Torqeedo

It was the best money we ever spent 8 years ago - and the engines have got better since in design and battery capacity.

Pros (compared to our Honda 5hp):
- Breaks into quickly assembled lightweight pieces which can be passed across to dinghy single handed
- Starts by turning the throttle, so I never have to leave the boat to accompany my wife shopping just in case
- Only once ever had range anxiety and that was when anchored 0.75m from a town in choppy conditions - fine going both ways even though we started at only 50% charge but we were planning on going out for the evening just 2 hours later and weren’t sure it would charge up enough in time. Our 550Whr battery is long superseded on new models with a 950Whr.
- Never have to go searching for fuel as marina electricity or just our own battery bank can easily recharge. And no smelly fuel.

Cons
Price
Can’t get up on the plane - but frankly as we mostly motor through anchorages that’s not an issue 99% of the time
 
I had a Torqeedo 1003 with the smaller battery for five years, using it on my tender in Chichester Harbour. It was brilliant except for two things: the battery offered too little power for the tidal currents - a half mile run against the peak ebb would use half the capacity. The other problem was that the shear pin in the propellor would break annually, usually at a time of maximum inconvenience. It was tricky to replace, and impractical on the boat itself. The larger battery and the sturdier shear pin (possible because of the non-gearbox design) of the newer 1103 model should address both of my concerns.

Last year I replaced it with an e-propulsion - it is faultless! And cheaper than the equivalent torqeedo.
 
There is a recent thread on this on the strength of which I bought a Torqeedo 1103 from Arthur Beale. I just got in before the recent price rise and with the 10% Cruising Association discount, it cost £1500. The experience compared to my mostly reliable 3.5hp Tohatsu 2 stroke is nothing short of miraculous simply because it is so quiet. Being able to assemble it in three pieces is a lot easier than manhandling a heavy lump onto the transom. The GPS range calculation is very reassuring. It's worth getting the overpriced separate DC charger. I have a lot of excess power available from the lithium conversion so that can go overnight into the Torqeedo battery. The control of speed and availability of reverse makes docking and arrival at the boat less of a ramming exercise. Perhaps the biggest performance indicator is that this is the first outboard that my wife is fully happy to operate. I can't compare it to the Epropulsion but compared to the 2 stroke it's a step up. Also very good to no longer have to carry petrol aboard.
 
I recently purchased the Epropulsion Extra Short drive for use on tender. First impressions- extremely well engineered unit, silent, high torque, battery lasts more than enough time for a tender. I completely concur with wife/older children now being able to safely/easily/confidently being able to operate outboard as opposed to the relative struggle of the petrol equivalent. I personally like not having to have a can of fuel on board. My only negative is that the noise of petrol made the children feel like there were going faster, the speed is the same but the complaint now is that its 'boring dad' (because its silent). I personally equate boring to safer as people are more aware and less shaken by engine noise..
 
I bought a new Torqeedo 1103 which I haven't tried out yet.

I notice the leg is about 6" longer than the Yamaha 2b is used to have and I wonder if this is going to be a significant problem when using it on beaches or slipways. Should I be thinking of increasing the height of the transom? Or have Torqeedo ownwers not found it to be a significant problem?
 
Poignard said:
I bought a new Torqeedo 1103 which I haven't tried out yet.

I notice the leg is about 6" longer than the Yamaha 2b is used to have and I wonder if this is going to be a significant problem when using it on beaches or slipways. Should I be thinking of increasing the height of the transom? Or have Torqeedo ownwers not found it to be a significant problem?
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You didn't get the long-legged version by mistake? If not, approaching a beach there is a lever to lift which allows the leg to kick up. (You can't use reverse with this.) Also the weight of the battery gives a high fulcrum so it's easy to swing the leg of the motor up high where it automatically locks. A small lever releases it. But on a shelving pebbly beach paddling the last few yards would be wise.
 
Poey50 said:
You didn't get the long-legged version by mistake? If not, approaching a beach there is a lever to lift which allows the leg to kick up. (You can't use reverse with this.) Also the weight of the battery gives a high fulcrum so it's easy to swing the leg of the motor up high where it automatically locks. A small lever releases it. But on a shelving pebbly beach paddling the last few yards would be wise.
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I have what they call the standard version, which is the shortest.

I was wondering how much further out I would be from the beach/slipway before I could use it but my question was stupid since the answer obviously depends on the slope!!
 
The important measurement is from the top of the transom to the waterline, which on most dinghies is around 13-15" to take short shaft motors. A long shaft will be approx 6" longer so quite a visual difference.
 
peterf said:
. My only negative is that the noise of petrol made the children feel like there were going faster, the speed is the same...
Click to expand...

I think it is not only children feeling that. I have obviously not done a strict head to head comparison, but the noise made by the Suzuki 2.2 outboard definitely made it sound faster... ;)

Having written this: I am still very very satisfied with the epropulsion unit supplied by Nestaways
 
Tranona said:
The important measurement is from the top of the transom to the waterline, which on most dinghies is around 13-15" to take short shaft motors. A long shaft will be approx 6" longer so quite a visual difference.
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The transom on my Achilles dinghy is 39cm (15.4") from top to bottom. From top to w/l will of course be less, depending on the load being carried (3-4" , I guess).

The length of my Torqeedo from top of transom to bottom of its skeg is 78cm (30.7") so that means there will be 39cm (15.4") below the bottom of the transom.

The propeller diameter is 26cm (10.2") and the skeg protrudes 2cm (0,8") below the bottom of the propeller so, if my sums are right, the top of the propeller will be 11cm (4.3") below the bottom of the transom.

So, perhaps not excessively deep? I will just have to be a bit more careful near the shore!

I dread to think what Torqeedo propellers cost.
 
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We are really pleased with ours, and have the standard shaft, but it is quite a bit longer than the 2.5hp Suzuki that we had before. We certainly need to lift it well before we would have lifted the Suzuki - second time around I might be tempted to look at the ePropulsion extra short shaft.
 
I have had a t1003 for years

Positives
  • Starts without issue
  • Wife / children use it
  • No smelly oil
  • No petrol
  • Breaks down into easy to move parts
  • Easy to store parts
  • Silent
  • Did i mention it starts?
  • No Co2 emissions as charge on solar
  • No need to clean carbs
  • No need to buy petrol
  • No servicing costs (imepellor, gearbox oil, grease, plugs)

Negatives
  • range on older battery is not enormous
  • Initial cost
  • Does not plane
I will take the positives.

i did notice the epropulsion charges if towed which is nice.
 
Poignard said:
I bought a new Torqeedo 1103 which I haven't tried out yet.

I notice the leg is about 6" longer than the Yamaha 2b is used to have and I wonder if this is going to be a significant problem when using it on beaches or slipways. Should I be thinking of increasing the height of the transom? Or have Torqeedo ownwers not found it to be a significant problem?
Click to expand...
I had to raise the transom of my dinghy by a few centimeters. It made a huge difference, before I did the leg couldn’t rise high enough to beach her or to leave the beach, it also then drove better in the water. It was nothing but problems before I raised it then it ran perfectly until......
one day it just stopped, error codes 45 and 30. We feared the worse, salt water ingress buggering up the battery as well. But, luckily it turned out to be the circuit board well above the waterline. €350 to fix and deliver. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Torqeedo Germany is having post covid supply problems. We were told one customer has to wait eight months for a new propeller. So we are trying to get a definitive answer before I get upset and have to drag the Honda 2.3 out of my workshop.
The real problem is that buying is easy but repair centers are very thin on the ground
 
Bouba said:
I had to raise the transom of my dinghy by a few centimeters. It made a huge difference, before I did the leg couldn’t rise high enough to beach her or to leave the beach, it also then drove better in the water. It was nothing but problems before I raised it then it ran perfectly until......
one day it just stopped, error codes 45 and 30. We feared the worse, salt water ingress buggering up the battery as well. But, luckily it turned out to be the circuit board well above the waterline. €350 to fix and deliver. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Torqeedo Germany is having post covid supply problems. We were told one customer has to wait eight months for a new propeller. So we are trying to get a definitive answer before I get upset and have to drag the Honda 2.3 out of my workshop.
The real problem is that buying is easy but repair centers are very thin on the ground
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Thanks. That's useful information.

Raising the plywood transom wouldn't be difficult but might make the dinghy less compact when folded. Perhaps the additional piece could be hinged to fold down or made detachable.
 
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