Re: [electricboats] Sourcing Electric Outboards

I recently purchased the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 for my 23' Santana. It weighs north of 3000 lbs with the water ballast. The boat sits in a marina in the California Delta (near Stockton) year round. The Spirit will push the boat at about 4.5 knots wide open and can run a little over an hour at that speed. It will go all day if I back it down to 2.5 knots. For getting in and out of the marina, lazying around the delta or just as an assist when the wind gets light it is amazing. One of my sailing buddies owns the same model for his Welsford Navigator and it is more than enough motor for a boat that size. Having a friend with the same model is a bonus as we can share batteries which doubles the range for longer trips.

Some data we've collected:
Santana 2023C, 23', 3500 lbs (boat + people + gear)
Knots/Runtime (hours)
4.5 / 1 
3.5 / 3
2.6 / 5.2
2.2 / 10

Welsford Navigator, 14', 800 lbs (boat + people + gear)
Knots/Runtime (hours)
4.8 / 1
4.4 / 1.5
4.1 / 2.2
3.4 / 4.2
2.4 / 10

Back in December I took the Santana out in zero wind, trolled for 3 hours at 2 knots in a vain attempt to catch a striped bass, then ran wide open about 20 minutes back to the marina and still had 40% battery remaining. In January we went out on a light wind day and motor sailed for several hours, using the spirit when the wind died. Again, powered up to wide open at the end for a quick run back to the marina with just under half the battery left. I have found that the ease of using an electric outboard means I am willing to sail more as I can use it as a silent assist. The outboard is so quiet that loafing along at 2-3 knots is completely quiet and relaxing. 

One of my other sailing buddies has an older Torqeedo and it has a high pitched whine when running at higher speeds that I personally find annoying. That may not be true of the newer models. However, I would take that any day over a gas powered outboard. 

I would think that for the Mariner something the size of the Spirit 1.0 or similar Torqeedo would be plenty unless you want to motor all day at hull speed. Even then it would be cheaper to buy an extra battery than purchase the next step up from either manufacturer.

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