Let's face it, the technology just isn't there yet. All the hype in the world doesn't help the fact that gas and diesel has more stored energy per pound and per dollar than batteries and solar and wind can give you.
True, solar and wind give forever, but what boat can run on just 10 amps or so (good wind generator on a windy day) or even just 5 amps (solar, 100w panel on a GOOD day).
That wasn't a rhetorical question. The answer is none.
I don't mind reading about bleeding edge technology, I don't want to a) pay for it, or b) bleed for it.
A fellow Gemini owner out in the green state of Cauliflower brains ripped out his then 3 year diesel and installed 2 ePods, batteries etc. then put a 15hp on as a back up. Cost him more than a new diesel, weighed more, and gave him exactly 2.5 hours of run at 4kts (I get 7.2kts and can do it for 40 hours).
And folks let's face it (again with the reality check!). It's not green to put a battery on something. Batteries, every one of them, are made from toxic things like Lead, Acid, or other exotic or heavy metal. To prove my point, take one, any one, to the local land fill and see if they will take it.
Not to mention the boat itself is made from um, PLASTIC (ready petroleum by product), resins and such..not exactly "green". Green is an overused, and badly used term.
Okay, off my soapbox.
Electric has that one elusive thing that gas power doesn't have within my sorry experience (see part 1 of this). An "on" switch. That's right - I flip a switch or turn a handle and zoom, off we go.
This is a Motorguide 40/36 Vari-Max trolling motor. I also got a Duralast dual purpose deep cycle 24MD DL battery for it, a 85 amp hour group 24 lead acid.
Total price, less than half the price of the Yamaha 2.5 I bought, About half what I paid for the Suzuki 8HP - and about twice the cost of a carb rebuild.
The 40/36 part is 40 pounds of thrust, 36 inch shaft. I could leap into a butt load of math and calculations with symbols and such that my keyboard doesn't have and explain what that means and then prove it, but instead here's the "I was raised in a trailer in West Virginia" version. I like it better.
40 pounds thrust - figure at full throttle it will consume 40 amps a hour (12v). Math warning !!!
Pounds of thrust has no 'easy' conversion to horse power, you can't do the "12v x 40amps = 480watts and as a standard HP = (about) 768 watts" comparison because it's still comparing pumpkins to beachballs. It's all about crap like static load and unit of work and acceleration vs torque and other words I wouldn't use in front of my mother.
If you want to go simple, in the 70's Mercury used to say it's 6hp had 150 pounds of thrust, so call my 40 pounds of thrust about the same as a 2.5 if you want. I'll call it a 40 pounds of thrust trolling motor.
I NEVER take a battery below 50% (it cycles it, causing wear and damage).
I have 40 amps to use, ergo:
1 hour of full throttle (round down).
2 hours at half throttle,
4 hours at 1/4 throttle etc.. I'll be testing that out this fall.
Let's be honest, a trained athlete can do about 1/3 HP when rowing and move my fat heavy dinghy at maybe 2 knots steady for 4 hours, burning off a lot of cheese while he/she is at it.
Sticking with the whole honesty and facing facts thing, I'm not a trained athlete. I want a motor so I can enjoy the cheese where it belongs, wrapped around my belly and clogging my arteries.
Now comes the fun part, launch and test. I'll get back to you on this.
Oh, if I ever launch on that long cruise south to bikini land; I'll be throwing a 15hp on the back - just for the halibut. No really, it will help catch halibut.
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