nestawayboats
Well-Known Member
Looking around at Dusseldorf Boot (Europe’s and I think it might be the world’s biggest indoor boat show), electric boating is the market that's growing.
In outboard world Epropulsion have announced their new Spirit Plus 1kW outboard (roughly equivalent to a 3hp petrol). This looks identical to the established Spirit 1.0 but has: a bigger capacity battery (1276Wh vs 1018Wh); changed from 42 to 48V (higher voltage is more efficient, and being a multiple of 12 gives the option to run on external batteries if you want); stronger cable connector (the parts you rotate are metal, the centre is still plastic for obvious reasons!). The most significant change then is the Plus’s 1276Wh battery capacity, which is 40% more than the largest option their main rivals Torqeedo offer at this size of motor (that being 915Wh for their 1003 or 1103). 1276Wh with a 1000W motor means 1hr 15 minutes flat out or 2hrs 30 at half power. Most yacht owners probably won’t need to recharge that size battery on board at all, during a typical weekend’s use for tender duties. And it gives the opportunity to explore much further upriver by tender, in blissful peace and quiet. The Spirit Plus has an RRP of £1600 with the Spirit 1.0 dropped down to £1300 (UK prices).
Epropulsion have also announced their new E series lithium batteries at 2, 4 and 9kWh sizes. With the 9kWh model priced at £3600 the real news is price… sounds a lot yes but it’s a lot of power too and at 40p per Wh (retail, inc VAT) it’s actually very good for lithium. If you compare on a cost per usable Wh and factor in the much longer cycle life, it’s competitive with lead acid (plus roughly quarter the weight and a third of the space). “Usable Wh” refers to the fact that you shouldn’t discharge most lead acid batteries below about 50%, so as a general rule of thumb you only need half the capacity in lithium to achieve the same amount of usable power. You’re probably not going to put the 80kg 9kWh E series battery in your tender but it would give a lot of range if combined with one of their pod motors (currently 1kW or 3kW), for an inboard installation.
Across the aisle at Torqeedo they’ve announced an 1100W kayak motor (based on their 1103 outboard, presumably), with a 915Wh battery. It has a very neat bracket that allows it to tilt, slide up/down and steer all by means of pulling different bits of string… so with a bit of thinking it could make a very interesting power option for a boat it was designed into. RRP £1869 in UK.
And across another aisle there is Aquamot, a long-established Austrian manufacturer of electric outboards – similar at the small end to the Torqeedo/Epropulsion type, ie with integral lithium batteries – that we don’t see much of in the UK. The looks are perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but they are rated for commercial use and feel like they’ve been hewn from granite. Similar pricing to Torqeedo, size for size.
If you wanted to replace your inboard diesel with an electric motor - shaft or sail drive - that's also looking very possible now (there must be at least ten manufacturers here, not just Torqeedo), albeit still more expensive for less range. But just as with electric cars, maybe range anxiety is more a perception than reality. I can't remember the last time I motored my yacht more than 30 miles. I tend to motor in and out of harbour then sail, and if it's flat calm I tend to stay put because motoring (with a diesel...) is so unpleasant. I also suspect if you had an electric inboard you'd do a lot of "lightly assisted" electric motorsailing, - the temptation to apply a few hundred silent vibration-free Watts and go a knot faster while pointing ten degrees higher would be strong. And if you're only using a few hundred Watts because the sails are also providing drive, the range will be much greater.
Besides the motor and battery manufacturers there are lots of electric watercraft at the show – boats yes, some gorgeous sailing dayboats with pod drives and astonishing price tags, speed boats, electric foiling surf boards and what can only be described as a twin screw lilo (!) - although some are quoting what seem to us “questionable” ranges and/or speeds… it’s quite simple maths to check. If say it has a 30kW (kilowatt) motor and a 30kWh (kilowatt hour) battery then it will last an hour flat out. If it has a 30kW motor and 15kWh battery then it will last half an hour flat out. 1kW is 1000W. The “lowest common denominator” for battery capacity is Wh (Watt hours) or kWh; the numbers for (V) Volts or (Ah) Amp Hours alone are almost meaningless (keeping it simple Wh is Volts times Amp hours). A 48V 25Ah battery therefore has the same capacity as a 12V 100Ah one (both are 1200Wh batteries). Some of the staff selling some of these things either don’t understand the numbers or are deliberately trying to confuse the punters.
If you’re interested in electric power for boats I’d say it’s well worth a visit. Or indeed boats in general, just about everything to do with boats or remotely related to boats is here and it makes the recent iterations of the late (R.I.P.) London Boat Show look like a joke. You'd need two days to have any hope of getting round all of the Dusseldorf show. There are also of course lots of other reasons to visit like the rather excellent local sausages and Alt bier.
Ian, Nestaway Boats
In outboard world Epropulsion have announced their new Spirit Plus 1kW outboard (roughly equivalent to a 3hp petrol). This looks identical to the established Spirit 1.0 but has: a bigger capacity battery (1276Wh vs 1018Wh); changed from 42 to 48V (higher voltage is more efficient, and being a multiple of 12 gives the option to run on external batteries if you want); stronger cable connector (the parts you rotate are metal, the centre is still plastic for obvious reasons!). The most significant change then is the Plus’s 1276Wh battery capacity, which is 40% more than the largest option their main rivals Torqeedo offer at this size of motor (that being 915Wh for their 1003 or 1103). 1276Wh with a 1000W motor means 1hr 15 minutes flat out or 2hrs 30 at half power. Most yacht owners probably won’t need to recharge that size battery on board at all, during a typical weekend’s use for tender duties. And it gives the opportunity to explore much further upriver by tender, in blissful peace and quiet. The Spirit Plus has an RRP of £1600 with the Spirit 1.0 dropped down to £1300 (UK prices).
Epropulsion have also announced their new E series lithium batteries at 2, 4 and 9kWh sizes. With the 9kWh model priced at £3600 the real news is price… sounds a lot yes but it’s a lot of power too and at 40p per Wh (retail, inc VAT) it’s actually very good for lithium. If you compare on a cost per usable Wh and factor in the much longer cycle life, it’s competitive with lead acid (plus roughly quarter the weight and a third of the space). “Usable Wh” refers to the fact that you shouldn’t discharge most lead acid batteries below about 50%, so as a general rule of thumb you only need half the capacity in lithium to achieve the same amount of usable power. You’re probably not going to put the 80kg 9kWh E series battery in your tender but it would give a lot of range if combined with one of their pod motors (currently 1kW or 3kW), for an inboard installation.
Across the aisle at Torqeedo they’ve announced an 1100W kayak motor (based on their 1103 outboard, presumably), with a 915Wh battery. It has a very neat bracket that allows it to tilt, slide up/down and steer all by means of pulling different bits of string… so with a bit of thinking it could make a very interesting power option for a boat it was designed into. RRP £1869 in UK.
And across another aisle there is Aquamot, a long-established Austrian manufacturer of electric outboards – similar at the small end to the Torqeedo/Epropulsion type, ie with integral lithium batteries – that we don’t see much of in the UK. The looks are perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but they are rated for commercial use and feel like they’ve been hewn from granite. Similar pricing to Torqeedo, size for size.
If you wanted to replace your inboard diesel with an electric motor - shaft or sail drive - that's also looking very possible now (there must be at least ten manufacturers here, not just Torqeedo), albeit still more expensive for less range. But just as with electric cars, maybe range anxiety is more a perception than reality. I can't remember the last time I motored my yacht more than 30 miles. I tend to motor in and out of harbour then sail, and if it's flat calm I tend to stay put because motoring (with a diesel...) is so unpleasant. I also suspect if you had an electric inboard you'd do a lot of "lightly assisted" electric motorsailing, - the temptation to apply a few hundred silent vibration-free Watts and go a knot faster while pointing ten degrees higher would be strong. And if you're only using a few hundred Watts because the sails are also providing drive, the range will be much greater.
Besides the motor and battery manufacturers there are lots of electric watercraft at the show – boats yes, some gorgeous sailing dayboats with pod drives and astonishing price tags, speed boats, electric foiling surf boards and what can only be described as a twin screw lilo (!) - although some are quoting what seem to us “questionable” ranges and/or speeds… it’s quite simple maths to check. If say it has a 30kW (kilowatt) motor and a 30kWh (kilowatt hour) battery then it will last an hour flat out. If it has a 30kW motor and 15kWh battery then it will last half an hour flat out. 1kW is 1000W. The “lowest common denominator” for battery capacity is Wh (Watt hours) or kWh; the numbers for (V) Volts or (Ah) Amp Hours alone are almost meaningless (keeping it simple Wh is Volts times Amp hours). A 48V 25Ah battery therefore has the same capacity as a 12V 100Ah one (both are 1200Wh batteries). Some of the staff selling some of these things either don’t understand the numbers or are deliberately trying to confuse the punters.
If you’re interested in electric power for boats I’d say it’s well worth a visit. Or indeed boats in general, just about everything to do with boats or remotely related to boats is here and it makes the recent iterations of the late (R.I.P.) London Boat Show look like a joke. You'd need two days to have any hope of getting round all of the Dusseldorf show. There are also of course lots of other reasons to visit like the rather excellent local sausages and Alt bier.
Ian, Nestaway Boats
. Your regular reports and comparisons tell me that it's time to stop dithering and switch over to electric power.
