Electric Outboards just not there yet?

[onesea]

Year in year out as my aged 2 stroke keeps aging I look at options.

I also watch see electric outboards, every year I see new ones appear proudly carried down to there dinghy. What I have don't see is the 2+ year old one being used week in week out.

I do see plently of petrol engines new and old pushing tenders.

Looking into the 2hp -3hp range petrol weighs 12 kg all In electric 18 kg give or take, I can see how that would be tiresome.

Electric might be fine for some, they maybe great if marina based with charging onboard and the dinghy only comes out of the locker occasionally. There I can see the practicality and reliability if that was my main use I would consider.

As a regular work horse I just don't see there usage increasing. By rights there should be a few where I sail however I rarely see any and none with battle scars of a few seasons under there belt.

It's frustrating I can see the attraction however I get the feeling are they really up to the task yet.

 

[Stemar]

A 3.5hp 4T engine is more like 18kg, and, if I'm not mistaken, a lot of the 2 - 3hp jobs are just downrated versions of the same engine. I rarely use my OB for more than a few minutes at a time, so range isn't an issue, but I need a fair bit of persuasion to spend £2K or more rather than £750 or so for the OB. I can buy a lot of petrol for £1250. Halve the price of electric and I'm interested.

Yes, I know I can buy electric for a lot less, but to get equivalent quality to a Tohatsu that's about what it takes. I could also spend less on the petrol engine, but I've heard a few tales about the cheapies for both fuels.

 

[Bouba]

Electric is the future regardless if it is not reliable or too expensive or no facilities to charge them.
two strokes are no longer being manufactured and ice cars will stop production in a very short time.
Many of us are too old to be affected and a total banning of existing engines is a very long way off.
But nonetheless electric is the future..whether we like it or not

 

[[2574]]

I went electric last year. I don't think you see many old ones about because they've not been about very long. My 18kg EPropulsion weighs in at 18kg but crucially comes in two bits - battery is 10kg and leg os 8kg. It's a ten second job to connect them together. So its actually a max 10kg lift.

We charge from shorepower, solar, diesel genny, engine alternator (via inverter). We use our dinghy for short trips to shore, we don't do long trips. It's ideal for what it is designed for. It's a lot of money, agreed. But no petrol on board is a big plus. It's also very clean, no oil, fumes etc. Can shove in any locker in any orientation.

Its very quiet in use, that is such a huge benefit, escpecially for my old ears I can tell you. It's a delight to push along slowly in silence. It's has as much ooomph as my old 3.3 2 stroke. Its range is perfectly adequate for our needs. I don't think it would do in a Caribbean anchorage with a mile to the dock through a big swell - but then neither would the 3.3hp 2 stroke.

I love ours and wouldn't swap back - MRDA.....

skip to 35s to avoid the preamble.....

 

[Fr J Hackett]

It depends on how big your tender is and where you are likely to anchor, from what I have seen an electric outboard like a Torqeedo are incredibly expensive at about £6K for a 6HP compared to about £1.3K for a 6HP 4 stroke which is what I used to use to drive my 3.1M Zodiac. My requirements were that it had to take 2 to 4 people comfortably and get on the plane easily and remain dry.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Perhaps the difference is in usage .

If your boat lives on a swinging mooring, and some distance away , it would be difficult to make an electric outboard an all rounder, i.e. there and back to the boat , plus trips and adventures whilst away cruising for the weekend. You would also probably have to take the electric home each time and remember to charge it up for the next cruise. Rather than leave the petrol engine , perhaps in the club shed. I'm sure, in time, the problem of storing electricity will improve. Sulphur looks promising at the moment.

 

[richardsn9]

I was an early adopter of the Torqueedo and bought one in 2010. It still runs well and I have saved petrol and servicing costs over that time, which cancels out a big part of the additional costs. Convenience of no smells in the car, a breaks down to lift in and out of the dinghy. The newer version is an improvement on my original one. If you have a very long journey or want a fast trip to the boat perhaps not for you, but seems to suit most moorings. I would highly recommend it.

 

[Supertramp]

+1 for #7.

I bought a secondhand Torqeedo 10 years ago. I don't use it a lot but it was my main engine on a previous boat for 8 years. It's not perfect and I bought another 2nd hand battery to help my range anxiety. I'm certain it's the future but would be happy for some of the complexity to be replaced by simpler user serviceable engineering. I don't think a Torqeedo gearbox would take high mileage very well!

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’d love one, but have anxiety. The tide runs at 2.5 knots at our mooring, and its 800m up or down tide of the landing, so at about 4 kn, its a bloody long slog back against the tide.

 

[ProMariner]

Have the use of a Torqeedo this year, I think it's a lovely thing, reliable, powerful and beautifully quiet and controllable. Just can't bear to leave it on a dinghy on the beach out of line of site while going to shop etc, too expensive to shrug off getting it stolen. The only problem I can see currently is price, if they can bring them down to petrol outboard cost, or make it light enough to put in a backpack, I would buy one in a heartbeat. Looking forward to a world where the same battery pack and charger will run an outboard, an electric bike, an e-wincher, a vacuum cleaner, a cordless drill and a lawnmower. One day.

 

[James_Calvert]

....... Looking forward to a world where the same battery pack and charger will run an outboard, an electric bike, an e-wincher, a vacuum cleaner, a cordless drill and a lawnmower. One day.

And charge your phone and jump start your diesel car or boat engine?

 

[newtothis]

And charge your phone and jump start your diesel car or boat engine?

It's bound to happen. But a week later Apple will do an 'upgrade' and then there will be a competing 'standard'.

 

[Frogmogman]

I went electric last year. I don't think you see many old ones about because they've not been about very long. My 18kg EPropulsion weighs in at 18kg but crucially comes in two bits - battery is 10kg and leg os 8kg. It's a ten second job to connect them together. So its actually a max 10kg lift.

We charge from shorepower, solar, diesel genny, engine alternator (via inverter). We use our dinghy for short trips to shore, we don't do long trips. It's ideal for what it is designed for. It's a lot of money, agreed. But no petrol on board is a big plus. It's also very clean, no oil, fumes etc. Can shove in any locker in any orientation.

Its very quiet in use, that is such a huge benefit, escpecially for my old ears I can tell you. It's a delight to push along slowly in silence. It's has as much ooomph as my old 3.3 2 stroke. Its range is perfectly adequate for our needs. I don't think it would do in a Caribbean anchorage with a mile to the dock through a big swell - but then neither would the 3.3hp 2 stroke.

I love ours and wouldn't swap back - MRDA.....

skip to 35s to avoid the preamble.....

I’ve just taken delivery of an ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo (the one with the hydrogeneration feature - I’ll be interested to see how that works out). I totally agree with you about the attractions of not keeping petrol on board. The quiet running is something I like too.

I agree that for someone whose boat is a distance away on a swinging mooring that an electric motor might not be ideal. Mine is in on a marina on the côte d’armor, so keeping it charged shouldn’t be too much of an issue. I’ll let you all know how I get on with it.

I now need to work out what the best discreet GPS tracker is for it.

 

[Daydream believer]

A friend of mine has an electric one & keeps getting a software issue which he cannot solve, so the other day we saw him in his dinghy with the electric PLUS the 2 stroke outboard attached.
Personally I felt better off with my 60 year old seagull 40+. At least I can fix it.

 

[sail sail]

Go electric. You won't regret it. So quiet, clean and easy!

 

[dunedin]

Have the use of a Torqeedo this year, I think it's a lovely thing, reliable, powerful and beautifully quiet and controllable. Just can't bear to leave it on a dinghy on the beach out of line of site while going to shop etc, too expensive to shrug off getting it stolen. The only problem I can see currently is price, if they can bring them down to petrol outboard cost, or make it light enough to put in a backpack, I would buy one in a heartbeat. Looking forward to a world where the same battery pack and charger will run an outboard, an electric bike, an e-wincher, a vacuum cleaner, a cordless drill and a lawnmower. One day.

Yes.
But that issue of very large price differential and consequent risk of theft is a very big one- probably the deal breaker.
We have left our dinghy and outboard unattended for many hours on countless occasions. And carrying a motor or battery pack with us ashore is out of the question when climbing hills etc.

 

[[2574]]

Yes.
But that issue of very large price differential and consequent risk of theft is a very big one- probably the deal breaker.
We have left our dinghy and outboard unattended for many hours on countless occasions. And carrying a motor or battery pack with us ashore is out of the question when climbing hills etc.

I agree that theft is a big issue, increasingly so. We do what we can within reason to prevent theft by physical measures. Also, once away from the densely populated areas (Clyde) we feel that the risk reduces when out west. After that it’s down to the insurers to deal with it I’m afraid, one can’t cruise in fear of the outboard being nicked……

incidentally, there are Meter Maid electricity meters being nicked from shorepower leads in marinas, a new meter is about £200 retail so no doubt this attracts buyers on gumtree and suchlike - which won’t have escaped the notice of the nefarious low life who see that as a value creation opportunity…..beware and make your meter unattractive somehow.

 

[Frogmogman]

A friend of mine has an electric one & keeps getting a software issue which he cannot solve, so the other day we saw him in his dinghy with the electric PLUS the 2 stroke outboard attached.
Personally I felt better off with my 60 year old seagull 40+. At least I can fix it.

A bit Luddite Daydream.

It’s like saying “I won’t get a computer because a friend once had a software issue. I’ll be sticking with my abacus”

 

[fredrussell]

I’ve just bought a relatively ancient Torqeedo T800, which I believe is the first outboard they made. Still on its original battery which charges to approx 75% - not bad for a ten year old battery. One thing I can say for certain is I’m not going back to petrol outboards. Electric outboards are a joy to use.

 

[Stemar]

beware and make your meter unattractive somehow.

Do the same with your outboard - I postcoded the outside bits and the fuel tank on mine, but over the years, other wear and scratches made it pretty much invisible, so when I foolishly left it within reach, the local druggies made off with it. Plod weren't interested. Here's your crime number, off you go. Not in so many words, but the meaning was clear. The person taking the report didn't even know what an outboard was