Electric outboards ?

itsonlymoney

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Does anyone have any experience of electric outboards ie.
How long will a charge last on my 2.4m tender ?
How long to charge up ?
Any good generally ?
Any other info ?
Ian
 

Aardee

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My only experience is using one on a small fishing dory. It was made by Shakespeare and was the equivalent (I think...) to about 2.5HP - it was "officially" rated at 24lb of thrust (which I'd be proud of /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

With a full charge (overnight), it was good for 4-5 hours trolling at a steady speed.

Often thought about getting one to use with a tender, a lot quieter and lighter than the usual...

Hope this helps,

Graham.
 

itsonlymoney

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Thanks. So they last for quite a while. Are they as fast as a comparible 2 stroke ? and what type of battery do you need and do you get them with the motor ?
Ian
Incidentally I have found some 28lb thrust available for £130 incl carriage
 

Aardee

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From memory, it had a small-ish (half a car battery) separate proprietary battery unit but, as it was 12v DC, could also be run off a car battery.

On flat inland water, it seemed comparable with a conventional 2HP O/B at fishing/ trolling speed, not sure how it performed flat out (we also has a 5HP Mariner for getting to & from base).

These seem to be predominantly aimed at the leisure fishing market. Is there an anglers forum you can try???
 

Lakesailor

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I know a fisherman who uses an electric o.b. on the lake, he has a largish grp boat (about 15ft I think).
I did catch him with a petrol o.b. the other day. His excuse was that it was really cheap and he was just giving it a whirl.

I know having to lug the battery about annoys him. Also if a petrol outboard runs out of juice you just top it up. What about an electric?

Oh. He works for the LDNPA. Aaaaaaaaarghhhh
 

SimonA

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I have one for my tender ( a small 7 foot flat bottomed dinghy). The motor is a Motor Guide 30.

On the top speed it moves the dinghy at a respectable speed. There are 5 forward speeds and 2 reverse speeds. I have an 80 AH lesuire battery which provides enough power for about 3 hours use providing you don't use the top speed the whole time. They are very quiet in use which is the main attraction over a petrol outboard.

They are mainly for fresh water use, they have different models for salt water which cost twice as much.
 

muchy_

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I have one for my tender. 7ft inflatable with 36lb thrust motor. It is one of the most useful bits of kit I've bought. When anchored off you just clip the motor on, drop the battery in and off you go. No noise and VERY controllable compered to a petrol unit. You can nip around as much as you want and wont disturb anyone and the battery is just connected to the engine start battery with jump leads so it is fully charged all the time.
 

mercman

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We supply them the Mercury thruster range from 22Ib thrust to 48Ib prices range from £119 up £450 inc 2yr warranty. Very reliable and very quiet. Weights are lighter than say 3.3hp-5hp and as said about 3-4hrs use from a decent 80Ah battery
 

itsonlymoney

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Seems to me that there's a lot of weight from a 85A leasuire battery in my 2.4m inflatable! Whats the deal with this issue ? Can a smaller golf cart type battery be used ?
 

itsonlymoney

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<font color="blue">Simon & Muchy </font>

Your dinghy sounds like my size. How do you store the battery safely on the dinghy and is the weight not a problem.
Ian
 

muchy_

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I just stand the battery in the bottom of the dinghy, no probs so far. As for the weight, the motor weighs very little and the battery is lighter than a petrol outboard (tho only just) but if you place it in the middle of the dinghy its no problem at all. In fact, I find that when I'm in the dinghy alone it goes some way to balancing the weight of me on one side of it. But I find that I only want to use it to get to shore so a small car battery is fine for a couple of hours use.
 

cmarine

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but a lasting charge only depends on how quick you use the elc motor as some of the larger motoguide thrusters have a veri speed system also my i recomend Nauticalia Boats Shepperton 01932 254844 as this is where i got mine and they do good deals on elc motors with bat chargers and 12v bats. PS make sure you get spare sher pins!
 

cmarine

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also you can get a battery box if you are worryed about leaking bat acid in your boat. i got a bat box and a red key isolator switch, cut a hole in bat box for switch and fitted it in to box so i did not have to worry about bat going flat.
 
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