An electric boat with attitude
Not Gutless
“I can’t believe how powerful that motor is!”
Thats the usual first reaction of most people when they first try a Torqeedo. We find this over and over again—no matter how much we talk about it and write about it, you won’t believe it until you actually try one out. So we’d like you to know that you’re welcome to drop by at Malu Os and take our solar boat out to see how it feels.
Another option is for us to bring one to you and put it on your dinghy or sailboat so you can really feel what its like to have a Torqeedo.
And not only feel it, but hear it and smell it. Until your senses get a taste of it you won’t really know how it is.
Trimaran with Cruise 4 and thundersky lithium batteries
And I know that for some it is too far to come and that because of one thing or another you’ll not be able to try one out, so the next best thing is to take a look at the stories here listed under trials and installations and check if there is a boat similar to yours, so you can read what others are doing with a Torqeedo on their boats. When I can I like to show a speed vs power graph so you see the figures for specific setups.
Battery Technology
The most limiting thing for electric outboards is battery power, and compared with petrol, batteries have a really low energy density. That is for a given weight of “fuel” petrol packs in much more energy than can a battery. And if you need to move a typical lead-acid battery around you’ll notice this.
But you’ll have also noticed from using battery powered hand tools how powerful and longer lasting they are becoming, especially those that use Lithium batteries. And its the lithium batteries that are making electric outboards useful in more and more situations. And you’ll see that some of the Torqeedo models include an integral Lithium battery, such as in the Travel 1003, and in this example the battery weighs only 4.5 kg. For a similar amount of useful power you’d need a lead-acid battery of around 20 kg. And its this factor that makes all the difference in uses such as a yacht tender, or a motor for a sailing boat.
Torqeedo have also developed a larger Lithium battery designed for marine work and useful for powering faster or larger boats. With eight of these installed in the the carbon boat shown in these pictures, it has a planing speed of around 25 km/hr and can maintain this for about 2.5 hours. And at a more gentle speed of 4 to 5 knots can go for 40 hours, or 160 nautical miles.
Torqeedo 1003 on Old Town Canoe
Arrange a test drive
To arrange a test drive of a Torqeedo, you can call me, Chris, on 0409 466 271, or contact us by email at chris@currentsunshine.com You can test drive it here at Malu Os electric boat rental at Noosa, or maybe at your location. I travel a lot and can often arrange to bring a motor to wherever you are— so give me a call.