Electric Outboard

Seabay · 22 September 2010, 08:11

I am looking to do some exploring on our local canal. I have a small Johnson colt 2-3hp outboard which is somewhat noisey and tempermental when on the back of my Avon Sib.

Have been concidering purchasing a electric outboard for ease of adjustment and quietness.

Anyone have any views hints or tips?

Chris

chrishowden · 22 September 2010, 22:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seabay

I am looking to do some exploring on our local canal. I have a small Johnson colt 2-3hp outboard which is somewhat noisey and tempermental when on the back of my Avon Sib.

Have been concidering purchasing a electric outboard for ease of adjustment and quietness.

Anyone have any views hints or tips?

Chris

try the torquedo electic outboards very easy to use

cjj216 · 23 September 2010, 00:16

I`ve had a minn kota for years.

Never had any issues.
That said, it depends how far you want to go. A caravan type leisure battery fully charged, in an open canoe, with 2 people and fishing gear, will give you about 2hrs on 4 or 5 (there are 5 speeds. 1 to 5. 5 being the fastest)

I take 2 batteries for a full days fishing on ullswater.

Top tip:- cut off the battery attachments and replace with crocodile clips. Saves alot of faffing in the boat!

Seabay · 23 September 2010, 10:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishowden

try the torquedo electic outboards very easy to use

They look very good. Light weight, Portable however the price tag is some what scary.

Seabay · 23 September 2010, 10:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjj216

I`ve had a minn kota for years.

Never had any issues.
That said, it depends how far you want to go. A caravan type leisure battery fully charged, in an open canoe, with 2 people and fishing gear, will give you about 2hrs on 4 or 5 (there are 5 speeds. 1 to 5. 5 being the fastest)

I take 2 batteries for a full days fishing on ullswater.

Top tip:- cut off the battery attachments and replace with crocodile clips. Saves alot of faffing in the boat!

This is the sort of thing i was thinking about.
I have two lesuire batteries I could use.
The ones i have seen seem to have very long shafts, is this normal? The Transom on the Avon is around 14" and the dinghy is even less.

John Kennett · 23 September 2010, 10:34

I've wanted a Torqeedo for a while and gave in to temptation at the Southampton Boat Show. It was delivered last week - I haven't had a chance to try it yet but it looks like a good piece of kit.

The price is a bit scary - 2 or 3 times the price of an equivalent petrol motor - but the advantage of only having a small boat (several actually!) is that my total outlay is still miserably low.

uncle al · 27 September 2010, 14:53

dont forget
what ever egg whisk/electric obm you purchase as a rule of thumb 17pounds thrust = 1hp (approx)

Screaming04 · 27 September 2010, 23:18

I have a 40 lb thrust minn Kota I purchased on eBay for $120 US out of the states. 2hp outboards were selling for 7 times that figure.

I use the motor on my 10 ft zodiac. It's ideal for use on a tender, a canal sounds perfect as well. One thing though, they are not as fast as a 2 hp outboard. The prop pitch is extremely fine... Plenty of thrust but I'd say top speed is 60-70% of a 2 hp outboard.

Go to YouTube and search minn Kota and inflatable. There are several videos that will demonstrate the performance.

Battery life on my deep cycle group 27 at level 4 (of 5) is about 2 hours. The transom height is infinitely adjustable via set screw and collar affair. I love the silence of the unit as well as the purchase price.

The torqueedo is a different animal, very expensive, much faster, and louder.

Seabay · 28 September 2010, 21:09

Thanks for the replies.
I think it's going to happen.
Torqeedo look the part, But out of my price range.
So i'm Looking at something 44 - 50lb thrust for around £150. Some also say they are saltwater ready.

Seabay · 07 October 2010, 20:27

I bought a 55lb motor off ebay came from Germany in 2 days.
Have managed to get out on the canal twice this week.
Battery useage seems ok, With 6mph showing on Garmin hand held.
Happy Days

willk · 07 October 2010, 20:53

That sounds like an all round Result, especially as you're probably breaking the speed limit at that

Rookie · 29 November 2011, 19:14

Hi, I'm a newbie on here, and I have been googling 'electric outboards' for a couple of days...

I am close to buying a 10-foot Porta-Bote (because I will be able to store it on top of my wardrobe!), and I plan to use it on the Grand Union Canal

But I can't decide how to power it...

A 2-3hp outboard would seem an obvious choice, but I am not so sure - the Porta-Bote is marketed as a planing hull, which is irrelevant in a 4mph speed limit. Also, small outboards are designed to run at around 5000rpm, which is also irrelevnt in a 4mph speed limit

IMHO, the Porta-Bote is less ugly in displacement mode, and a heavy battery, stowed up-front, would help to maintain a level fore-and-aft trim. But I would soon run out of juice - I would plan to be away for a couple of days at a time, visiting friends and generally exploring

Has anybody ever tried running an electric outboard with an onboard 'suitcase' generator? Would such a system run all weekend on a single 'tank' of petrol? Would it be possible to run the outboard directly from the 12v output of the generator, or would it be essential to run the power through the battery at all times?

Rookie

Leapy · 29 November 2011, 20:00

Check that the prop speed of an electric is fast enough/man enough to act as a weedcutter if you may venture on the less popular routes during the growing season, such as the Ashby in May to August. My experience of very small outboards on canals is that the prop quickly chokes if it encounters below the surface weed.

To say nothing of shopping trollies on the BCN ;-) or any urban canal for that matter :-)

Rookie · 29 November 2011, 20:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leapy

Check that the prop speed of an electric is fast enough/man enough to act as a weedcutter if you may venture on the less popular routes during the growing season, such as the Ashby in May to August. My experience of very small outboards on canals is that the prop quickly chokes if it encounters below the surface weed.

To say nothing of shopping trollies on the BCN ;-) or any urban canal for that matter :-)

Hi Leapy, thanks for the reply

One of the things that I have discovered in the last couple of days googling is that electric outboard makers seem to be aware of the 'weed-cutting' issue, whereas petrolheads employ all sorts of complicated theorems about propellor pitch and diameter, versus engine speed etc, which surely don't need to trouble an aged hippy like me?

Cheers, Rookie

SIBer · 29 November 2011, 21:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie

Has anybody ever tried running an electric outboard with an onboard 'suitcase' generator? Would such a system run all weekend on a single 'tank' of petrol? Would it be possible to run the outboard directly from the 12v output of the generator, or would it be essential to run the power through the battery at all times?

Rookie

My suitcase genny puts out 8 amps at 12v so not enough for an electric motor. Plus my suitcase weighs 18kg so add in the weight of a leisure battery at 25kg and you have an outfit as heavy as noisy as an outboard.

Rookie · 29 November 2011, 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIBer

My suitcase genny puts out 8 amps at 12v so not enough for an electric motor. Plus my suitcase weighs 18kg so add in the weight of a leisure battery at 25kg and you have an outfit as heavy as noisy as an outboard.

The weight is not really an issue - I would be able to use the genny and the battery to adjust the trim of the boat

Noise might be significant, but the noise of a generator is different from the noise of a small outboard, and some people might think it is less annoying... I need to do some more research

The cost of a genny + battery + electric outboard will be high, but I am tempted to believe that electric outboards are more suited than petrol to low-speed, low-stress situations like canals, if only the power supply could be extended beyond an hour or three

I remain open to persuasion!

Rookie

ps - the low power output of the genny would be mitigated by the fact that the battery would be charged during each stop period, such as locks and pubs etc...

SIBer · 29 November 2011, 22:26

I have a Honda Eu20i - Its the dogs but not as "silent" as advertised.

For more power have a mains voltage charger. If you want the best look at the CTEK ones. I've 10 year old leisure batteries still going strong that have been maintained on a CTEK.
The top of the range is the 25amp model but mine is the 7 amp at £100.

For the £600 a Honda eu10i would cost you could get a decent flexible solar panel for a lot less.

Cheap generators aren't worth it. I had a Chinese knock off and after a year it wouldn't start so I bought the Honda I should have bought in the first place.

Keep up the google fu and good luck.

I've done some canal barging in my time and the pubs are great as no drink drive laws on the waterways but don't expect your motor and generator to still be on an inflatable after an afternoon pub session!

EnglishLes · 29 November 2011, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rookie

ps - the low power output of the genny would be mitigated by the fact that the battery would be charged during each stop period, such as locks and pubs etc...

In a lock you would need to stop the genny, presumably because of the build up of fumes. While waiting to enter you would still be able to run it.

Poly · 29 November 2011, 23:51

If you want more of a genny sound than an outboard then look at a Honda aircooled outboard. Its causes a different variety of deafness!

A petrol outboard will give out maximum power at 5000 rpm, but it won't do any harm to run it at less than that with a sensible choice of prop. If the aim is never to go fast a "hi thrust" or "saildrive" option might be better (different gearbox aimed at slower speeds).

Using a petrol engine to turn a dynamo to generate electricity some of which gets stored in a battery and then using that energy to turn an electric motor connected to the prop sounds much less efficient than just using a petrol engine to turn a prop.

Most of the electric motors I've seen have plastic props. I'm not sure I'd want plastic props in waters likely to have shopping trolleys etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIBer

I've done some canal barging in my time and the pubs are great as no drink drive laws on the waterways but don't expect your motor and generator to still be on an inflatable after an afternoon pub session!

I don't know what bylaws BW / the EA have - but i'd be surprised if they don't have rules about operating a powered vessel whilst intoxicated. That may not be the same as, nor as easily enforced as drink-driving on the road - but if it all goes horribly wrong I bet they find some sort of book to throw at you, even if it is just the spurious sounding offence of "reckless endangerment".

Rookie · 30 November 2011, 00:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

A petrol outboard will give out maximum power at 5000 rpm, but it won't do any harm to run it at less than that with a sensible choice of prop. If the aim is never to go fast a "hi thrust" or "saildrive" option might be better

The trouble is, you can't actually get any technical advice from 'official' sources - you can only ever speak to salespeople, who only know how to process cash or card transactions

So far as I can find out, it is best to run an outboard at its maximum power, and the only way to ascertain a 'sensible' size of prop is by (very expensive) trial and error - the options you mention may indeed be better, but, in the 2-3hp range they are probably not available

Rookie