Electic Boats / Motors

[Adler]

Been wondering when electric boats may come about...we have the thread on Rivian and lots now have electric vehicles, including one in our driveway (Kona). I've looked at electric motorbikes and see the odd one around. Now the first sign (that Ive seen) of real electric boats on the horizon, at the CES.

Electric boats at tech show: Pitched as cleaner and quieter

These early electric boat models are expensive, heavy and could cause serious “range anxiety.”

www.timescolonist.com

Interesting that Candela and Navier start on 28' boats...why not shorter ones? Is it because they hydrofoil easier? But as the article notes, most likely use will be use will be small fleets - Victoria Harbour Ferry is already using electic boats.

Victoria Harbour Ferry triples its electric fleet

Victoria Harbour Ferry will add two new zero-emission vessels to its fleet before the end of this month.

www.timescolonist.com

Curious about outboards though, and more than the small electric motors on lake boats. I found this on Mercury, just released also for the CES...the Avator 7.5e with battery in the motor itself....interesting. Could this be a reliable kicker for a smaller boat soon? Or for a tender? Don't see any info in the brochure about how long the motor can run... but did see this quote..."With its advanced motor and efficient performance, the Avator 7.5e outboard produces 750W of power at the prop shaft. It’s capable of speed and acceleration similar to that of a Mercury 3.5hp FourStroke outboard."...so not a kicker. They are however leaning for other releases this year of 25e and 35e outboards. Perhaps those will be kicker materiel...

Mercury Avator 7.5e | Mercury Marine

Electric Outboard The Mercury® Avator™ 7.5e electric outboard delivers clean, quiet power that’s as simple to use as it is fun to drive. Available in tiller and remote steer models, it features a quick-connect battery and intuitive controls that make setup and operation a breeze. And with...

www.mercurymarine.com

 

[Adler]

Yamaha Harmo....released in 2021 in Europe supposedly, equivalent to a kicker. But with operation ranging from 20 minutes to 8 hours...that's quite the range.

 

[Eden Island]

Minn Kota was making a larger engine mounted kicker [mounts on the leg] as part of their saltwater series. It was roughly comparable to a 9.9, and would troll for multi hours. They have discontinued it due to low market demand.

There is a thread on here about a guy [Andrew P?] who set one up on a ~20' boat, with solar panels to extend range - a few years ago.

 

[kaelc]

I’m sold on the hybrid boat idea, electric trolling motor for low speed, gas engine for getting places. I like the Minn Kota terrova idea, keep the batteries separate and put them where you want on the boat. Proprietary battery packs are expensive compared to 12v

 

[ship happens]

That new mercury electric thing is made by Minnkota and or motorguide can't remember might even be the same company. Least that's what I was told last year when they showed them at the Florida boat show.

 

[ryanb]

Been wondering when electric boats may come about...we have the thread on Rivian and lots now have electric vehicles, including one in our driveway (Kona). I've looked at electric motorbikes and see the odd one around. Now the first sign (that Ive seen) of real electric boats on the horizon, at the CES.

Electric boats at tech show: Pitched as cleaner and quieter

These early electric boat models are expensive, heavy and could cause serious “range anxiety.”

www.timescolonist.com

Interesting that Candela and Navier start on 28' boats...why not shorter ones? Is it because they hydrofoil easier? But as the article notes, most likely use will be use will be small fleets - Victoria Harbour Ferry is already using electic boats.

Victoria Harbour Ferry triples its electric fleet

Victoria Harbour Ferry will add two new zero-emission vessels to its fleet before the end of this month.

www.timescolonist.com

Curious about outboards though, and more than the small electric motors on lake boats. I found this on Mercury, just released also for the CES...the Avator 7.5e with battery in the motor itself....interesting. Could this be a reliable kicker for a smaller boat soon? Or for a tender? Don't see any info in the brochure about how long the motor can run... but did see this quote..."With its advanced motor and efficient performance, the Avator 7.5e outboard produces 750W of power at the prop shaft. It’s capable of speed and acceleration similar to that of a Mercury 3.5hp FourStroke outboard."...so not a kicker. They are however leaning for other releases this year of 25e and 35e outboards. Perhaps those will be kicker materiel...

Mercury Avator 7.5e | Mercury Marine

Electric Outboard The Mercury® Avator™ 7.5e electric outboard delivers clean, quiet power that’s as simple to use as it is fun to drive. Available in tiller and remote steer models, it features a quick-connect battery and intuitive controls that make setup and operation a breeze. And with...

www.mercurymarine.com

That one is only 750 watts, so only 1 horsepower. With a 1kwh battery it's only 1 hour running time roughly. Even a 3500watt if they release that isn't even 5 HP. Until battery tech changes dramatically I don't think electric is going far in the marine world.

 

[bryce]

99% of the problems I have had on any boat are electrical I really don’t feel like being the test dummy on adding fuel to that fire.
On a different note I do appreciate the people willing to try, just havnt seen it go anywhere productive I would need atleast 14 hrs of run time(6 hrs on step 8 trolling at 6-8 knots) and a way to charge that is on my boat if I don’t feel like running back to dock.

 

[Cookie's Cutter]

I was at the Health Foods store today and two people right by the exit are talking “I am going to trade my electric vehicle in for a gas powered car”
“me too” the other one says

I couldn’t help chuckle to myself

 

[Irishwolf]

Mercury just released this- not sure if this is what another poster was referencing. It behaves like a 3.5hp gas with 1 hour of runtime wide open.

Looks nice but idk, unless they can increase the power to weight/size ratio of batteries I’m not convinced the salt is the right application for EV’s at least as its sole propulsion system.

https://electrek.co/2023/01/06/mercury-avator-7-5e-electric-outboard-boat-motor/

 

[AndrewH]

Mercury just released this- not sure if this is what another poster was referencing. It behaves like a 3.5hp gas with 1 hour of runtime wide open.

Looks nice but idk, unless they can increase the power to weight/size ratio of batteries I’m not convinced the salt is the right application for EV’s at least as its sole propulsion system.

https://electrek.co/2023/01/06/mercury-avator-7-5e-electric-outboard-boat-motor/

Another thing that needs to be addressed is the fact that lithium and salt water really don't mix well We all remember that electric car that rolled into the water in Richmond few years back...

 

[goatman]

i put a 3kw continuous motor in a honda 25, that would give you 3knots in a 30 ft boat. 5kw continuous would be about 5.5 knots. a 23 kwh Nissan leaf battery was about $5000 cad but now theyre $15,000 cad for about 22 knots range on a 4 hr trip but about 8 hrs trolling. $15,000 buys a new kicker and alot of gas. i think theyre great if you want to putt around on lakes with smaller boats or a sailboat but not so much on rivers or high current areas. everyones been waiting for battery break throughs but its all vapor ware and the costs have gone full retard.

 

[chris73]

From all I have seen, battery costs are continuing to come down. LiFePo4 batteries are literally half the cost than only 2 years ago.

 

[chris73]

99% of the problems I have had on any boat are electrical I really don’t feel like being the test dummy on adding fuel to that fire.
On a different note I do appreciate the people willing to try, just havnt seen it go anywhere productive I would need atleast 14 hrs of run time(6 hrs on step 8 trolling at 6-8 knots) and a way to charge that is on my boat if I don’t feel like running back to dock.

I've had my little electric lake boat motor for 20 plus years with zero maintenance to it and it never failed me. Connect and go. Too simple to fail. Try that with any gas motor. In any reliability contest between fuel and electric motor my money would always be on electric.

 

[Alex_c]

From all I have seen, battery costs are continuing to come down. LiFePo4 batteries are literally half the cost than only 2 years ago.

I’ve seen 100ah (1.2kwh) batteries as cheap as $280. I suspect electric trolling motors on smaller recreational fishing boats will become more common in the next 5-10 years based on trends of $/khw and overall battery density, though it’s possible we’ll see prices for current tech find their lower bound until the next major breakthrough is available to consumers. I had more to this post but it got consumed by the refresh bug recently flagged by users to site admins.

Here’s a really interesting article on a potential technology that solves a lot of the issues:

Can Flow Batteries Finally Beat Lithium?

Nanoparticles may boost energy density enough for EVs

spectrum.ieee.org

 

[ship happens]

I’ve seen 100ah (1.2kwh) batteries as cheap as $280. I suspect electric trolling motors on smaller recreational fishing boats will become more common in the next 5-10 years based on trends of $/khw and overall battery density, though it’s possible we’ll see prices for current tech find their lower bound until the next major breakthrough is available to consumers. I had more to this post but it got consumed by the refresh bug recently flagged by users to site admins.

Here’s a really interesting article on a potential technology that solves a lot of the issues:

Can Flow Batteries Finally Beat Lithium?

Nanoparticles may boost energy density enough for EVs

spectrum.ieee.org

But wait the fluid has to be flow pumped?. Not good

 

[Alex_c]

But wait the fluid has to be flow pumped?. Not good

I don’t follow

 

[bryce]

I've had my little electric lake boat motor for 20 plus years with zero maintenance to it and it never failed me. Connect and go. Too simple to fail. Try that with any gas motor. In any reliability contest between fuel and electric motor my money would always be on electric.

“Little lake boat motor” sure they’ve been around forever had one most of my childhood motor always worked great! Spent most days paddling back cause the battery was dead, this on a lake so corrosion not an issue as well , now add up what I need for batteries to push equivalent to 600 horsepower for ten hrs straight and then a charger on a dock that can have it re charged by the time I take off again the next morning, how will these batteries hold up to constant pounding in 2-6 foot chop. Not saying there not trying but like I said they are not yet there for me and I’m not willing to spend a couple hundred thousand to be a test dummy.

 

[Sr SQ]

I guess I'm showing my age but........
It really wasn't long ago when the first cordless tools hit the market, lots of nay sayers (me being one) but now they dominate the market on just about every front.
Regardless of the environmental debate or if its better IYO its what the market perceives (read marketing ) as what they will spend on.
Look at the 2 vs 4 stroke outboard, how many nay sayers but they made it happened because that's where the $$$ was.
The one thing that you can be sure of is, if there is market demand (money to be made) the solution will come up.
I can say it wasn't long ago that no one would believe a 23-27' fishing boat could troll or spot lock all day on batteries from a bow mount electric but its happening because people are willing to pay for it.
I believe LifePO4 batteries are just a step in this electric game and because people are willing to pay for improvements they will develop them.

 

[sly_karma]

I can see it working for boats that have high output for short periods. Wake and ski boats, for instance, they're mostly back on the trailer at night and so could be charged at home. And those folks seem to buy shiny things reasonably often, which is important because to be used as main propulsion, batteries need to be built into the hull below decks.

There won't be hull + outboard combos anymore, just a small steerable outdrive unit that will look tiny to our eyes, because it won't need a gearcase (F-N-R shifts will be done electrically). But it will be an I/O without the engine doghouse getting in the way, and no more awkward oil changes or rusted out raw water cooling risers. The torque will pop the heaviest boat onto plane in seconds, and only wind noise will inhibit conversation at cruise speeds.

It all sounds wonderful, but you'll need to buy a new boat. Sure, we are seeing small electric outboards in the 7.5 - 10 hp range, those could be added as a kicker by a keen owner willing to build in the batteries needed to make it viable for all day trolling and reserve power. But any bigger than that and you'll be looking at full build integrated hull, controls and power, same as the new EVs on the roads now.

My guess is the second gen of higher density batteries needs to hit the automotive market and go through its price lowering arc before we will see that spillover into consumer level marine. Either that or one of the big outboard makers sees the threat to their future and decides to go all in on their own research program and starts putting the new e-drives and batteries into hulls from the brands they own.