Electric Outboard

[jeffcom16]

Hello, I am considering purchasing an electric outboard for my 16 and was wondering whether anyone out there has had any experience with these? I am looking at a Torqeedo 500, one that you can take the battery pack ashore with you and re-charge.....

help appreciated

[kickingbug1]

    cant say im a fan of electric outboards although the torquedo is supposed to be powerful (but pricey). i would not need the extra weight of a battery with the capacity to run that motor. i think for less money a good 2 hp outboard is a better choice.

[gabi]

i got a minkota 45 for my boat,
initialy i used it with a single deepcycle battery, and now i have two batteries mounted way up front
i think this are pretty god for our boats,

[wes]

Kick, you should check out the video on the Torqeedo web site, or YouTube. It doesn't use a heavy 12v battery - it has a clip-on lithium ion battery pack, like a big power tool . Appears to be much lighter than a gas outboard even with the battery pack. Way more power than a trolling motor, all the way up to 3-4 HP for the top of the line model. Coolest feature is that even with the battery totally dead, you can run at half power all day long using their optional (ok, expensive) fold-up solar panel. I am suffering from Torqeedo Envy. I keep leaving my 5 HP Tohatsu unlocked overnight on the boat, hoping someone will steal it. No luck so far.

Wes

[jeffcom16]

thanks wes, that is exactly what i was thinking. it looks so cool and what price can you put on not having to crank your motor or have smelly gasoline around all the time...thinking very seriously about selling my nearly new 3.5 and investing in tomorrow's technology!

[Pacman]

Modern electric motors are great!

No dangerous and smelly gasoline and no more trips to the fuel dock.

The Torquedo is a very nice unit but our boats are so small I would just get a MinnKota 45 like Gabi did and I would stow the battery forward with long cables to the stern.

The money you save would buy a lot of beer.

Besides, if you invest in a solar panel, you can leave the battery in the boat and you won't need a slip with electricity.

[MKBLK]

Pacman - I like your train of thought. Although those Torqueedos are absolutely fantastic (you gotta see the video!), the price is very dear. I'm using a 38 pound thrust Minn Kota with a car battery (will eventually upgrade to a deep-cycle) and a 13 watt solar panel (from Harbor Freight). At full power my CP16 cruises along at about 4 mph - plenty fast. At half power she'll still do about 3 mph and run for quite a while (don't know just how far or long - plan on testing that real soon). I now have a Minn Kota Power Center that has a built in power meter so I shouldn't be caught by surprise. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how fast that solar panel recharged the car battery. I've relocated the battery to just forward of the compression post and am running heavy lines back to the trolling motor. The Power Center also provide 60 amps of protection.

Marty K.

P.S. Just where do you keep your boat, Wes, maybe I can give you some luck!

[Spartan]

The torquedos are very cool, one of my buddies actually got one for his dinghy, needless to say he has a 30 something footer. 
The ones I've seen cost more than I paid for my CP16.

For my sailing grounds, an inland lake in Western PA I use a 50lb thrust minnkota, I carry two batteries just in case, but have never needed more than one to get in and out of the marina.  (140aH and 160aH)

My 2 amps

[wes]

The big boy Torqeedo is around $1800 or $2000 which is pricey, but not dramatically more so than a new Honda at $1500 or $1600. I think to justify it you have to consider the annual cost of fuel, additives, maintenance and repairs for a gas outboard, compared to - zilch for the Torqeedo. My Tohatsu needed $400 in repairs last year - carb job, impeller, bottom lube, etc. It doesn't cost that much every year, but there's no question it requires maintenance to keep it reliable. I am so tired of spilled gasoline in my cockpit and on my hands, the noise and smell when running, and so on. It just doesn't feel like sailing when that thing is growling away back there.

Here is why I am afraid of trolling motors: they will certainly move the boat at a nice clip in my lake, but when sailing at the coast I have seen some really scary wind and wave action come out of nowhere, and with the boat pounding on 5 foot seas and the wind blowing at a rate that I am definitely not qualified to sail in, I think that I am going to want more horsepower behind me. So far, that's meant gas. But with a horsepower rating in the 3-4 range, the big Torqeedo could be a game changer.

Crazy idea: Keith at the Sailboat Company can be talked into installing an inboard diesel in a 19, I've heard. Interesting. But I don't think I want to smell diesel fumes while I sleep.

Wes

[Salty19]

Even crazier idea.  Inboard electric with wind and solar charge. Too expensive for me but it's been done and they work well if you know what you're doing.

[JTMeissner]

So, staying on topic, I have found the 40-lb thrust trolling motor sufficient on the lake, and the crew likes the quiet evening sunset cruises regardless of wind conditions.

Going off topic, how about a propane motor?  2.5 or 5 hp, four stroke motors, uses bottled fuel for no spilling or mess.  http://lehrmarine.com/

Saw this while looking at Torqeedo options.  Small price premium over the gas versions.

-Justin

[bimmerhead]

Hello Sailors,

Your sailing environment and expected conditions will dictate your "in water" propulsion requirements. My opinion, think very hard about where you sail..

Keep your stern lite and your boat well balanced with enough horse power/amp hours to make passage safely and knot scare the Admiral!

My Minn Kota 50 works just fine for inland lakes, but I'd like a Honda 2hp in reserve to motor safely in current and tidal conditions..

I love new technology, but the "Torq" costs more than my entire rig., CP-16 #334..

Is it really that good? Maybe, but not by my math..knot yet..

[gabi]

if needed more power how about two 45 pounders electric... or 50lb...they are still light enough
the motor mount bracket can be easily modified to accommodate two electric outboards side by side,

also lithium batteries like  the ones torqedo has are getting cheaper, around 300 for the same capacity, but deep cycle mounted forward are better because we need the weight in the front

[Pacman]

A trolling motor or a 2 HP Honda will do very well in 95% of the conditions we encounter.

When the wind comes up suddenly it would take a lot of power to "power through" to get back to the dock.

And, what will you do when you do get to the dock in high wind? Smash into it? (Probably)

I would rather have the modest power of a trolling motor or my Honda 2 HP for the 95% of the time and, when the wind comes up sudddenly, I simply anchor safely away from docks and other fixed objects until the blow passes.

If I am far enough offshore or in very deep water, the best option is to heave to to "park" the boat but that is a topic for another discussion.

You would be surprised how nicely a C-16 will ride out a blow at anchor.  ( I carry two anchors and can quickly deploy them from the cockpit so there is no need to go forward in high wind.)

Good anchors and a jib downhaul to get the jib down and keep it safely on deck are all I have needed and I have seen some amazing weather during summer thunderstorm season.