Sea-going electric outboard ?

[GlennB]

Three us us own a small fibreglass rowing boat/tender whatsit, for trips up and down the bay and a spot of fishing. It's about 3m long. I don't know the weight but it takes 4 to lift it in reasonable comfort.

Our 2-stroke outboard has packed up and we're considering an electric replacement as they're much cheaper in these parts. Power and range seem to be the issues here, also the hassle I suppose of recharging batteries and lugging them around (solar powered rechargers?). High speed not a requirement, just pottering.

 

Any experiences and advice most welcome

 

cheers

 

edit: I should add that the motor will stay on the boat when not in use, until the boat gets hauled in for the winter.

Edited October 26, 2009 by GlennB

[billy50000]

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/boats-c...y-t2188620.html

 

you might find something good in some of the links but if not youtube has afew vids covering folding boats etc which are powered electric motors

 

usually a 3-5 setting throttle and pretty good from what ive seen but im not sure how heavy the battery and how long it lasts

 

some people ive seen can potter for 15hrs with these leccy motors,plus they are quieter:)

[Sportsman]

My only suggestions would be:

 

Get a motor designed for saltwater http://www.electric-outboard-motors.co.uk/...ota-riptide.htm

Get the best battery you can afford

Take some oars and a flare pack

Good luck with it

[chesters1]

not sure any electric outboard will have the guts to counter the tide our 20 horse petrol one had problems sometimes when both wind and tide was against us ,saying that we only took an hour and a half getting from stokes to the IOW with 1.5hp but it was a nice day

solar power can within reason (you then pay more than a good outboard) keep batteries topped up rather than charge them converting sun to leccy is dismally inefficient whatever the adverts say.

i was posting on a camping site in reply to a post asking if he could run a 12v fridge off a panel ,i said yes if he paid enough money .12v fridges use approx 5 amp h few panels can match that

Edited October 26, 2009 by chesters1

[ColinW]

I think an electric outboard is something you use if you HAVE to, not out of choice. If you take the smallest petrol outboard, say 3hp, that is equivalent to 2.25kW. Or, put another way, drawing a current of 187A from a 12V battery. Deep cycle leisure batteries seem to cost about £1 per amp-hour. So if you spent £200 on a battery it would be good for just over an hour (and weigh about 50kg)

That doesn't compare well with running the petrol outboard for a few hours on one gallon of petrol, weighing less than 5kg, does it?

Of course you would never run an electric outboard at 187A, but you don't get anything for nothing. If you run at a tenth of that current you get a tenth of that power, 0.3hp, almost quicker row the boat yourself!

[GlennB]

I think an electric outboard is something you use if you HAVE to, not out of choice. If you take the smallest petrol outboard, say 3hp, that is equivalent to 2.25kW. Or, put another way, drawing a current of 187A from a 12V battery. Deep cycle leisure batteries seem to cost about £1 per amp-hour. So if you spent £200 on a battery it would be good for just over an hour (and weigh about 50kg)

That doesn't compare well with running the petrol outboard for a few hours on one gallon of petrol, weighing less than 5kg, does it?

Of course you would never run an electric outboard at 187A, but you don't get anything for nothing. If you run at a tenth of that current you get a tenth of that power, 0.3hp, almost quicker row the boat yourself!

 

Blimey. Food for thought there! Cheers Colin

[Newt]

If you do decide on an electric, my suggestion for a battery is to get a pair of golf cart batteries (each will be a 6v) and connect them in series to give a 12v battery.

 

They outlast any 12v battery I know of both for the length of time you get on a charge and the number of times they can be discharged and recharged.

 

That said, petrol outboards are way better for general use unless you are planning lots of stop/start fishing such as I do when fishing lake or river shorelines and use the electric for fishing and the petrol for running from place to place. For use at sea, it would be petrol every time for me.

[chesters1]

we had an 8 horse 4stroke honda engined outboard at one time ,very light (no water channels as its air cooled) and very economical (pints instead of gallons) on paper (and when it worked) excellent but let down by its gearbox (American designed for a puny Tecumseh (sp?) engine ) sheared pins almost everytime we used it ,honda engine was faultless though