With all this battery building, we now have plenty of power on hand and I got tired of always needing to tinker with our gas outboard to keep it running. We decided to build some additional batteries (more info on that process later) and power our dinghy with an electric outboard!
After looking around online, I came across this company that seems to have embraced the electric outboard concept and separated themselves from the limitations of “electric trolling motors”. Electric trolling motors (like the image on the left) have a long motor tube ending in a rather small propeller. They are for fishing and will not move any boat quickly because the propeller they have is not designed to move at more than a few knots. If you go too fast, you are no longer trolling and people who fish would not be pleased! Crazy sailboat people with dinghies do want to go fast, and electric trolling motors left us sailors a bit disappointed in the speed department.
Aquos said: “Let’s make it happen” and built a powerful trolling motor with a massive propeller that can push a dinghy at speeds comparable to a gas outboard!
I bought a 24v 110lbs thrust motor from Aquos and built a 24v LiFePO4 battery for it and gave it a quick test in a pond near my parents house (hardly the conditions we will encounter while cruising), but it was a success and fun! The dinghy moved at the same speeds we got out of our Honda 2.3 and Suzuki 2.5, but with none of the noise that goes with a gas outboard.
We are heading back to the boat next week and will give it a try in salt water (fingers crossed) and let you know how it holds up to real world cruising duty usage.
