Trolling electric motor

tidclacy

tidclacy

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To old and stiff to carry and pull my 4 stroke outboard.
Have been using oars on my inflatable to row out to my Wooden dinghy which takes about ten minutes.
That is now becomig a strain.
Would a cheap trolling motor answer my problem?
 
If it is not over about 5 miles a 30 amp hour leasure battery will give you a good run.
Put it in a battery box with Anderson plugs to connect to the motor. If you have wheels on the inflatable then you leave the lot in the there and drag them back to the car.
Just charge the battery at home.

Our small inflatable with 2 adults and a dog it was quicker than trying to row.
 
Whisper it not, but I understand some outboard sellers will sell you a 2-stroke outboard if you're willing to tell a porky that it's for commercial use. A lot lighter than a 4-stroke, but generally noisier and thirstier.
 
@webcraft seems very happy with his.

I picked up a 68lb Bison secondhand for £100, and a 60Ah Sterling LFP battery which cost me £280. That was over four years ago so prices must be a lot lower now.

Pros: cheaper than a new outboard, each piece was light and easy to handle, no fluids, no mess. Pretty powerful, plenty for an Avon Redcrest, and could take my hard 11ft dinghy up to 5kt with three people aboard. Always started, almost silent, had reverse unlike any small outboard. Could recharge from my solar. The battery would give about an hour's full throttle range.

Cons: the battery had no Bluetooth so you never really knew how much was left in the tank. Webby fitted a battery monitor to his, the other option would be to buy a battery with Bluetooth. Connections were just cables with ring terminals directly on to the screw terminals of the battery. It didn't take long for corrosion to set in, you get loss of power and so much heat that I nearly burned myself once. Water wicks up the cables and you have to cut the terminal off and crimp on a new one.
The Bison is allegedly rated for saltwater use but there are a lot of plated mild steel components. Clamps and springs didn't last long. One transom clamp failed and I had to drill out the hole and fit a larger bolt as a replacement. It became very fiddly to use after that and it ended up buried in the bottom of a locker.

I'm thinking about doing it again, but next time round I will choose a smaller motor which has lower current draw. I can then find suitable watertight connectors more easily. I'll also swap out any plated components for stainless, and put the battery in a waterproof box with a monitor. It'll add to the cost but I think it's what you need to do to make it a practical everyday motor.
 
I bought the ePropulsion - eLite outboard and have used it about 8 times this year. Bought just before last Christmas when Seamark Nunn had it at £100 discount. Very pleased with it, very quiet and I usually just go from shore to my mooring and back again. Just bought the additional 12v charger so can be used if not near a 230v outlet. Very light and easy to carry, has an inbuilt battery.
 
Looks ok, but try to find out how much power it uses, so that you can match it to a suitable battery and choose the right size cables, connectors, breaker etc.
 
I have been using one for the last 3 years. I'm on my second one as the first one didn't last but I still love it. I bought the cheapest ones from eBay.

No mess and it always starts.

The comment about the connections getting hot resonates, that happened to me. I use xt90 connectors and just replace them when they become too corroded.
 
Oh one more comment: on my Bison it wasn't a big job to cut down the shaft to a more sensible length. There's no need to go around with the tiller way up in the air, looking like an idiot who's about to dislocate his shoulder 😂
 
tidclacy said:
Rather dumb about Electrics
Would the one I have suggested be ok?
Click to expand...
It's certainly got enough oomph for pushing a tender about.
These motors typically draw about 1A for every lb of thrust, so you'll need to size everything around 55A minimum. That means cable size, fuse/breaker, and the battery that supplies the power.
 
A few weeks ago I was wondering the same sort of thing as the OP and have gone with a trolling motor. However, what I'm about to say should NOT be taken as a recommendation as I've only just bought one and haven't even got it wet yet, let alone used it in anger. But, while I can't yet add to the "will it work or not?" bit of the debate I have at least looked around the market recently and bought one, so I do have info on the "what would it cost?" bit. In short, this post is just for info.

I set out to buy something that will push my Avon Redcrest well enough to get two people and their stuff to and from the boat, up to a mile each way, with a little in reserve. It didn't have to do it quickly - just reliably, quietly and a bit faster than I could row. I was fed up with petrol outboards and wanted to go electric but was surprised (horrified!) at the cost of the mainstream electric outboards, even secondhand examples. So I started looking at trolling motors.

Having spent more time than probably needed looking at the plethora of brands and offerings, the one I eventually purchased was supplied from Decathlon. They recently started selling a fresh range of trolling motors, this time by "Watersnake" (Australian branding, still made in China). They come in a variety of sizes offering from 34 to 65 pounds of thrust (in comparison, a Honda 2.3 outboard reportedly delivers 66lb), and with shaft lengths from 26 to 42 inches. I bought one with 55lb. of thrust and a 26" shaft, about the same length as a normal small outboard. These motors are claimed to be OK for use in salt water but the "makers" recommend them being washed in fresh water after each use so, personally, I'm not expecting the thing to be entirely corrosion resistant (but neither was my last small 4-stroke outboard). Naturally, I'm hoping it all works as planned - I'll let you know if it doesn't.

For info, the model I bought cost £290, but the total cost of motor, a LiPo battery (50Ah - weighs just 6kgs whereas a 100Ah weighs about 11kgs), a suitable 20Amp charger and a few accessories (circuit breaker, Anderson plugs), all from Amazon, was £500 - only a little bit more than 60% of the cost of a new Honda 2.3. Clearly, that's just what I spent and you could spend quite a bit more or quite a bit less. While much of that eventual cost would be dependent on your chosen specification, another important factor to consider would be the nature of your supplier's target market.
 
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