T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] Intro & which canoe motor?

Monday, September 17, 2012

Re: [Electric Boats] Intro & which canoe motor?

Welcome Welton, and electric propulsion for a canoe is right down my ally. Since you already have an excellent canoe, I'll respond just for the battery side. I have the Ocean Torque kayak powered by a Minn-Kota designed unit that slides into a hull well. I'm not a fan of heavy lead acid batteries, and their short cycle life. I am currently assembling (2) 12 volt packs of LiFeP04 cells. (8) 100 a/hr 3.2 volt cells that by my calculations should push me at 4 kt for 75 nm for 80% DOD, all for 60 lbs of lithium batteries. With a cycle life of 2000, they will last longer than me.

Bob
--- On Mon, 9/17/12, Welton Rotz <welton@weltonrotz.com> wrote:

From: Welton Rotz <welton@weltonrotz.com>
Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Intro & which canoe motor?
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, September 17, 2012, 10:24 AM

Hi,
Check out Electric Paddle http://www.electricpaddle.com/
I saw it at the Pt.Townsend wooden boat show.
They are coming out with a more powerful motor next Spring.
I saw the new motor working and it looked very good!
Welton

On Sep 15, 2012, at 10:56 AM, Roger L wrote:

Hello, I would like to introduce myself to the group. Name is Roger L. and I'm a northern inland sailor and tinkerer during the summer, and have been spending winters truck camping and canoeing the lazy rivers in the southern US.

My canoe is well worked out for efficient paddling. It is a very light Kevlar/carbon with dual outrigger pontoons and is often used as a photographic platform. But I can't help thinking an electric would be handy for sneaking up on wildlife and also for getting back in the afternoon against tide, wind, and current....but which kind?

Do I want to go with an electric outboard? Or an electric trolling motor?

Since it is an outrigger type craft, a simple side-mounted motor is easy to rig up. I want to stay under 20 lbs total.

The Torqeedo 403 looks nice, but I'm not sure I need the complexity that comes with the higher speed capability.

An alternative would be a traditional trolling motor - possibly fitted with a hi-torque prop. But that setup would require a possible prop change and a lightweight 12 volt battery similar to the Torqeedo. Are such props and batteries available?

Thanks, Roger L.