Saturday, May 11, 2019

Re: [Electric Boats] Re: Trolling Motor in Salt Water

 

Good to hear they stood behind the motor and warrantied the part. Is there a video or pic of the weed cone that you made?

With regards to the weed prop - if it is a stock trolling motor prop I don't think it will be acceptable. First off, the weed props are less efficient than normal trolling motor props. The big advantage of the Torqeedo is in its gear reduction, with allows a slower, more efficent prop than a direct drive trolling motor could use. Even with their higher speed, trolling motors are pretty much universally set to go 5mph at max speed regardless of the thrust, and that's not factoring prop slip. I believe you managed to get 7kph out of yours which translates to about 4.5 miles per hour. Probably about as fast as one could realistically get out of a trolling motor and a testament to the streamlined proportions of your hull. Combine the inefficient prop with the slower turning torqueedo and your speed will be quite slow. Incidentally, I know your boat is 18.5 feet, but what is the max beam? Any idea on the weight?

The only boat I have right now is a solo canoe that I bought before I got married. My father used to have a square backed canoe which was made for an outboard but was fitted with a trolling motor. I have very fond memories of the boat, but the stern kept the speed and range down and it was nearly impossible to paddle if the batteries died. I recently joined this forum trying to get ideas for solar assisted boats. I'm looking at used sailboats, but most of them are too beamy for electric conversion and/or they have a forward cabin which would hamper visibility in the narrow waterways around here. That's why I'm entertaining building in plywood. Had you built a boat before this one? It certainly turned out nice.


On Wednesday, May 8, 2019, 9:04:25 AM CDT, Phil Boyer philaboyer@yahoo.ca [electricboats] <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:


 

Hi Rob, glad you enjoyed the trip and build videos. The Torqeedo motor is now fine, the issue was the remote throttle that they replaced under warranty. The motor has a gap of about 1/16" between the prop and the housing. It will allow weeds to snag there so I made a cone that I siliconed to the housing and it covers the slot. The motor still collects weeds but now I can through it in reverse and I get rid of most but not all. I am going to add a weed blade that you see advertised for trolling motors and I hope that will take care of all the weeds. I am going to make another video this summer after I complete another trip which is only going to be four days and will be where I left off on the Rideau canal and go to Kingston and then into Lake Ontario and around to my dock at Napanee.
In regards to the pictures that you attached, is that your boat and if so how well does it perform.

Regards
Phil


On Friday, May 3, 2019, 9:54:26 p.m. EDT, rob.roy1866@yahoo.com [electricboats] <electricboats@yahoogroups.com> wrote:


 

Hi Phil. I watched both of your trips on youtube as well as some of your build vids. Truly a lovely boat and an inspiring voyage. My wife is from Ontario, so she watched some of it too. I couldn't do anything as grand in FL, as the waterways don't really work the same way down here. I don't have time for strip planking, either. Still, I'd love a solar boat to kick around in all day.

I like some of the slot top sailboats that Jim Michalak designed like this one https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/jm-jewelboxjr.htm

They are supposed to float on their side, but I'm more attracted to the idea of the slot down the middle to allow both full standing height while keeping the center of gravity low. I remember you crossing a rough lake in one of the videos and thinking I hope I'm never in that situation.

How is the Torquedo holding up? You had some problem with it cutting out on the first trip but no mention of it on the second. Is it worse in the weeds than a regular trolling motor? The rivers I love around here tend to be problematic in that regard.

Thanks for the vids - hope there are more in the future.

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Posted by: Rob Roy <rob.roy1866@yahoo.com>
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