Electric outboard - recommendations

The Torqeedo 1103 only seems to be offered in standard and long shaft versions.

The Standard is 625mm from top of transom to centreline of the propeller.
The Long is 750mm.
 
We are 8 years into using a Torqueedo 1003 to push a 3m heavy rib - it has been a dream and easy to charge from the main boat’s domestic batteries.

I can spend all day fettling on the boat and not have to go ashore for shopping trips just in case my wife can’t start the outboard.

If I was trying to fight a tide for a mile or more either way I’d have stuck with petrol.
 
Tranona said:
Yes, they are sold in the thousands - just not for use on dinghies as tenders.
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They are sold for use wherever anybody wants to use them, and I have seen more of them in use on dinghies than I have Torqeedos, which are a very expensive niche product. Having to use separate batteries is a bit of a disadvantage, which is probably why dinghy-sized outboards almost invariably have integral fuel tanks.

As I have said many times, given that they have been on the market in the UK for at least 30 years, if they really were a viable product for use on tenders they would be everywhere and Torqeedo etc would never have got a look in.
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They haven't lost out to Torqeedo, which has a negligible (and almost certainly smaller) share of the outboard market. They and Torqeedo have both lost out to petrol outboards.

The only thing that might shift the balance a bit is Lithium batteries, but once you combine those (at current costs) with the more powerful models much of the cost advantage disappears.
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A reasonably powerful Bison + 36Ah AGM battery cost us roughly 10% as much as a Torqeedo. A £210 40Ah lithium battery would bump that up to 20%.
 
We have recently purchased an ePropulsion (3hp) from Nestaway Boats – Portable Boat Specialists – nesting, inflatable, folding, origami boats, kayaks and canoes. This goes on our Zodiac 240 (with a short shaft).
We tried it "In anger" a couple of weeks ago - to test how long the battery would last. The "test" was: against the tide up-stream from Wiseman's Reach (on the Fowey River). We reached St Winnow and ran out of water. We then motored downstream to Fowey, then back to Wiseman's Reach (the charge used was ~75% of max, at moderate speed on average).

The overall "feel" is less power compared to the Suzuki outboard (2.5hp) BUT this may be also due to the effect that the noise is practically nothing... and a noisy ICE always gives you a feel of power... (think about the souped-up scooters).

The simplicity of use is astounding. The only "drawback" is that charging is slow (on mains it takes ~7 hrs from 25% to 100%), and I have yet to try doing this using a solar panel (next test).

The two parts (battery and shaft/motor) are really convenient to move on and off the dinghy, and the plugs/connectors seem reasonably constructed (not flimsy).

Fingers crossed that the positive experience continues.
 
JumbleDuck said:
They are sold for use wherever anybody wants to use them, and I have seen more of them in use on dinghies than I have Torqeedos, which are a very expensive niche product. Having to use separate batteries is a bit of a disadvantage, which is probably why dinghy-sized outboards almost invariably have integral fuel tanks.



They haven't lost out to Torqeedo, which has a negligible (and almost certainly smaller) share of the outboard market. They and Torqeedo have both lost out to petrol outboards.



A reasonably powerful Bison + 36Ah AGM battery cost us roughly 10% as much as a Torqeedo. A £210 40Ah lithium battery would bump that up to 20%.
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Not sure where you sail JD, but for balance, down here (Devon) Torqueedos are not at all uncommon and the numbers are very noticeably increasing. I have never seen a real life trolling motor outside a chandlery or boat show.
 
stranded said:
Not sure where you sail JD, but for balance, down here (Devon) Torqueedos are not at all uncommon and the numbers are very noticeably increasing. I have never seen a real life trolling motor outside a chandlery or boat show.
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West Coast of Scotland, where everyone is poverty-stricken. I wouldn't say no to a Torqeedo myself if it was a third of the price and didn't look as if a four year old made the prototype out of Lego.
 
JumbleDuck said:
West Coast of Scotland, where everyone is poverty-stricken. I wouldn't say no to a Torqeedo myself if it was a third of the price and didn't look as if a four year old made the prototype out of Lego.
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Can’t argue about the price but petrol outboards are hardly things of beauty.
 
I’m waiting patiently for a Chinese entrepreneur to ‘do a Chinaspacher’ on Torqueedo.

A Chineedo?
A Torqueedon’t?
 
Aeolus said:
It's called an e-propulsion. And I wouldn't be surprised if Torqeedos are manufactured in China too
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I read that E-Propulsion was set up by ex-Torqeedo employees. And they are about the same price.
Definitely room in the market for a slightly lower tech version of this.
The amount of battery power you get for your money on a Torqeedo is just tiny. About £100-worth of LFP cells. So that isn't a limiting factor on cost.
 
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