Outboard quest, why I am not staying with Torqeedo

[Renae]

Agreed.  We don't have to raise our voices to compete with the motor.  It's bliss, and docking is more coordinated.

[kickingbug1]

   after a few years of being frustrated with a mercury 4 hp outboard motor i went back to a two stroke {yes im a republican who watches fox news). the mercury had carb problems from the get go, refused to idle, started on maybe the fourth or fifth pull and often stalled when docking. rebuild didnt help. used ethanol free gas. but every year it required a full carb take down and cleaning. what a pain in the BACK SIDE. the 94 johnson i use now starts on the first pull. being a twin it is smooth and quiet unlike the mercury single which was a vibrator.  doesnt smoke and weighs only 30 lbs. oh yeah it doesnt care about the quality of the fuel.best yet i paid 350 bucks for it. i cant be pollutihg the world too much as i only run it about 50 yards from the dock. my thoughts on electric power. too expensive way too expensive plus battery production can hardly be considered " green" if thats what your going for. again its a sailboat---sail it

[Renae]

The production of electric motors has a carbon footprint, but so does the production of gasoline engines.  Some of the comments here forget the latter.  True, the usage reduction isn't huge, but it's a technology that makes more sense in the long term.  That's gotta be worth something.

[kickingbug1]

forgive me but im a 19th century man

[Jim in TC]

The first automobiles were electric, back in the late 1800's (though not by much). Well, actually steam but still.

[Renae]

The first automobiles were electric, back in the late 1800's (though not by much). Well, actually steam but still.

In other words, not even close, and still dependent on the highly inefficient mechanism of turning heat into motion.  You can buy an electric or not, but if you don't see it's dominance in the future, you're missing something significant.  Stay out of the stock market.

[Bob23]

Now boys and girls, let's play nice.
 
  The long and short of it is the range of an electric outboard on our small boats is limited due to the fact that we just can't store enough battery due to weight and space. I like the Torqueedo as most of us do and it seems that the shortfall is confined to the sheer pin at this time. Am I right?
I sail in tidal conditions and at times I need the range that my 4 hp Tohatsu 4 stroke delivers. And it does burn pretty clean as anyone who owns one knows. Currently, I could not put an electric outboard on my 23 and feel that I have adequate power and range.

  We can't argue that electric is here to stay and being in construction, the ease and durability of our cordless tools makes my job easier, faster and safer. But the first generation cordless tools were a joke compared to the state of the art tools available today. With certain tools today, we're on the edge of seeing corded tools becoming obsolete. Some, but not all.

  Bob23

[brackish]

I agree with what Bob said, although I think he has a 6HP motor.  It has to do with power and range.  I truly would prefer electric to run silent and trouble free but think inboard would be my preference.  As soon as I can figure out how to remove a bunch of that concrete ballast, replace it with an equal weight of "safe" batteries, and install an inboard without the project costing more than the boat did, I'm in.

[Bob23]

I stand corrected, Brack and thank you. indeed it is a 6hp sailpro and your idea of an electric inboard with batteries in place of the concrete is the best yet. But because I'm not ready for any major projects and I'm a professional cheapskate, I'll stick with my Sailpro. But honestly, I go through only about 5 gallons of gas a year. And most of that is motoring in and out of the marina. When I keep Koinonia on a mooring, I'd sail off and up to the mooring, sometimes going a month without even starting the motor!
Bob23

[kickingbug1]

   i knew when i said "two stroke" someone would take exception. i do like pressing buttons.

[slode]

   i knew when i said "two stroke" someone would take exception. i do like pressing buttons.

You pressed my "green" button (meaning the GO kind, not so much the environmentally conscience kind).  I am with you.  When it comes to small gas engines I am a personal fanboy of two stroke motors, but at this point it's become just a hobby dedicated to vintage snowmobiles and the like.  I am excited for battery tech to keep progressing though.  Cars are getting there, and for my next commuter any competitively priced (including taking lifetime fuel and maintenance cost into consideration) car on the market will be in consideration.

[Jim in TC]

As more electric outboards come into the market I doubt that (low) power will be a lasting issue (the small ones have plenty for littler craft), but range anxiety will be with us for a while. With two of the larger Torqueedo batteries I have plenty for my modest range needs but if cruising around I would at least need to add solar power or give in to more 'conventional' auxiliary. The large outboards and inboard electrics are really intriguing but pricey (to say the least).

I had a couple seasons with a little Honda 4-stroke on a WW Potter and that was a sweet motor - easy to start, relatively clean, fairly quiet and absolute fuel sipper. At that time we had a longish run from a dock out to Lake Michigan and filled the small tank (I do not recall volume) incorporated into the motor rarely, and for spare fuel carried a quart bottle made for camp stoves.

I agree about power tools and their evolution. A neighbor even has a snow blower, battery operated, that actually packs quite a wallop. And the original owner of our Suncat had one of the early Torqueedo's (probably sometime in the late 2000's) and claimed it wouldn't push her off shore (maybe too small of a model, maybe too early in the tech, could not say).

[Renae]

I have the eProp Spirit 1.0.  It can't quite hit hull speed on my Suncat, but I typically am only using it through a no wake zone in and out of the loading area.  It's very, very quiet.  I never realized that conversations were shouted or saved for later under the power of our Tohatsu.  Now we chit chat the entire time and coordinate better on our launches and landings.  It's a great tool.

As for needing more power and range, the solutions are already available, albeit expensive if you are replacing a functioning diesel.  Where gains could reasonably be made is in the purchase of a new boat, built to order.  At that point, go electric, and it will definitely pay for itself over time, even now.  That situation is only going to improve.

[bruce]

The latest version of the Spirit 1.0, the Sprit EVO, has a larger internal battery (1,276Wh, 40% more capacity than the Torqeedo 1003/1103), can plug into a remote battery bank for increased range, and has hydrogeneration. While sailing, with the prop in the water, the motor generates 50W @ 4 kts (min), 140W @ 6 kts, 260W @ 8 kts, and 360W @ 10 kts (max).

Yes, you'll lose speed from the drag, and it requires 4 kts to work at all, but 140W at 6 kts isn't that bad. If you could maintain that speed, to recharge from 50% to 100% would take about 4.5 hours. Reportedly, the Spirit can be connected to most solar panels without the need for extra controllers or regulators.

Certainly best suited for day sailing and short cruises, but with regen and solar, and running the motor at lower consumption, still maintaining 3-4 kts, longer ranges are possible.

[Renae]

The latest version of the Spirit 1.0, the Sprit EVO, has a larger internal battery (1,276Wh, 40% more capacity than the Torqeedo 1003/1103), can plug into a remote battery bank for increased range, and has hydrogeneration. While sailing, with the prop in the water, the motor generates 50W @ 4 kts (min), 140W @ 6 kts, 260W @ 8 kts, and 360W @ 10 kts (max).

Yes, you'll lose speed from the drag, and it requires 4 kts to work at all, but 140W at 6 kts isn't that bad. If you could maintain that speed, to recharge from 50% to 100% would take about 4.5 hours. Reportedly, the Spirit can be connected to most solar panels without the need for extra controllers or regulators.

Certainly best suited for day sailing and short cruises, but with regen and solar, and running the motor at lower consumption, still maintaining 3-4 kts, longer ranges are possible.

...and the case for electrics keeps getting stronger.

This isn't enough to get me to want to upgrade, but exciting news.  I don't need regeneration in my context and I like the silence of motor out of the water.

Are you going to bite?