Electric outboard motors

[jfyiii]

I am considering an self contained (battery built in) electric outboard to replace the 2.5hp two cycle I have. The two cycle has enough power but it is often hard to start . This seems worst when the temperature is below 55-60. Salt water has been hard on the two cycle as well.

I sail I sail a 14' catboat ( small for this group), about 1000 pounds displacement (picture below). Usually alone (well with my dog) and it is risky to spend time pulling the cord and fiddling while I'm trying to sail. Especially when the motor is needed urgently and the wind is blowing 18+.

I'm looking for any experience you all might have. As with many things I don't trust the sales literature anywhere near a real world experience.

I use the motor to

-get off the dock and raise the sails
-putting reef in or shaking out
-Go under bridges or up a channel against the wind and tide
-Very infrequently get home when the wind is uncooperative
-Lower sails and return to the dock
-When thingS go wrong and I need some power to get "right" again

The catboat goes home on a trailer everyday so charging is not an issue.

I need something light for boat trim and so I can remove and carry it. (Bad back).

Any recommendations or stories of successes of failures with electric outboards would be great. I'm willing to spend the money as long as it does the job well.

Thanks in advance
John

[Lepke]

I use a Newport Vessels 55# thrust on a 10' Livingston I use as a dock utility boat. It pushes the boat at about 9 knots. About $200 on Amazon. The electric is more convenient than a 2 cycle. Moving a battery isn't anymore difficult than a tank of gas and I don't have to make a run for gas. The Merc I used prior was always a problem to start. It's wall art now.

[Mirage35]

Do a site search on Torqeedo and you'll find a few threads on that brand, although from memory they discuss reliability more than function, and may be out of date.

I bought one late last season for use on our dinghy (replaced a 6 hp Tohatsu) but don't yet have enough experience with it to give useful answers. Call me again in September. It certainly worked fine for puttering around the bay, but in more serious conditions I'm not sure what the power / range equation looks like.