[C320-list] Dinghy Outboards - Electic or Gas ?

[Allan Field]

Another option is propane, a second solution to the tyranny of ethanol. We
bought ours from West Marine a few years ago then used the points to buy
the larger propane tank. We carry one of the small bottles as a "get home"
option in the event the larger tank runs dry, which has never happened.
This was one of our better investments. It's a bit louder than the gas
engine but no gas, no ethanol, and no worries about running out of a
charge. Ours is a Lehr.

Allan S. Field
Sea Shadow - C387, #103 (formerly C320, #808)
Columbia, MD

On Mon, Sep 7, 2020 at 10:16 AM P.F. Ross <pfrstl at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks, Greg and Mark, good info!
>
> Frank
>
> On Sun, Sep 6, 2020, 2:02 PM Mark Cole <boatnboot at me.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello;
> >
> > I, too, got tired of the hassles of a gas outboard and started looking at
> > electric options.  I ended up with an EP Carry motor and love it.  EP
> Carry
> > is relatively new on the market and have been shipping motors for a
> couple
> > of years now.  The outboard and battery combo weighs 21 pounds total and
> > the battery can be easily disconnected and handed down to the dingy
> > separately.  My wife hands down the motor and I mount it on the transom,
> > then she hands down the battery to connect to the motor.  Very simple; no
> > more gas cans onboard, no more need for a motor hoist on the transom, and
> > we can now carry on a conversation while motoring around in the dingy.
> >
> > We have a 10’ inflatable (soft floor) and, while I can’t ski behind the
> > dingy, it moves along pretty well.  We’ve used the same battery during
> > two-day anchors with frequent trips ashore with the dog and didn’t run
> out
> > of battery.  I don’t have a great way to recharge the battery (AC
> charger)
> > when not connected to shore power, so I’ll probably end up with a second
> > battery.  All told, it does everything I want from a dingy outboard
> except
> > maybe allow use of the dingy as a tow boat for the mother ship, thou I
> > haven’t tried that yet.  I wouldn’t consider going back to gas.
> >
> > Mark Cole
> > Fiddler’s Green #8
> >
> > > On Sep 6, 2020, at 10:15 AM, P.F. Ross <pfrstl at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > Roger, thanks for asking since I am beginning my dinghy/motor search
> now.
> > >
> > > Greg, you have mentioned how happy you are with your Torqeedo but
> > > intuitively seems like your dinghy type would also impact how well the
> > > motor performs in the wild.
> > >
> > > Is your dinghy a RIB? How heavy? How long?
> > >
> > > Thanks and regards,
> > >
> > > Frank Ross
> > > Beta Wave #206
> > > Naples, FL
> > >
> > > On Sat, Sep 5, 2020 at 8:58 PM Greg Flanagan <greg.flanagan at shaw.ca>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > >> Hi Roger,
> > >>
> > >> Sounds the same as my dinghy. I had a 6HP Yamaha and a davit to manage
> > it.
> > >> But it still just got too much and I hated having to have gasoline on
> > >> board. I bought a Torqeedo 2 years ago and have never looked back. The
> > >> whole thing weighs 34 lbs, however the motor only weighs about 15 lbs,
> > the
> > >> battery 16-17 lbs and the tiller a few more. So now I move the motor
> > from
> > >> our mount into the dinghy with one hand, and then the battery. No
> > gasoline!
> > >> Instant start!  We can go over 4 knots if we are in a hurry but at a
> > couple
> > >> of knots the battery will last for 20 hours. We have been able to use
> > our
> > >> dinghy much more and it is quieter than a kayak at very low speed so
> we
> > >> have been able observe much more wildlife cruising the shoreline.
> > >> I initially had a 50 watt solar panel to charge it. Then as I
> increased
> > my
> > >> main solar system I found I had free energy at the end of the day and
> > could
> > >> just charge it from my house system without diminishing the house
> > >> batteries. However, given the range it doesn’t need much charge to
> > bring it
> > >> up to 100%.
> > >> I strongly recommend it.
> > >>
> > >> Cheers,
> > >>
> > >> Greg
> > >> Hoop Dancer #1076
> > >> Sidney, BC
> > >>
> > >>> On Sep 5, 2020, at 5:57 PM, Roger Nitkin <rnitkin at aol.com> wrote:
> > >>>
> > >>> We have a 10’ inflatable dinghy we use when cruising, mostly short
> > >> weekend excursions.
> > >>>
> > >>> I’m tired of lugging around and setting up the 4 HP Yamaha outboard.
> > >>>
> > >>> Has anyone had any experience with electric outboards ?
> > >>>
> > >>> Aside from the higher initial cost and shorter range, are there any
> > >> other issues with electrics ?
> > >>> I figure that since most of our cruising is one or two nights, the
> > >> shorter range of the electric battery
> > >>> won’t be too much of a handicap.
> > >>>
> > >>> Thanks !
> > >>>
> > >>> Roger
> > >>> Summer Time, 1997
> > >>> Westport, CT
> > >>
> >
> >
>