Tom J gave provided some info on his Torqeedo that brings up some other questions.
I did not realize the battery attached to he Torqueedo. Slick. I just imagined it was a separate free standing component. That's about 5 pounds more than my 2HP 2 stroke. So the motor and drive/shaft/prop weigh in at about 15 pounds. At a "cruise setting" about how long can it run? To many variables to go much beyond that question. So you can mount the motor (at 15 lbs a reasonably easy load) then add the 15 lb or so battery. I'm guessing the battery price should come down sometime. A well maintained 2 stroke should last 30 years as well as a well maintained and properly serviced 4 stroke. Just guessing the life of a battery might be 10 years (more or less). That would be 3 replacements over the 30 year life if the electronics/motor last that long. Even factoring in fuel I would guess the lifetime cost less for the 2-stroke (if its maintained properly) or 4 stroke but that is highly user dependent. Of course most of us (or maybe many of us) don't end up owning our boat for 20 years so the whole lifespan/lifetime cost may be a moot point.
It seems big advantage of the Torqeedo is its virtually silent in operation (a big plus) and doesn't require a trip to the gym every week to be able to heft the IC outboard on to the dingy. Its also much less polluting than the 2 stroke and less than the 4 stroke. How quickly can you go from discharged to enough charge to go for say 1 hour at cruise setting to get from the boat to a dock and back after you've tooled around and discharged the battery without thinking.
I did not realize the battery attached to he Torqueedo. Slick. I just imagined it was a separate free standing component. That's about 5 pounds more than my 2HP 2 stroke. So the motor and drive/shaft/prop weigh in at about 15 pounds. At a "cruise setting" about how long can it run? To many variables to go much beyond that question. So you can mount the motor (at 15 lbs a reasonably easy load) then add the 15 lb or so battery. I'm guessing the battery price should come down sometime. A well maintained 2 stroke should last 30 years as well as a well maintained and properly serviced 4 stroke. Just guessing the life of a battery might be 10 years (more or less). That would be 3 replacements over the 30 year life if the electronics/motor last that long. Even factoring in fuel I would guess the lifetime cost less for the 2-stroke (if its maintained properly) or 4 stroke but that is highly user dependent. Of course most of us (or maybe many of us) don't end up owning our boat for 20 years so the whole lifespan/lifetime cost may be a moot point.
It seems big advantage of the Torqeedo is its virtually silent in operation (a big plus) and doesn't require a trip to the gym every week to be able to heft the IC outboard on to the dingy. Its also much less polluting than the 2 stroke and less than the 4 stroke. How quickly can you go from discharged to enough charge to go for say 1 hour at cruise setting to get from the boat to a dock and back after you've tooled around and discharged the battery without thinking.