Who is going to be the first?

Mark

As the battery cost comes down these will be viable. I didn't see a battery weight listed. Lithium ion are light. I'm curios to see the weight and range possibilities.

Eric
 
Totally agree-when the cost comes down, I will be in. Decent power from a near silent motor? (Almost) priceless.

There are already a few electric boats in harbors in Maine, including a few used commercially as yard boats at marinas or oyster farms. This is from last October. As batteries and solar chargers get better, and as competition drives costs down, these will be more and more viable.

https://www.mainepublic.org/environ...electric-boats-are-slowly-taking-off-in-maine
 
I wonder how the Coast Guard is going to calculate for the max HP rating on a vessel with this product installed.

"Clean, quiet, maintenance-free, electric power, equivalent to 50 HP. The Pure Watercraft electric outboard is designed as an easy drop-in replacement for any boat that would accept a gas outboard between 20 and 50 HP."

Can you legally install this "equivalent to 50 HP." on a vessel rated at 20hp max?

I like the low profile this unit prrovides.
 
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Like I said I'm waiting for the cost to come down and the technology to be proven. Range is important too. A lot of the hunting I do wouldn't take more than a five mile range. Other times I need 20+ miles. Another factor is I would never buy from a new company. I have already seen alternative power marine motors pop up and then go away after only a couple years. I will only buy from an established manufacturer who I have faith will be in it for decades to come. Who wants a motor in need of parts that only a few were made and the company is long gone? No thanks!

Eric
 
I'd be worried about range in the great white north. Drive out, set up, hunt for a few hours, drive back. I know cold kills the range on EV cars and trucks. Would suck to run out of electrons in the cold.
 
Mark W said:
I'd be worried about range in the great white north. Drive out, set up, hunt for a few hours, drive back. I know cold kills the range on EV cars and trucks. Would suck to run out of electrons in the cold.
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YUP . Waterfowling, extreme temps, ice, and batteries of any kind do not get along very well. As is many a time we place ourselves on the "edge". Ya wanna trust yer life and that of others it's yer call. A good set of oars and a strong back never go out of fashion.


my 2 cents
 
My thoughts on getting an electric boat motor: Hell NO!

A) Cost is ridiculous and I doubt it will come down quickly, too much demand for the rare earth metals for use in electric cars, bikes, scooters, laptops, phones and tools etc, and it's increasing.

B) Safety - lithium batteries, electronics and water, (especially salt water) sounds like a fire waiting to happen. Okay maybe not a huge individual likely hood but there seems to be a significant fire problems with charging bikes, scooters, not to mention cars; Porsche, Audi, Jag, and Chevy Bolts all have issues. There is a reason lithium batteries are treated as hazardous material for shipping purposes.

C) Range - Its hard to beat being able to pour more gas into the tank to go further. Out of state camping, staying at a hotel or even a friends house, charging could be an issue. Gas stations are located pretty much everywhere, and if not bring an extra gas can with you. Okay gas isn't the safest material either but its one we're used to.

D) Longevity - The average age of my multiple outboards is roughly 20 years, and running strong. I've got gas engines dating back to the 70s that run, or at least could be gotten running with a little maintenance that's in my ability to perform. How many years is this electric tech going last around the high moisture marine boating environment? (note: I admit I'm driving around in mom's 2004 Prius, getting it for free with less than 35K miles is hard to turn down and it gets roughly 3X the mileage as my rock crawling tricked out Xterra. The amazing thing is that the Prius' motor battery pack is original at almost 20 years. Way over the original predictions, so who knows what the battery life is, if not abused.)

KISS (Keep It Simple S....)
 
Scott Farris said:
My thoughts on getting an electric boat motor: Hell NO!



B) Safety - lithium batteries, electronics and water, (especially salt water) sounds like a fire waiting to happen. Okay maybe not a huge individual likely hood but there seems to be a significant fire problems with charging bikes, scooters, not to mention cars; Porsche, Audi, Jag, and Chevy Bolts all have issues. There is a reason lithium batteries are treated as hazardous material for shipping purposes.



KISS (Keep It Simple S....)
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You're worried about fires so you're going to keep boating with a tank of gasoline rather than a lithium battery? It's new technology, and not surprising that many of us, me included, are going to be slow to adopt it. But every one of us is already carrying around multiple lithium batteries every day in our phones and tablets and computers. Many of us are already using lithium batteries for trolling motors.

As for KISS, to me, that's one of the advantages of an electric motor. There are many fewer moving parts and consequently much less to go wrong and less need for routine maintenance than gasoline. No more fuel/oil separators or gunked up carburetors.

Cost and range and a settled market are real reasons to be cautious about switching to electric. But I have little doubt that 10 years from now those will be much different than they are today.
 
I wonder what the first outboards cost compared to a pair of oars back when they first came out?
Oars were definitely more reliable than the first outboards.
If I could get the same range and speed out of an electric outboard at a reasonable price, I'd jump all over it. As noted, Fewer parts to break, no more gas, and no carbs to get gummed up. And no more pull starting.
 
Jeff, The nearest gas tank, (boat or storage) is 40 + feet away from my house. The boats with electrical systems have master switches that are normally kept in the off position unless operating so ignition sources are pretty much non existent. And with all the boats having open bilges any leaked gas smells strong enough to warn you of the potential issues.

To charge battery packs that are large enough to power a 30-50 HP equivalent motor, you have to have significant power being supplied and charging generates heat. This boat motor is comparable to small car motors (similar to a Prius @44HP). This is significantly different then phone, tablets or even cordless tool batteries which charge at reduced voltages and minimal amps. Even with these tools there are recommendations not to regularly use fast charges to not adversely affect battery life. Faster and deeper the charge, the more heat generated, the harder on batteries.

I wouldn't call the electronic control packages that control the battery pack and the variable speed motor simple. I'm sure they are great, until they're not, then they will need to be replaced because no one is going to work on them. The motor controller will need to be replaced as a single part, while if the battery packs are like cars the cells will simply be lost until enough are lost that the whole pack will need to be replaced. Googling expected electric car battery packs came back with 15 - 20 years. So unless the marine environment or the long periods of inactivity (winter) adversely affect the battery life, this should get many of us old guys though our remaining boating lives.

Please feel free to buy it and let us know how you like it.
 
I have been following Pure Watercraft for a couple years. For most of my hunting and fishing it would work great and I like the idea of low noise. However there are trips that I do that this just wouldn't work. Same issue I have with EV cars. Daily driving would be fine but every couple weeks I will put up to 600 miles on my truck in a day. Not going to cut it with an electric. That said, you can't buy a 2 stroke anymore. At what point will you no longer be able to purchase a 4 stroke?
 
Scott Farris:

Presumably you could put the battery charger out in a shed 40' from the house, too?

Time will tell. I know a lot of people driving hybrids and plug-in hybrids and don't hear a lot of complaints. We love ours, which has needed nothing but tires and oil changes since 2020. EV's and plug-in hybrids are newer and I know fewer people who have them, but those who do don't complain. Nor do my friends using power tools and ice augers with lithium batteries. (An arborist friend raves about battery chain saws.) I'm not buying until EV's and electric boat motors have been around long enough for long-term reliability, performance, safety and cost reviews, and for costs to come down.
 
I looked at this motor on their website.

Here are the specs:
Motor
Propulsion-equivalent to up to 50 HP
Weight-112 lbs.
Integrated Power Tilt/Trim
Propeller-16" diameter three blade
Power-25KW (20KW systems with 1 battery pack)
Battery Pack
Voltage(Nominal): 350V
Capacity-9.6 KWH(multiple packs can be connected for higher capacity
Weight-118 lbs
Dimensions-22.7" X 14.9" X 9.1"
Water Resistance-IPX7
Provides active thermal management to preserve battery life
Cycle Life-approximately 1000 full discharge cycles



Cost
Motor with one battery pack $21600, with two battery packs $30600

Best I can find on range is 11 miles @25MPH on one battery, 22 miles with two batteries
230 lbs for motor and one battery 348 lbs for motor and two batteries

My take:
Pretty expensive, very heavy, not sure what water resistance is about compared to outboards (excuse me, ICE outboards). Range and speed are calculated paired with their own boats, the largest of which is 13'4" long and is an inflatable and weighs 218 lbs dry and 451 with one battery pack. So there is something else you need that isn't included in the descriptions because the math doesn't work on the motor weight between the two products. It could be their charger which I saw a description and picture of but didn't see a price or weight of. Not sure how they calculate the HP, but I'm quite sure how they refer to it it isn't the same people are thinking of it now. Performance is always an issue for a new product. For example, cars were a substantial improvement over horses, and motors were a substantial improvement over oars. And perhaps electric outboards will come to show the same. But not this one.

I am not convinced that the electric government regulations craze and the promises made can live up to the billing. Actually, I'm rather certain they cannot, and I am also increasingly certain they will not. That doesn't mean gasoline forever is going to be the way it always is, it just means that electric everything isn't it. The feedback of current owners of electric vehicles on if they would buy another is not good for the business and adoption side of the equation, which is what really matters when the blowhards are out of air or when people simply refuse to buy them. I think the fear of impending doom is also waning at this point amongst most people (Tom Steyer/George Soros fans not included), if in fact it was ever high. Surely electric vehicles have their fans (most are cheerleading and not buying). Maybe I'm wrong and we will all have one by 2030 and all of the problems in the world will be solved. But I doubt it.

In any event, if you get one, tell us how it is. I am fortunate to have a low hours 25 Yamaha 2 stroke that should run well beyond my useful shelf life.
 
A friend of mine who lives in CT drives his Tesla to the Keys every winter. Takes a little more planning than driving an ICE car but not much. He won't go back to a gas vehicle.

I don't know about small boats (much harder but to crack than cars) but the I foresee a gradual transition over the next 10 years where the ratio of ICE to electric/hybrid electric cars and SUVs will completely flip, as prices come down, battery technology improves and range gets better.
 
greg setter said:
I I am fortunate to have a low hours 25 Yamaha 2 stroke that should run well beyond my useful shelf life.
Click to expand...

Same, except mine is a high hours motor that has already run well beyond expectations. But I've been thinking of adding an electric trolling motor, to push my sculling boat without the need for my cranky, loud 3.5 hp 2 stroke, and to sneak up on fish.

I haven't yet really looked at what's out there these days in either moderate thrust motors or batteries.
 
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