I'll add that LPG can be stored indefinitely. Other than that, I see only shortcomings.
Catalina 22 electric outboard
- Thread starter IASailor
- Start date
You know, there is a reason that the dominant design out there is a gas outboard. Just saying. It's easier to get fuel, it's easy to tell how much fuel you have. People know how to work on and fix gas outboards. And so on.
I would love an electric launch if there was a system that appealed to me, and I thought was 'stable' from a system design perspective. But, where I live my dink for a week at a time most of the summer has no provision for charging; a solar panel big enough would be unwieldy, and prone to breakage and theft; and electric outboards in the HP range I want, 15HP are about 33% to 100% more expensive, and the batter requirement is such that I would never again be able to pull my dinghy up on to the dinghy dock! (I struggle, at my age, as it is, with a 73 lb. outboard, 110 lb. dinghy, and anywhere from 15 to 36 lb. of fuel on board. (The recommended battery for the Elco 15 is 130 AH, which weighs in around 70 lb. for flooded or sealed lead acid. Elco's recommendation is four of these at 84 lb. each! The motor runs on 48V. The motor weighs 84 lb.) So, you get the idea, for me.
For a C22 in a river, I wouldn't go less than 9 or 10hp, personally.
On the other hand, thinking about this, if you are sailing dock-to-dock, and can plug in at both ends, electric might be just the ticket. All the high end daysailors are going this way. It would be really cool to design and implement an electric inboard!
Yes, gas outboards are dominant, but that is changing. The next time you take a mooring at Cuttyhunk, count the number of Torqeedos on dingies. The last time I was there, there were 5 other Torqeedos running around the harbor (quietly, I might add). "Easier to fuel"? Pouring gas into a bouncing outboard versus plugging a battery into the outlet in the cabin? Telling how much fuel you have is easy on the Torqeedo. The computer tells you state of charge and how far you can go at your present speed. And working on and fixing gas outboards vs. not working on and fixing outboards speaks for itself. I have owned my Torqeedo for six years, and it has not required any maintenance at all. As far as getting fuel, I let the sun fuel my Torqeedo, and I don't have that PIA container of gas in my cockpit anymore.
Just sayin.
That's the thing.
Pure Electric is currently a very good option for a few use cases.
But gasoline is usable by most everyone for the way they use their boat.
A hybrid system for inboards, makes more sense for more people
We absolutely love our car, because it has the benefit of electric drive but also has what amounts to a generator.
We can use pure electric 99% of the time, and have gasoline for backup generation if pluging in isn't an option.
No range worries.
For electric marine drives, if you have shorepower, and were not venturing far, it would decrease the needed battery capacity and cost.
Everyone enjoys the moment when the inboard/outboard is shutdown, and the sails are full.
Like driving a electric vehicle, the peace and quiet of an electric boat would be awesome. That cannot be understated IMO. That and the instantaneous torque.
I absolutely HATE starting the ICE engine in a sailboat. Whether it is the chunk chunk chunk of a diesel or the braaaaawww of the outboard. Horrible noisy things. (Unless it saves your life and boat)
Maybe the Pardeys were onto something. Hehe.
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Of course, we could have a great argument on this topic, but it would be pointless. Enjoy your Torqeedo. I'll stick with my precious 15HP two stroke. BTW, I don't pour fuel into a bouncing anything, I do it at the fuel dock (6 gallon tank, good for a few weeks or more of use). I don't carry and gas in the cockpit or anywhere else on the big boat. And I'd rather not remove charge from my house bank to charge an electric dink, unless I had a generator on board. YMMV.
Yup. Less parts less maintenance. Electric drive means less work for repair shops. Both land and marine.
I've been toying with this idea, but the necessary battery capacity, space, and cost is a killer! My boat is just not designed for carrying more than a couple of batteries. Plus, since I'm not at a dock, I'd be running that engine a lot to charge it up and keep it charged.
Submarines are hybrid drives. Starting with the early ones, in WWI and beyond, you could drive the boat with the diesel, or charge the batteries with the diesel, and drive the boat with the electric motor. Sometime between the wars, as I recall reading, they went to full electric drive, and the diesel operated as a generator only.
A couple of companies have made runs at hybrid drives for sailboats, I don't think anyone has really succeeded yet.
Electric drive plus generator seems the best option. Ships are apparently are doing that with turbine generators.
Buy a 2019 Chevrolet Volt or BMW i3 from an insurance write-off and get modifying !
. You have until May 30th. LOLJust need to shrink those down to a smaller, lower powered package.
Most larger boats have gensets already.
The rest already have inboards.
Just need batteries, which replace the normal banks....and controllers and the electric drive.
With the decreased weight and size of advanced batteries, I suspect it would not be much more space or weight.
The extra weight could be kept low in the boat.
Retrofitting would be a real serious challenge.
They will happen one day I don't doubt.
Especially if land based manufacturers start looking towards the marine world for an extra market
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Everyone enjoys the moment when the inboard/outboard is shutdown, and the sails are full.
Like driving a electric vehicle, the peace and quiet of an electric boat would be awesome. That cannot be understated IMO. That and the instantaneous torque.
I absolutely HATE starting the ICE engine in a sailboat. Whether it is the chunk chunk chunk of a diesel or the braaaaawww of the outboard. Horrible noisy things. (Unless it saves your life and boat)
Maybe the Pardeys were onto something. Hehe.
I bought the 6hp gas for my Cat 27, replacing my 9.9 Tohatsu that never fit the transom opening peculiar to the older C27 ob models. There is an lpg version of their sailpro, I believe, but I have nothing to offer you about it. If there isn't though, the difference is the prop and an alternator. Go to the tohatsu factory site for specific info on conversion kits.