Hi all. I am considering which motor to get for my PocketShip. I have had some good feedback on here about the ePropulsion motors, but I’m curious what people think.
My questions are:
Long or short shaft?
How to mount it - purchase a bracket, or make something?
Which motor? Are there makes other than ePropulsion which are recommended?
Is range a serious issue, and does carrying a spare battery resolve this?
Thanks, and greetings from the UK.
All good questions. Much depends on how you use your boat. Will the motor just be to get you in and out of the marina or will you use it transit from A-B? Generally, two batteries = twice the range. It might be worth a phone call to Tiny Boat Nation or another electric motor store. You can tell them the specs on your boat and what you plan to do and they can really help you nail it down.
That depends on where exactly on the transom you mount the bracket. The only example I could quickly find is a website Sean’s Pocketship that uses a long shaft. I don’t remember what size the prototype Pocketship uses.
John Harris posted about building a fiberglass bracket here. In a personal conversation he later told me that while it worked very well, was more than strong enough to support any reasonable motor for the Pocketship and would never corrode or rust, it was more expensive and more effort than just buying an off-the-shelf motor bracket.
Torqeedo is a very reputable brand. The only reasons I went with ePropulsion instead of Torqeedo was weight and local availability. All of their motors had a week-plus delivery time, even from local dealers and I needed one in 3 days. The ones with integrated batteries all weighed more than the maximum weight specified for my boat. (I wanted an integrated battery because I wanted to be able to quickly remove the whole setup from my transom and stow it in the cabin without disconnecting a bunch of wires and cables.)
Jon’s response is correct - it all depends on how you use it. Running full power typically gives you less than 1/2 the range of running at low power. Full throttle speed is typically less than double low power speed. The take-away is that full power should be reserved for situations where you need it to fight wind and tide. For boats with efficient hulls, like Pocketship, the lower power settings will give you the same speed as sailing unless you have a strong headwind and/or tide.
Even with my tiny eLite motor I’ve never used more than 13% of its capacity at a time so far. I only use it to get in and out of my slip and the surrounding docks (the space is too restricted for oars) and to get out to the river when the winds are unfavorable (just tacking is impossible with certain wind directions when the tide is below a certain level).
A second battery is the equivalent of a second can of gas. The only trick is changing it without dropping anything expensive in the drink.
Hope this helps,
Laszlo
I’m blessed to have Tiny Boat Nation just 4 hours drive. I’m considering making an appointment and trailering my SW Dory down there once the motor well is installed. Let them advise me on shaft length etc.
The epropulsion battery floats!
If you have a house battery you can recharge while sailing, though the 12V charger is slow.
At mid speed , I’d say you can go 5-10 miles. I’ve never needed to go more than a mile or two and don’t think I ever went below 75%.
I have the long shaft. I use an adjustable motor mount that can be raised, but I find just flipping the motor up is sufficient.
It to me a while to figure out a good placement. I can take pictures and measurements next time I’m at the boat.
And if you go over 5 or 6 knots (ha!) the motor regens !
Spirit One battery floats, Spirit Two battery does not. Love that regen feature though I wonder if I’ll ever sail fast enough for it to work.
