And They wonder why Sailors hate outboard motors! :) . . . .

[Riley Smith]

SO...the long slog was a no-no on the trolling motor. A long slog upwind to get back to the ramp. S R Cat is not designed for that, so the ICE motor is used there. It's noisy and I prefer to sail but there are sometimes daylight and time constraints. And lets face it, the catboat is fun to sail but sometimes it more funner to get where you're going. I was sure wishing I'd brought it on the FL 120 under the sun and no wind. That sense of utility. Yes, battery tech has no doubt increased and it is much better, as one of the problems back then was hauling around a hunk of lead and a disintegrating neck bone. And another was how much juice to you have left? And that sinking feeling when you realize that the revs are getting slower. Just to touch on a few. Was it underpowered? Yes. And yes, I realize some or all of them have been addressed in the electric revolution, but I can carry around another CHARGE with my ICE. And it has a helluva range. Apples and Oranges if you use the boat is a different way. No difference than you have a sloop and I have a catboat. It's our decision. Go with it and I can guarantee, you'll learn how YOU feel about it   

[Doug SC]

I am considering biting the bullet and possibly go with an ePropulsion eLite to save weight on the transom and cut the noise. It also can survive immersion. I have oars and sail along with the ability to recharge it with my onboard battery.

NoelH has experience with the Torqeedo Travel and the eLite. Maybe he might have useful info for you.

He responded to I post I did a while back on a video about the eLite on a Scamp.

video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpEajuFIUOA

NoelH's response.

ePropulsion Elite is my backup motor to the Torqeedo Travel. Vela is 800lbs empty, LOA 15 feet, and IIRC 14.5 ft at the waterline. Slippery hull through the water. Did a little comparison test this past Spring. Same based on screen read out of watts. Torqeedo repeatedly moved Vela more than 0.5kts faster. Depth above propeller was similar.  JMHO, either the readouts were incorrect or the Torqeedo propeller just generated more efficient thrust.

I rarely motor.  Maybe once or twice a season. Maximum distance that I can remember was ~6nm. Motors are used just to get in and out of the marina.  Torqueedo is overkill for that purpose.

ePropulsion has already one factory recall for the eLite. Free fix, but real pita to ship a lithium powered outboard.  The battery module is built in and not removable.  When enquiring about replacing the battery pack when dead the ePropulsion person said not to worry. Motor is designed to maintenance free with a duty life of 7-10 years of normal use.  Then I guess you just landfill it.

I like the design and function of the eLite. It is light(IIRC, 7kg) and easy to pull off the motor mount to stow while rocking away in a small sailboat.  It looks to be another Chinese copycat. The much more powerful and expensive French built Temo 1000. Temo 1000 has a quick and easy removable battery pack allowing users to switch over to a spare battery with minimal fuss and effort. Torqeedo is a pita. First unscrew the tiller control cable and then the battery power cable. Both have way too fine threads that can easily be cross threaded even on land.  Battery on my Travel is ~10kg.

Then there was this video on setting up onboards charging for the eLite. You may have already seen these videos as Small Craft Advisor has featured them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGVP8XWCEfQ 

[Grith]

I use a torqeedo 1103 as both an auxiliary outboard on my 3ton Imexus 28 cruising equipped trailer sailer and as our inflatable dingy motor very successfully. The newer 1103 performs much better than my previous 1003 in a number of respects.
The motor tilts higher and the release mechanism is better and the motor is far quieter.
I use the torqeedo for river cruising where twists and turns and width often make sailing difficult whilst retaining the ability to move silently without fumes and fuel use.
It also gets a workout in doldrum like conditions or directly upwind in low breezes.
Our main outboard is a monster 115 hp Yamaha with power tilt and trim, electric start, remote throttle and electronic monitoring of just about everything eliminating virtually all the usual outboard gripes.
We rarely use it and even rarer to its potential but it comes in handy blasting quickly back to shelter or crossing breaking river mouth bars. Yes it is the cause of both ridicule and comment but it does have its uses and has towed a fair number of other boaters out of trouble as well.

[GlenG]

I use a 4 hp long shaft outboard on my Santana21.  The Mount has only 2 positions (Up & Down). It is spring loaded to assist in a quick lift when needed.  It is barely, but adequately, available to pull the rope start when fully down.  It is also barely, but adequately available to use the motor's tiller handle for steerage.  I keep the steering friction adjustment fairly stiff so it stays straight without attendance.  With it straight, I use the boat tiller to steer.  It has no neutral, nor reverse.  A full 180 deg spin to face backward for slowing or reversing, putting the tiller handle nearly out of reach.  I have to two-handed grab the cover to steer in reverse.  Do NOT get a spin-to-reverse outboard for a sailboat if you need to maneuver in close quarter harbors.  Also check whether the rudder (swing up for shallow water) will hit the running outboard prop if swung hard over.  If the final mount height proves less than ideal, it is easier to make a new mount board on the motor end of the aluminum bracket than it is to re-position the bracket on the transom of the boat.
One last 'positive' comment on my setup... the motor raised and tilted forward ended up just right to act as a backrest when I'm sitting on the starboard seat in a relaxed cruising position.

[Brian N.]

The Honda 2HP is similar. No "real" neutral. just feather the prop down until it almost stops spinning. No reverse gear, it requires that the entire motor be spun around, flipping the handle as you bring it around. It took some practice to do it smoothly.

[noelH]

Hopefully not jinxing the Torqueedo. 7 years of no issues except for the poorly designed kick up locking bracket.  Way under built. Emailing Torqueedo back then the person noted it was not designed to hold up the motor while sailing. Huh.... Replaced the bracket before coming up with my simple fix and stronger fix for a price of piece of scrape PVC and velcro strap. Sounds like Torq realized they had a poor bracket with the redesigned model.  On paper the Temo1000 seems to have the better mounting design. Simple, quick to remove the motor and stow it when sailing. Or just swivel out of your way vs. having a wart hanging off the transom.  Plus the easy to switch battery system. eLite more or less copied the design.

The eLite like the latest Torqs are all direct drive.  No reduction gear.  One less part to fail. Higher efficiency. Significantly quieter. eLite is almost silent. Just the sound of water thrust and a faint hum.


Wonder if both brands will be subjected to additional import tariffs?  ePropulsion are from China. Torqueedo are manufactured in Germany. 

[Riley Smith]

The noise/vibration with the ICE is my main complaint. As far as utility, it can't be beat IF you can get one that runs aka Frank's decidedly bad luck. I've got an old Nissan myself that got retired and I dream that I might get fixed for a back-up one day. (It hasn't happened despite a lot of tinkering). The vibration AND noise is not nearly as bad with the Honda as with the old Nissan. The four-stroke is much quieter and it ISN"T WATER COOLED so you're not destroying your motor ever time you run it (Salt water). I usually keep it locked and steer with the tiller, trying to ensure I don't have to cut to hard to starboard lest the rudder get shredded.

[Timm R Oday25]

I have a Yamaha 2 1/2 horse four stroke for the dinghy . While I've only had it a year ,it's proven to be extremely reliable . Being liquid cooled it is very quiet .I can run for perhaps 30 minutes on the included tank .
Best $400 dollars I've spent on a boat