Manta electric outboard

[ChattingLil]

Anyone got any experience using an electric outboard for their tender (Manta or other)?

After having rowed what felt like miles against tide last weekend I am absolutely fed up up with my unreliable outboard and looking for a replacement. It seems a new electric outboard and battery can be had for about the same price as a second hand (and potentially still unreliable) 2hp petrol o/b.

Any opinions or recommendations?

(we have done everything possible with the current o/b including having it professionally serviced. It starts perfectly, but just conks out after anything between 1 and 10 mins).

thanks
Lisa

 

[sailorman]

get a good 2T o/b imho

 

[VicS]

Electric outboards may be fine if you want to go places relatively slowly but absolutely silently.

Not heard of Manta before but the really decent electric ones like Torqedo cost an arm and a leg.

Beware that they are fairly low powered affairs but the makers woo potential customers by quoting "thrust " figures or "static bollard pull". Fine if you want to pull a static bollard but not so useful if you want to make good progress against a strongly flowing tide

Don't forget that in the majority of cases you have to lug a heavy battery about and you also have to have the means to recharge it. Not so easy as carrying a gallon of petrol to refill a small petrol powered outboard tank.

The better and more powerful ones use batteries of much higher voltages than 12. I think the latest Torqedo is 48 volts.

A decent 2nd hand Seagull will cost you a lot less and last for ever. 40 Featherweight for a small dinghy up to say 8ft or so. A 40+ for 10ft, 12 ft or so and one of the Century models for a larger heavier dinghy.

Noisy, messy and heavy are the drawbacks.

 

[lw395]

Definitely a Yamaha or older, Yamaha derived Mariner 2HP.
You should be having words with whoever 'professionally' serviced your motor. Unless you are forgetting to undo the air inlet on the fuel cap?
I trust the seagull suggestion was in jest? They are fine things but only for those who can keep them in 1st class fettle.
The amount of energy in a battery is quite limited.
Say 50Ah at 12V, thats 600Wh or about half a horsepower-hour allowing for reasonable efficiency, and you don't want to be flattening the battery totally. I can see some uses for them, but probably not against the tide.

 

[Chrusty1]

A nice 2.5 four stroke Yamaha, Suzuki, or Mariner, would be my choice, VERY reliable, and no messing with two stroke oil. Yes I know you can only lay them down one way, except the Yamaha you can lay that down two ways, but the pros, far outway the cons. Bags of torque to handle the tide as well.

Unless you have more than a modicum of mechanical sympathy, I would leave the Seagulls alone, they are horrible things really, and not for the faint heated!.............

Runs for cover!

 

[VicS]

[ QUOTE ]
I trust the seagull suggestion was in jest? They are fine things but only for those who can keep them in 1st class fettle

[/ QUOTE ]

Not in jest at all! I have a Feartherweight (1974 vintage) which I use on my tender and a 40+ which I used to use on my Mirror (1973 model)

Maintenance requirements are minmal. Gear box oil change, but they have no seals to worry about and are designed to run on a mix of oil and water anyway.
The water pump does not have a flexible impeller so that never needs changing.
A very simple carburetter so no special skills required to clean that should it be necessary.
I think I changed the spark plug once.
Never looked at the points, but they are accessible without removing the flywheel.
Flush with fresh water as you would any other small outboard.
Sufficently oily even if converted to 25:1 fuel mix to protect the outside from the ravages of saltwater use.
All parts available from Saving old Seagulls in the unlikely event that any are required.
No recoil starter, so replacing the starter cord is easy! Ever tried coaxing one of those recoil springs back in when it has escaped like a caged tiger waiting for someone to open the door.

"fine things but only for those who can keep them in 1st class fettle."
They more or less look after themselves.

 

[lw395]

I think reading between the lines of the original post, our man is not a potential seagull owner.
Some seagulls are fine, but I suspect the ones that are for sale are the grumpy ones? The good ones stay with the same owner for at least two decades.
If someone has it in them to run a seagull or a british motorbike, they don't need my encouragement! I quite like both, but wouldn't persuade anyone to buy either!
I would recommend the Yamaha to anyone, as being light, simple, cheap, easy to start, clean, needs minimal maintenance etc etc.
A shiny new fourstroke is a good option, but I think they are heavier, and its about another £300. I can find other ways of spending £300. But at least you get a warranty, though you will have to have it serviced.
The usual problems with outboards are fouled plug or water in the carb. Fixing this (on the mooring) should be on the comp crew syllabus imho!

 

[davidej]

Have PMed you as your O/b problem sound just like one I had. Not any of the usual faults outlined above!

 

[Evadne]

I've been using an electric outboard for my tender for many years now. It is great for getting a dinghy out to and back from a mooring, if you don't want to use a petrol engine.
The first one was a DC (trolling) motor, 24lb thrust. Not enough to push a dinghy against more than a F5, but it could get us out to the mooring a bit faster than rowing if it was nice sailing weather, silently and without all the other problems I've always had with petrol outboards (failure to start, the ability to stall, smell, noise, petrol spillage, that sort of thing.). Main disadvantages are the lack of power - a 36lb or more is what is required - and the weight of the battery. I used a 60Ah leisure battery that sat in the bottom of the dinghy. Also it had to be charged at home, and would only last a couple of hours at most.
I upgraded to the Torqeedo when it died, because it looked like a nice toy and I could afford it. I got the 801, which has sufficient power to flex the transom alarmingly at full power. It has halved the journey time, even at half power. according to the GPS it pushes our tender at 3 knots at half throttle, 4.4 at full. The big disadvantage, apart form the eye-watering cost, is the size of the battery. It is also noisier than the DC motor. At half throttle you get no more than an hour and a half, maybe two hours at a bit lower speed I reckon. There are settings for constant duration and maximum duration, I've not played with it enough to confidently say which is the best yet. I did an article for our owners association here if you're interested in hearing a bit more.