours!

I used to have a Bison 68lb trolling motor, which is the most powerful 12v one they do. I paired that with a 60Ah battery. Max current draw was about 58A.
Your 15A motor is presumably much, much smaller.
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It was a matter of comparison on pricing ... initially I was looking at 40 - 60Ah ... but then spotted this 100Ah job at similar price with BT and Heater ...

If it is too big - I have plenty of other uses for it !! I also am skeptical of the 15A ...
 
Refueler said:
It was a matter of comparison on pricing ... initially I was looking at 40 - 60Ah ... but then spotted this 100Ah job at similar price with BT and Heater ...

If it is too big - I have plenty of other uses for it !! I also am skeptical of the 15A ...
Click to expand...
If it's really only 15A, that will make it much easier to find waterproof connectors.
One of the main reasons I stopped using my Bison was that it just relied on crimped eyes which went directly on to the studs on the battery. No protection at all. Despite my best efforts, I'd inevitably drop a cable in the bottom of the dinghy and corrosion would set in. I'd cut off the blackened last six inches of cable, and put on a new eye. Repeat as required until there's no longer enough cable left.
 
Sea Change said:
If it's really only 15A, that will make it much easier to find waterproof connectors.
One of the main reasons I stopped using my Bison was that it just relied on crimped eyes which went directly on to the studs on the battery. No protection at all. Despite my best efforts, I'd inevitably drop a cable in the bottom of the dinghy and corrosion would set in. I'd cut off the blackened last six inches of cable, and put on a new eye. Repeat as required until there's no longer enough cable left.
Click to expand...

I have a pond in the field I bought for Model Flying ... 1.8m max depth ... so that will be the testing 'ground' .... I need to check it out for fish etc anyway .. this gives me an ideal way to do two birds etc.
 
Refueler said:
100Ah Li battery ordered .... special offer reduced from 430e to 299e ....

12.8V-100Ah LiFePO4 Lithium Battery VISION LFP12-100SEV-BT (1280Wh) L306 W169 H215 (with Bluetooth) - www.akum.lv

All I need do now is think about the charging regime. My Li chargers for the models are on the low wattage size for such a battery - but given the rare use - may be enough.
Click to expand...
As I understand it any ordinary battery charger should suit. I imagine the max cahrge rte for your new battery is quite high compared to what you mioght acheive witha mains battery charger. The voltage will not be major concern as voltage will fall with current from the charger. The built in BMS should shut down charging when full.
ol'will
 
William_H said:
As I understand it any ordinary battery charger should suit. I imagine the max cahrge rte for your new battery is quite high compared to what you mioght acheive witha mains battery charger. The voltage will not be major concern as voltage will fall with current from the charger. The built in BMS should shut down charging when full.
ol'will
Click to expand...

Hopefully being a 'smart battery' - it will have instruction sheet ... which should confirm this or not.

It was my understanding - I have many batterys with BMS - that I should be able to use the third outlet on my Victron ... lets see what we get ...

I find the manual for the E-Motor interesting ... as it says to calculate the battery run time as Ah / 7 ..... divided by 7 ??? mmmm given that the unit is rated at 15A .. surely that should be divide by 15 ....

Its quite likely that I change the battery from 100Ah to a 40 - 50Ah unit ... as I say - I have plenty use for the 100Ah elsewhere ...
 
Refueler said:
Hopefully being a 'smart battery' - it will have instruction sheet ... which should confirm this or not.

It was my understanding - I have many batterys with BMS - that I should be able to use the third outlet on my Victron ... lets see what we get ...

I find the manual for the E-Motor interesting ... as it says to calculate the battery run time as Ah / 7 ..... divided by 7 ??? mmmm given that the unit is rated at 15A .. surely that should be divide by 15 ....

Its quite likely that I change the battery from 100Ah to a 40 - 50Ah unit ... as I say - I have plenty use for the 100Ah elsewhere ...
Click to expand...
Does the motor give you any numbers to work with? Wattage? What thrust is it supposed to produce?
 
mmmm Having issue with battery supplier ....

This is my order statement ...

100Ah LiFe batt.jpg

This is his invoice !

100Ah LiFe batt - invoice.jpg

Not so funny !! I've asked him to recheck ... if I get the expected reply - believe me - sometimes you would not believe the replies over here - then I shall be cancelling the order and go elsewhere ...
 
Well not quite the reply I expected ....

He apologised and said that the original batch was not available - sold out ..... and that he had invoiced me for the new batch which now included heat module .... he pointed me back to his email day before which he again apologised for not being clearer in it.

We compromised on price and deal done. 314 euros .... which includes the 12 euro delivery charge.
 
Back to the LiFePo4 battery ... the 100Ah is repurposed now ... but its a good battery !

I am thinking to buy 2x 20 Ah .... split the 40 Ah into two so I use one to go OUT .. other to go BACK .... (my speedboat has two tanks .. one for OUT - other for BACK) ...
 
Have you used the trolling motor yet?

Our kitchen hand blender is 120w
My Makita drill is 440w

A 180w motor does not sound like a lot of power. Will be interesting to see how it goes.
 
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