Outboard - smallest, lightest, best - petrol or electric?

JumbleDuck said:
Honda 2.3 short shaft: 13.5kg dry weight

Torqueedo 1003CS: 14.4kg including battery
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Suzuki 2.2hp 2-stroke: 12kg :)

Stores any way up, has no oil to leak, has valves on top and bottom of the petrol tank so that doesn't leak either. I can carry it around the deck with one hand around the leg, or put it comfortably over my shoulder for a longer walk. Won't get anything on the plane but pushes an AX4 with three large people adequately around a harbour. Runs reliably and starts even with a gentle half-pull.

I wouldn't totally pooh-pooh the Torqueedo, but the price makes it an irrelevant curiosity from my point of view. I see no benefit whatsoever in switching to a small 4-stroke.

Kelpie said:
What I don't get is why it's boat engines that are affected by this, and not strimmers, mowers, etc etc, of which there must be hundreds of times more in use.
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duncan99210 said:
And equally why you can still buy two stroke outboards provided you can certify it's for 'business use'.....
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Because the emissions limit is in the Recreational Craft Directive, which doesn't apply to either of those examples (nor racing boats like ZapCats).

Pete
 
Kelpie said:
Polluting the back of your car by dribbling some oil out is not in any way the same as emitting a fine mist of unburnt carcinogenic particles into the air from a two stroke's exhaust.
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If we're going to worry about that, we ought to worry much more about marine diesels.
 
prv said:
I wouldn't totally pooh-pooh the Torqueedo, but the price makes it an irrelevant curiosity from my point of view. I see no benefit whatsoever in switching to a small 4-stroke.
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My Drascombe came with a Mariner 5 4-stroke. It's much noisier than the 2-stroke Yamaha 4 I used to have. All that clattering valve gear!
 
FWB said:
See Dylan’s website.
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Alas I just don't have as much money to throw at sailing. At the moment we don't carry an outboard at all, but of we got one it would be electric. My hope is that other manufacturers will cotton on and produce electric outboards in a less gold-plated way. Do battery packs really need to have GPS receivers built in?
 
JumbleDuck said:
My hope is that other manufacturers will cotton on and produce electric outboards in a less gold-plated way. Do battery packs really need to have GPS receivers built in?
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Good point, the GPS in the Torqeedo is needed to help it calculate range, speed, etc. GPS chips are, well, as cheap as chips anyway, so won't add greatly to the cost.

My biggest gripe with my Torqeedo is that the LCD display is practically impossible to read. Otherwise, it's a great bit of kit.
 
pvb said:
Good point, the GPS in the Torqeedo is needed to help it calculate range, speed, etc. GPS chips are, well, as cheap as chips anyway, so won't add greatly to the cost.
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True. And the battery is only (sic) £499. Which, since the whole thing costs £1,699, means that they are charging an £1,200 for an electric motor, some control electronics and some injection moulded plastic. And, of course, for the development costs. And, of course, if the market will bear it yadda yadda yadda.

I'd buy one like a shot at £500. At £1,000 I'd have to tussle with my conscience for a few weeks. At £1,700 ... no chance.
 
What is the life of a battery for the Torqeedo?
On the Seamark Nunn site it stated that the battery might lose 4% of capacity per annum - and more if used a lot in the heat (not an issue in Scotland!) or “if left fully charged for long periods” - apparently it should be left only 50% charged.

My Mariner 2 stroke must be 20 years old now but running perfectly well. A battery losing 4% per annum, as a best case, would need replacing at least every 10 years - and seems impractical to store at 50% as generally will want to have fully charged and ready to go.
Anybody got a Torqueedo over 5 years old able to comment on battery capacity?
 
JumbleDuck said:
True. And the battery is only (sic) £499. Which, since the whole thing costs £1,699, means that they are charging an £1,200 for an electric motor, some control electronics and some injection moulded plastic. And, of course, for the development costs. And, of course, if the market will bear it yadda yadda yadda.

I'd buy one like a shot at £500. At £1,000 I'd have to tussle with my conscience for a few weeks. At £1,700 ... no chance.
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£1700??? Not sure where you generally buy stuff, but if you think the Torqeedo costs £1700 it's no wonder you don't think you can afford one! Currently, the 1003S is £1340 at Seamark Nunn, and probably cheaper elsewhere.
 
dunedin said:
What is the life of a battery for the Torqeedo?
On the Seamark Nunn site it stated that the battery might lose 4% of capacity per annum - and more if used a lot in the heat (not an issue in Scotland!) or “if left fully charged for long periods” - apparently it should be left only 50% charged.

My Mariner 2 stroke must be 20 years old now but running perfectly well. A battery losing 4% per annum, as a best case, would need replacing at least every 10 years - and seems impractical to store at 50% as generally will want to have fully charged and ready to go.
Anybody got a Torqueedo over 5 years old able to comment on battery capacity?
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Ours is just 3 years old but no sign of any detoriation yet. With zero noticeable fuel costs I don't mind changing the battery eventually particularly as the technology moves on. The same battery now gives 950 whatevers compared to the 550 our battery was spec'd at.
 
pvb said:
£1700??? Not sure where you generally buy stuff, but if you think the Torqeedo costs £1700 it's no wonder you don't think you can afford one! Currently, the 1003S is £1340 at Seamark Nunn, and probably cheaper elsewhere.
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Thanks. If you clink on the links in my post you'll see that I was going by the direct-order prices from Torqeedo.
 
Robert Wilson said:
That is a great pity (50 units!)

Why do you say only an hours usage?
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You can buy them singly on ebay. A friend of mine bought 10 to replace some tired Honda 2 outboards on a fleet of bumper boats. He said they all unbelievably lasted just over an hour before expiring. He actually sild them for spares and repair for what he bought them for!!
 
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