The Nestaway Boats Electric Outboard Guide

Lithium batteries have made today’s small electric outboards not just comparable with, but, for most users, better than their petrol equivalents. In this Electric Outboard Guide we talk you through some of the advantages. They are:

Easier to Use.

Switch on by pressing a button, twist the tiller handle, and go. Almost anybody can do it, even children and people who think they lack technical ability; no experience, strength or mechanical knowledge is needed. They just work.

Easier to Handle.

The batteries are removable, and the all-important “pass up and down” weight (the shaft/motor assembly) is – at around 10kg for the most popular ePropulsion Spirit and Torqeedo 1103 motors – lighter than any petrol motor. There’s also now the ThrustMe Kicker, which is only 4.4kg including its battery, albeit with less power (still more, and easier, than rowing) and battery capacity than the other two.

Easier to Store.

They divide into components, don’t leak oil or smell of petrol, and don’t mind which way up they’re stored. This means you can put them in places you’d never considering putting a petrol outboard, such as inside your cabin – which also means better security.

Quiet & Smooth, a delight to use.

No need to shout to your fellow crewmembers, no disturbance to your fellow boaters (such as when taking the dog ashore at 7am!), and no scaring off wildlife.

Power.

Forget what you know about slow speed “trolling motors”, the Torqeedo 1103 and ePropulsion 1kW electric outboard motors have huge torque (more like a 3hp petrol) and will even push a 2 tonne 26ft yacht at 4.5 knots. The ThrustMe Kicker is more like a 1.5 to 2hp petrol outboard, in terms of what it does.

Range.

There are many variables, but most Torqeedo 1103 and ePropulsion Spirit outboard users achieve at least 9 to 10 nautical miles per charge, assuming a speed of 4 to 5 knots (2.5m inflatable dinghy). And it can be much more than that, if you slow down even a little bit, as power requirements vary exponentially with speed… roughly speaking twice as much speed requires eight times the power.

Reliability.

Many outboard motors don’t get used very often, and this is just about the worst usage case you can imagine for a small petrol motor (they like to be used, often). Electric outboards have fewer parts in general, which just means less to go wrong. But in particular there’s no carburettor to “gum up”, which seems to be the most common cause of petrol motor issues, particularly now that petrol contains Ethanol.

 

It’s not all perfect, of course. Electric Outboard Motors are undeniably More Expensive than petrol outboards, mostly because lithium batteries are expensive. But that extra upfront cost is largely offset by their Lower Lifetime Running Costs, including (almost) No Servicing.

 

“Using a well‑engineered electric outboard has been a revelation. The stress, mess and worry of oil, petrol, starting issues and sheer weight have melted like snow in April…”

TOM CUNLIFFE, Classic Boat

“The eye-opener for me is the ease of power “on demand” and the smooth transition from sail to power… no flying elbows and noise and uncertainty as there is with a petrol motor and it actually enables us to keep our sails up much longer in narrow passages… We mentioned quietness a few times, but we haven’t mentioned lack of petrol smell, lack of polluting the harbour, lack of vibration, lack of servicing, ease of getting it in and out of the boat…”

Ray Scragg reviewing Epropulsion Spirit PLUS fitted to his Swallow Yachts Bay Raider Expedition (20ft dayboat)