Our little 2 HP outboard motor we use for our dinghy just died. We're curious as to what experiences and issues are involved with using a small electric trolling motor on the dinghy instead of an outboard. We're not cruising for weeks on end - basically just 2/3 trips around the Chesapeake Bay. Form example, I can't figure out what kind of motor running time one gets from small batteries vs heavy Deep Cycle batteries like we have on our sailboat. Thoughts/comments??
Dinghy Motor - Trolling vs Outboard
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What kind of effort have you made to
resuscitate the gas engine? they are no more complex than a lawn mower engine. Unless you killed it with poor oil/gas mixes it shouldn't take a miracle to get it running again. You need a boat load of batteries to replace a gallon of gas.
resuscitate the gas engine? they are no more complex than a lawn mower engine. Unless you killed it with poor oil/gas mixes it shouldn't take a miracle to get it running again. You need a boat load of batteries to replace a gallon of gas.
Engine Go Boom
I've repaired my fair share of motors but this was very old and the piston was cracked and I simply don't have the place to do any mtoro rebuilding these days. We primarily use the dinghy to simply get from anchorage to dock and back again - how many batteries is the issue?
I've repaired my fair share of motors but this was very old and the piston was cracked and I simply don't have the place to do any mtoro rebuilding these days. We primarily use the dinghy to simply get from anchorage to dock and back again - how many batteries is the issue?
battery life
To expand on Ross's comment. I have been using a 24 lb thrust Minn Kota motor to power the hard dinghy for about 20 years. The small deep cycle battery I use is good for about an hour or so on speed three. Wind and waves will place more demand of course. The pros are that I have a Honda generator that I use on board to charge the little battery along with other things. I can stow the trolling motor in a cabinet, as there is not gas to spill. The cons are that unless you carry a spare with you, you might be in for a long row ! A gallon of gas in a small engine might last the weekend. If you run out, you can probably get some from another sailor. The chances of finding someone with a small spare battery to loan you is about as good as winning the lottery. Hope this helps.
To expand on Ross's comment. I have been using a 24 lb thrust Minn Kota motor to power the hard dinghy for about 20 years. The small deep cycle battery I use is good for about an hour or so on speed three. Wind and waves will place more demand of course. The pros are that I have a Honda generator that I use on board to charge the little battery along with other things. I can stow the trolling motor in a cabinet, as there is not gas to spill. The cons are that unless you carry a spare with you, you might be in for a long row ! A gallon of gas in a small engine might last the weekend. If you run out, you can probably get some from another sailor. The chances of finding someone with a small spare battery to loan you is about as good as winning the lottery. Hope this helps.
Another pro for the trolling motor.
We had an electric troliing motor on our RIB for a while. If you just go dock to boat and back over a short distance your going to be fine. Don't go for the biggest trollig motor, it will just us tons of battery. Get a medium popwer one unit w/ PWM electronics and it will last longer. The best part is it's not hard to start. On Z-Breeze, the missus is a tiny thing and can't wind up the gas motor but the electric is click and go. However, if you use the dinghy to explore or think you might. go w/ fuel.
We had an electric troliing motor on our RIB for a while. If you just go dock to boat and back over a short distance your going to be fine. Don't go for the biggest trollig motor, it will just us tons of battery. Get a medium popwer one unit w/ PWM electronics and it will last longer. The best part is it's not hard to start. On Z-Breeze, the missus is a tiny thing and can't wind up the gas motor but the electric is click and go. However, if you use the dinghy to explore or think you might. go w/ fuel.
use mine just 5 min ago
I have watertender 9 and i use a 35lbs thrust minnkota. I use a very small, light weight( a key when in a dingy, too much weight on the stern is bad) AGM wheelchair battery. It handles multiple discharges well, just like a deep cycle, and pushes the dink fine. I get about 4 round trips to the boat between charges. No gas, no explosive fumes, safe for the kids, just a better way for us to go. Pray for Wind, Lugeman P.S. no tides here in the great lakes.
I have watertender 9 and i use a 35lbs thrust minnkota. I use a very small, light weight( a key when in a dingy, too much weight on the stern is bad) AGM wheelchair battery. It handles multiple discharges well, just like a deep cycle, and pushes the dink fine. I get about 4 round trips to the boat between charges. No gas, no explosive fumes, safe for the kids, just a better way for us to go. Pray for Wind, Lugeman P.S. no tides here in the great lakes.
Hey Bama.
The problem with wind and current is that trolling motor does not produce enough power to fight wind or current so you may not be able to return to the boat or worst drift out to sea.
The problem with wind and current is that trolling motor does not produce enough power to fight wind or current so you may not be able to return to the boat or worst drift out to sea.
check the specs
this is kinda a given, the electric motor manufactures know how much battery you need. lOts in data here. So if you take a light dingy and a group 31 agm. and a small solar pannel, flexable type. you will find a combination that will give you a good balance between charging and time used. not too many of us use our dingys for more than a few hours a day and that works fine if you stay with a good quality motor. we push bass boats around all day they are 10 times as heavy but we use twin batterys. usually group 27s. but you just dont need all that power to use on a dink. So go to a reputable dealer and talk it out. We have several here in tampa that love them and have almost no problems. tmho.
this is kinda a given, the electric motor manufactures know how much battery you need. lOts in data here. So if you take a light dingy and a group 31 agm. and a small solar pannel, flexable type. you will find a combination that will give you a good balance between charging and time used. not too many of us use our dingys for more than a few hours a day and that works fine if you stay with a good quality motor. we push bass boats around all day they are 10 times as heavy but we use twin batterys. usually group 27s. but you just dont need all that power to use on a dink. So go to a reputable dealer and talk it out. We have several here in tampa that love them and have almost no problems. tmho.
Running out of battery can be a problem
I have one and had it setup with a small (lawn mower sized) battery. It ran 4 good trips, but on the way back it was almost dead. At the same time a spare battery or 2 would be good to have on the boat and could be inlined while running to charge it up.
I have one and had it setup with a small (lawn mower sized) battery. It ran 4 good trips, but on the way back it was almost dead. At the same time a spare battery or 2 would be good to have on the boat and could be inlined while running to charge it up.
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