Electric dinghy outboard recommendations.

Koeketiene

Koeketiene

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Le Roussillon (South of France)
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After almost 30 years of faithful service, my Mariner 2.5 2-stroke outboard seems to be destined for the great scrapheap in the sky.

I find similar 4-stroke outboards to heavy/cumbersome to handle, so I am considering getting an electric outboard.

I have been browsing a bit and the ePropulsion eLite 500W seems to tick all the boxes.
Am particularly charmed by its weight.

Anyone any experience of this particular engine or can recommend anything else I should consider?

TIA
 
The eLite might only be 500Wh but it is so pleasant to carry compared to bigger 1kWh models. As well as being light the tiller folds down so that the twist grip makes a great handle right at the balance point.

I used to have a 1kWh Torqeedo. What a drag humping that thing around. It's either bigger and heftier than a small petrol outboard when assembled (18 kg) or it's annoying having to assemble it from 3 parts if you separate them. If separated eventually some expensive parts is going overboard when assembling in a wobbly flubber or the connectors are going to corrode.

The eLite also takes little room when in its bag and can be fitted into a locker compared to the galumphing great Torqeedo.
 
I can't comment on the ELite as I've no experience. I have the larger EPropulsion Spirit which I think is perfect for our needs. That it dissassembles is a bonus as each part isn't heavy. It's clean, quiet and has good range, wouldn't have another petrol unless our requirements changed and needed to blast about in a big dinghy.
 
I have one.
Will respond properly when back home. A lot going for them - but give a bit more info: size of dinghy/number of people, distance of typical trips etc.
 
I looked carefully at the Elite, but concluded it wasn't powerful enough for my requirements.
I bought a 1kW EPropulsion sprint.
It works well, I can run it at 50% power and with me (70kg) and my dog (60kg) in a Seago hypalon 270 at a more than adequate speed with really good range.
With just me, at full power it'll plane the 270.
And heavily over load with me, the dog, and two heavy people, it still pushes the 270 along at a reasonable speed.
Assembled it weighs about the same as my old Suzuki 2.5 four stroke, but splits into two parts, battery and leg, so it's easy to carry.
 
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ylop said:
I have one.
Will respond properly when back home. A lot going for them - but give a bit more info: size of dinghy/number of people, distance of typical trips etc.
Click to expand...

80% of the time: 2.2m inflatable with just me in it.
20% of the time: 2.4m RIB with the wife and myself on board.

Just short trips to/from a mooring/anchorage to shore and back.
 
Koeketiene said:
80% of the time: 2.2m inflatable with just me in it.
20% of the time: 2.4m RIB with the wife and myself on board.

Just short trips to/from a mooring/anchorage to shore and back.
Click to expand...
That sounds like the eLite will be the right choice. Depending on availability, the Temo 450 might also be an option.

We recently bought an electric outboard for our 3m long hard dinghy. Power-wise, the eLite would have been the perfect option. We rarely motor at higher than 150W power, as that is enough to push us at 4 knots (an inflatable likely needs a bit more power for this).
However, we ended up buying the bigger size Spirit Plus.
IMG_1721.jpeg
This wasn't because we needed a more powerful outboard. I've actually never tried more than 500W with it, as you quickly hit diminishing returns. But what we wanted was the longer range. With this we can motor at 4kt for some 8 hours, giving the possibility for various dinghy excursions.
Also bonus: with the right cables and DC-DC converter, we could use the outboard battery as emergency house bank on the big boat.

But in your place, I wouldn't hesitate to get the eLite. The price is good, and the specs should match your stated usage.
 
May I ask what happened to the Mariner (how it failed or what parts are failing?)

Did you flush it after EVERY use?

The reason I ask is because I have the same engine and age and love it and it is in near mint condition but I REALY go over the top about looking after it and I mean obsessively possibly. To look at, one would think it was only a few years old, not 30.
 
I'm interested in this as I thought about buying an electric outboard when I thought my boat didn't have one ( the owner turned up with a brand new replacement the day of the survey).
I had a look around at prices and feedback and a big concern seems to be theft.
Do you intend dismounting and carrying it around if you leave your tender beached or tied up?
 
I am very happy with the elite, light and easy to carry, no cables to do up or undo, easily charges onboard from the 12 volt charger, even at half power it goes faster than I can row, I think the comparison is with rowing an inflatable: OK it doesn't go for 8 hours but would you row for 8 hours, or miles. another bonus is the ability to leave the bracket on the dinghy and just one button to press to release. it is possible to use an outboard lock and chain the engine to that for security. I previously had a torqeedo 603.
 
ingenious said:
I'm interested in this as I thought about buying an electric outboard when I thought my boat didn't have one ( the owner turned up with a brand new replacement the day of the survey).
I had a look around at prices and feedback and a big concern seems to be theft.
Do you intend dismounting and carrying it around if you leave your tender beached or tied up?
Click to expand...
Some other makes of electric outboard don’t have an integrated battery but hook up to a battery.

Not convenient for everyone but it allows for a lighter engine that can be carried easily.
 
ingenious said:
I'm interested in this as I thought about buying an electric outboard when I thought my boat didn't have one ( the owner turned up with a brand new replacement the day of the survey).
I had a look around at prices and feedback and a big concern seems to be theft.
Do you intend dismounting and carrying it around if you leave your tender beached or tied up?
Click to expand...
I've got the epropulsion spirit and I have a bar over the clamps locked in place. I separate the battery from the leg section and padlock it to the seat. The kill cord I take with me when ashore.
So after a couple of years no problem with leaving the dinghy on the beach or tied to dinghy pontoons.
 
Does anyone have experience on how long the e-propulsion motors last and whether a seal failure in the lower unit is terminal, or if anything can be done for preventative replacement maintenance.

Following from the OP, I would be very happy to have another Yamaha 2B 2 stroke, and it last 30 years, as my previous one did- 1 gallon of petrol per year normally and litre of 2 stroke oil lasts 10 years. Happy to plant a tree to offset and use biodegradable oil.
 
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Koeketiene said:
80% of the time: 2.2m inflatable with just me in it.
20% of the time: 2.4m RIB with the wife and myself on board.

Just short trips to/from a mooring/anchorage to shore and back.
Click to expand...
Ok so I can probable provide some real world experience then. We use ours on a 2.3m inflatable with a “squidgy” low pressure floor (not a high pressure drop stitch floor) so probably the least Efficient hull. Most often used with two adults + a load of stuff, but it has been used with three on very short low risk trips.

It’s faster than rowing. We had a Yamaha 2.5 HP 4 stroke which is heavy, awkward to lift on off the dinghy and enough that only I will carry it up the slipway to the shed. The eLite lives up to its name and any of my crew will happily lift it, even in and off the dinghy.

At 350W it does a little over 3 knots in a well loaded small dinghy with good conditions. At 500W with must me it’s more like 4knots. It will power through any waves I’ve been brave enough to try at 350-400W. The 2.5HP would get me on my own to 4.5knots flat out, and I would use it in the same range of conditions.

Our mooring is just over 0.5NM from where we keep the dinghy. So it’s a 15 minute trip, which at 350W will use about 20% of the battery. At 500W it’s more like 25%. The display tells you either current W or battery remaining. It has a low power limp hole mode - I’ve only seen that once to see what it did.

It can give you a boost (750w?) for a brief period (1 min?) but I’ve never used that. The only time I can imagine that is if for some reason I needed to push the main boat around on a marina.

We have an invertor on board so can charge the battery (a 12v charger is an option I believe). For weekend Trips we don’t bother - because typical anchorages are much closer to shore than our mooring.

It’s incredibly quiet. You can have a conversation over it. Wildlife seems unperturbed.

The handle is excellently designed for carrying with good balance, unlike ANY outboard I have ever lifted which have always been awkward and top heavy.

The carry bag struck me as annoying tat - but actually is quite nice if you are sticking it in the car.

If you leave the bracket installed it is really quick to fit to the boat.

It’s small enough to store in a locker etc - but if you want to store on your existing push pit bracket you’ll need a second saddle, to make something special or to sacrifice the advantage of click and go. It doesn’t smell and doesn’t care if placed on its side.

It doesn’t have a removable battery: That is probably good for reliability but bad when it eventually needs replaced. It also removes the option to buy a second battery for more range.

The kill cord is short and easily pulled out. I think that is common to most electric o/bs. Definitely it’s most irritating feature.

Security is potentially weak. It doesn’t have any easy way to lock in place with a decent lock you may want to talk to your insurer.

Mine died suddenly after winter storage, but was replaced with no fuss and I’ve not found any other reports of the same symptoms so I think I was just unlucky. I doubt it will last as long as your existing 2 str did.

There’s a USB-C output on the engine - which might have options for lights at night?

My wife and teenage kids feel confident they can use it - no pull starts, chokes, special touches etc needed.

It isn’t cheap but I think yachtsman doing 200m to their own mooring and then 100m to the pub at the other end, it will do a good job. If we were replacing we would definitely get one of the really small e-outboards. Most likely an ePropulsion, unless something else had a much better price / reputation by then.
 
Can anyone work out whether connecting a 2ft x 1ft solar panel would be a viable option for charging during day between journeys.

Edit - forum responses have been incredibly useful in thinking about whether to buy a e-Lite or a longer pair of oars.
 
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Egret said:
Can anyone work out whether connecting a 2ft x 1ft solar panel would be a viable option for charging during day between journeys
Click to expand...
With the epropulsion spirit I purchased the branded 100 watt foldable solar panel plus you require the associated 12 volt charging box. I have once got the battery fully charged and quite often topped it up. It is slow ...
I might purchase a fast charger so that I can get the battery charged in a few hours rather than the 6 or 7 hours required by the normal charger. More money !
 
Egret said:
Can anyone work out whether connecting a 2ft x 1ft solar panel would be a viable option for charging during day between journeys
Click to expand...
I think a panel that size will probably give you about ~10W in real world if carefully positioned, good sun etc?

So ignoring the issues of how you would connect it and any losses in the process - if you used the motor at 400W for 15 minutes would need 10 hrs of good sun to completely recharge it. Of course if you used it for 5 minutes at 300W (2 people at good rowing speed a few hundred m) you should be able to put that back in on a nice day.

I have a feeling it doesn’t charge at 12V so you need to step up, and it has a particular connector so you would want the 12V charger, I don’t know if it would work when the input current direct from a panel is lower than it wants.
 
Any issues with getting insurance with/for one of the main types of electric outboard for dinghy with integral battery - how much extra roughly?
 
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