E outboard

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breausaw

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An alternative tender outboard. Check out the GPS feature, way cool. The video takes a bit so be patient.
Seriously thought, my little Honda 2hp is tough to beat but eliminating the noise would be nice. In a few years the technology will come down in price like anything else; a tempting gadget none the less.
 
Interesting. Quiet, light, effecient, obviously advanced technology...I wonder what the overall life of the battery is? I think we're seeing the future...
 
The Torqeedo line of outboards are certainly attractive. The major problem, as with all electrically propelled vehicles, is range.

Here's the advertised range for small and large Torqeedo versions:

Torqeedo 1003, 4 hp equivalent, $1900 at your local West Marine
2 miles at 5 knts
16 miles @ 2 knts (8 hrs travel time)

Torqeedo Cruise 2.0, 8 hp gas equivalent, YOU provide 2 x 12 V / 200 Ah lead batteries, $3200 at West Marine+$200 for batteries
11 miles @ 5 knts
165 miles @ 1.5 knts (110 hrs travel time)

As usual, we can make a great, efficient electrical motor but the rub is the battery power. Those outboards take about 1 Kw/Hp and batteries can't supply that kind of power for very long. That's why the Chevvy Volt has a small gas motor in addition to its lithium ion polymer batteries.

So don't look at the motor side, look for the power storage breakthrough, equivalent to a can of gasoline. That's why small gasoline engines are so popular.

Boris
 
Thanks, again. Not being an engineer nor knowing squat about batteries, I've always heard that battery technology is the limiting factor in anything they power. I'm sure there are MUCH smarter people than I working on this. The future will tell.
 
These have been around for several years now--and sales are not overwhelming.
There is even a drive unit for the Hobie Mirage Kayak--either replacing the rudder or the fins. (not cheap--almost as much as the Kayak.

Consider how you are going to recharge the battery.
Consider if this motor will push you against wind and current in an inflatable?
Often a 2 hp is not enough.
 
I'd love the Cruise 4.0 R model as an alternative kicker. Torqueedo states that it is equivalent to a 9.9 in thrust. They do use just a bit of electricity however; 4000W at max throttle. That would take about 15-20 of today's solar panels to power directly which could be a bit awkward on our boats...

But, won't it be cool when we it becomes practical to toodle around at displacement with only the sound of the water on the hull?
 
But the cruise 4 (and 2) also run on 12 volt AGM batteries....either 2 for 24 volts or 4 for 48 volts. So if you want to pay the price, you can run for a longer peroid of time, and could recharge off the main engine. There are cheaper ways to run under electric power--and these would include the trim tab trolling motors which will run as low as $1700 for a pair.
 
Bob, you're being practical and helpful. I was just dreaming...

I wish I could find more detailed specifications on Minn Kota's Web site about the Trim-N-Troll; something a little more technical than "Cool, Quiet Power - Yes". If you, or anyone else, knows where to find power requirements for these units other than voltage I'd like to know where. 30 minutes of Googling on that subject came up empty, but I may not have thought of the proper search combo. They certainly are interesting options.

Silent running for most of the day at displacement speeds without having to burn fuel to recharge is my goal; albeit currently impractical. In the two years I've been looking into the issue, the photovoltaic industry has made what I consider to be major increases in output Wattage and decreases in price. Solar solutions are moving forward - just not fast enough for me to have a practical solution yet, but I love exploring and dreaming about the possibilities...
 
But the cruise 4 (and 2) also run on 12 volt AGM batteries....either 2 for 24 volts or 4 for 48 volts. So if you want to pay the price, you can run for a longer peroid of time, and could recharge off the main engine. There are cheaper ways to run under electric power--and these would include the trim tab trolling motors which will run as low as $1700 for a pair.
 
Thanks, Boris. I've frequented Duffy's site as well as Yahoo's electric boat forum for a coupla years. I've built many spreadsheets for motor, battery, and recharging system alternatives based on most of the currently available components. None of those scenarios support my as yet unattainable desire; a system that can propel my boat totally on direct and stored solar energy without need for shore power or fuel-powered recharging.

I think, however, that I've strayed a bit from the subject of breausaw's original post. There are a number of viable electric outboard options available to power a tender. Torqeedo's offerings are impressive, albeit pricey.
 
We have done some experimenting and I have done a lot of thinking along similar lines but so far our efforts have been dingy based. Here is some trolling motor info from a recent post of ours if you missed it.

"As you have have noticed, we have both electric and gas motors for the Pudgy and here is why. The 2hp gas motor will push it at 5-6 knots without straining and for as long as we have a little gas available. We use the boat for non-c-dory camping trips (separate trailer for hauling) and extended explorations away from Aurelia as well so the gas option is great to make the distance and have a far reach and cover lots of ground in a body of water such as Banks Lake or Potholes Reservoir. The electric motor is great for its lack of noise and still pushes the boat at 0-4 knots either from the 10AH battery I built into the boat or a separate 55AH and 80AH batteries we have available and portable. On some lakes we like to fish, the gas motor is not allowed so the electric is used for that as well. With the small built in Pudgy battery (solar charged), we can toss the electric on a get to shore and back (about 1.5 mile range at 2 knots) (UPDATE-seems closer to 2.5 miles based on last weekend on calm water) without touching the gas motor and so far Cindie likes to use the elec herself more than the gas version. We sometimes have both on the transom and do some switching back and forth as needs change and I can actually still sit on the back bench although I do have a small rear end.

I nearly started drilling for a mount to put the electric drive on the gas transom for a hybrid but it has not yet been that necessary.

I will say the 99 dollar Motorguide Thruster does push the boat basically as well as the 400+ dollar salt water Minn Kota Riptide 55 we had and uses less power to get the job done. The way we use it, I don't think the Salt water "protection" is worth the price difference as we don't leave it in the salt when it is not pushing the boat. The prop design on the Thruster seems to be the difference and I can't believe they don't have prop options for more if the Minn Kotas. Weedless trolling vs. efficient thrust is a battle still being won by the trollers so far I guess.

Also looked at the Torqeedo of course and still can't make sense of it for us. It has some great features and specs and a solid amount of thrust but it can't really go the distance. It would give about 7-9 miles of range at medium speed but then you need a 110volt recharge for 8 hours which is tough to accomplish at anchor and takes EIGHT HOURS or you carry an extra battery which they charge 600 dollars for. Still a novelty for the rich/short distance boater."

In our experience, the range for the 55lb thrust riptide was around 10-12 miles at 50-70% thrust running a 55 AH AGM battery down to 50%. They don't give any great power draw specs but like to say 1amp per pound of thrust.
 
One of my neighbors has done extensive testing. With a 55# thrust trolling motor on a modified Prindle Cat. To get the best efficiency he uses a 6 hp out board prop with a modified Kort nozzle.

So you can do some experiments, and can improve markedly over the stock plastic trolling motor props.
 
>But, won't it be cool when we it becomes practical to toodle around at >displacement with only the sound of the water on the hull?

There are some guys around our area who have done that by hanging sheets on sticks, and the sheets catch the wind to propel the boat!
 
What a novel idea! I think I saw a few of those when I worked at Annapolis Sailing School back in the mid-70s...
 
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