Electric outboard motors?

Boats up to 15' for oars, power or sail. Please include the boat type in your question.
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dbcrx
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Electric outboard motors?

Post by dbcrx »

I'm thinking of getting an electric outboard to fit onto the canoe, but I have no idea what the various thrust figures equate to in real life! I've been looking at motors with anything between 18lb up to 56lb of thrust. Can anyone advise on how much power is needed for a canoe (the chenoa 16')? I guess it won't need much - I'm just looking for something that would be similar to say an old 2hp outboard.
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cali123
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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by cali123 »

I have a 36 lb. thrust transom mount that I use on a light 12 ft glass boat. It has plenty of power. Bigger is better to some degree in that you have more power on tap if facing strong wind or current.

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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by AMC »

For a boat that size, the smallest you can get will be enough, and smaller will generally equate to longer battery life, or the need for a smaller battery. Larger is generally not a bad thing, unless you want to do some trolling, where it might be difficult to get the speed low enough at times.

On my main boat, a 15ft Al fishing boat, weighing in at about 500 pounds, give or take, a 40lb thrust will move it along at over 5 knots.

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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by boatdog »

check manufacturers web site for info.....
if your talking trolling motors, they are designed to move a boat at 5 MPH give or take no matter what size you get, a "cheap" 36 pound thrust should be fine for a canoe, it works fine on my gf-14.

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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by dbcrx »

Thanks. I've found a cheap one on eBay that's a 30lb one so I'm going for that. Only 110€ delivered!
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kiwi
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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by kiwi »

This is a subject very close to my center of interest. At the moment I am rowing out the the 2 mile limit (for my category of boat). What happens if the wind picks up? Well I sweat a lot more.

There is a formula for calculating thrust somewhere on a bass fishing site. For my 15' canoe optimal thrust is 36lbs. The thrust you need depends on the length of the boat more than the weight.

Then there is the Rolls Royce of trolling motors, the Torqueedo. They make a kayak model that is perfect for my needs. It costs 1499 €. It costs 3.5x more than a trolling motor + battery + charger + circuit breaker. It weighs 1/6th as much. And it has remote power control and steering (2 pulleys and some bungee cord)! With battery level indicator and GPS to boot.

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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by Charlie »

In the old days there were gas (petrol) powered "canoe motors". They only generated ½ HP. Canoes have a very slippery shape so they don't need much to push them along at a safe speed.
What you want to do is trim the canoe so it sits level in the water. If the motor, the battery and the pilot are all close together in the stern the front end may come out of the water and make for reduced speed and fuzzy handling.

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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by dbcrx »

Yes, I'm thinking of making two mounting points for the battery. One at the front for when on my own and one in the middle for when I have company. What's the thoughts on a battery box? Is it necessary or is it ok to just have the battery strapped down?
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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by dbcrx »

Motor arrived today :D

Now I have the dilema of wether to mount straight off the back so it's in the middle, or put it a foot or so from the end and off to the side so it's more comfortable to operate :doh: Will it waste a noticable amount of power by having it on the side (because it will be trying to turn the canoe)?
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Re: Electric outboard motors?

Post by Cracker Larry »

If it's a double ended canoe I would mount it on the side. The efficiency loss is negligible. You can buy one from LL Bean for $50, or could probably build it yourself for free.

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