# Torqeedo electric motors



## sailguy40 (Feb 6, 2010)

Although my nissan 9.8 runs great on my boat, I am just wondering how good these Torqeedo motors are on a sailboat? I have not been able to find how it compares to a gas outboard as far as HP goes. For example this one here...

TORQEEDO BASETRAVEL 801 L WITH LONG SHAFT Shop.Sailnet.com - sailing resources, shopping, sail, blogs

I would hope that is at least comparable to a 5hp? Then I would have to wonder how long the battery would last. When I bought my first sailboat, which was a Cal 25, the guy only had a 50lb minn kota electric on it. That little motor moved the boat, not too fast but it moved it and got the boat out in the lake and back. The problem with the whole thing, the battery would just not last long enough. In fact that is the whole problem I have with those electrics. I once had one on a small inflatable I used to do photography in the waterways around my area. Lucky if that thing had a 4 mile range before the battery was done, even running on low settings which travelled very slow. So my question is, do these torqeedo motors run more efficient so they don't drain the battery too fast?


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## tomwatt (Dec 11, 2009)

torqeedo: Home
Torqueedo has some run-down on their site. A 100 ft. lb. thrust motor is roughly equivalent to 5 hp. according to their estimates. I don't know if that is an actual equivalent but serves as a functional estimate. The larger motors require 24 or 48 volt to function.
And range is always going to be a problem unless you're willing to spend a bit on battery storage.


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## sailguy40 (Feb 6, 2010)

There are some pretty respectable numbers on their video with the cruise model. It shows they used a Cruise 2.0 on a 40ft Skerry Cruiser sailboat weighing 2.6 tons. They used two 12v 200Ah gel-batteries. At full throttle it put out 5 knots ran for 2 hours and went 10 miles. The most impressive was when they said half throttle was 2.7 knots and it ran for 16.5 hrs and covered 44 nautical miles. Its rather slow but that being a 2.6 tons boat, I can underestand that. They say the Cruise 4.0 model is 2 knots faster then the 2.0 so that is better. I can live with the 44 mile range but I would rather see at least 5 knots at half throttle. I would think that should not be a problem with a lighter smaller sailboat. I just don't know anyone around here who has one of these so I truely don't know how good they actually are. It seems like a good choice for a sailboat but I would not want that on a skiff or pontoon boat as they show in that video. I would want much more speed for a boat like that, its like give me the horsepower. A sailboat, maybe it could be a good choice one day. I just don't trust my gas outboard sometimes, its never failed me but I don't quite trust it yet for some reason. I guess it needs to earn my trust. That little minn kota, click and you were on and moving as long as you had battery. That was a good piece of mind and worry free feeling.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I'm wondering if you priced their batteries... you can buy an awful lot of gasoline for those prices...and as with any electric propulsion system, refueling it in an emergency is far more difficult than a gasoline or diesel system.


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## bb74 (Feb 11, 2009)

I have a Torqeedo 800 travel. 17 foot sailboat, 700 lbs + crew. Motor is fine, start and stop is a bit slower than a gas motor but they have a LOT of torque and you just time an extra second on the acceleration. Batter life about 3 hours on half throttle, maybe 2 on full throttle. It is really handy not to have any gas, fumes, noise or hassle - just take the battery home, charge up, and ready to go.

I can't vouch for a larger boat but I would imagine anything to about 1500 lbs + crew and you should be fine - even better on a lake as no time, rips, etc. At least for my 800.

I'd say if you are looking for something to get into and out of port with little hassle and then throw up the sails, great, great option. If you are looking for something to motor cruise with occasionally or expect to do long weekends on a battery charge, better off buying the outboard and investing in a smelly jerrycan.

I'm happy for my needs.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

Integrated battery specifications: The batteries of the Travel motors have a capacity of 300 Wh (Travel 503) and 400 Wh (Travel 1003). The batteries are rated 10 Ah @ 29.6 V (Travel 503) and 13 Ah @ 29.6 V (Travel 1003).


The specs of the built in 600 dollar battery say plenty about how far it will go


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## sailguy40 (Feb 6, 2010)

So maybe in the future it could be an option for me to look into, I don't motor sail. My motor goes off the moment I am out of the harbor and stays off until I am ready to bring the sails down and go back in. It just seems to me those electrics are practically no maintenance, not to mention super reliable from what I read. Although I see the models with the built in battery, those batteries can get expensive if need to be replaced. Now the base model motors on the other hand, use 1-2 12v batteries so those are not much of a problem. There anyone else here who has one of these motors on a bigger boat, say 22-27ft that can further comment?


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## casioqv (Jun 15, 2009)

I use a 24v 82lb thrust motorguide electric trolling motor on my Catalina 22. It cost me $300 used, plus $150 for two 115ah deep cycle batteries, and another $150 for a waterproof three channel charger.

It's maintenance free, and the battery life seems almost endless if charged daily (never ran it down). It only moves the boat about 3.5 knots, and will maintain 1-2 knots dead into a 20 knot blow. I think the slightly larger 36v trolling motors would probably push the boat to near hull speed.

It seems to me a good compromise between true "motorless sailing" and having the noise, expense, and maintenance of a gasoline engine aboard.

Docking with it is much nicer than a gas motor, because it starts/responds/reverses instantly and silently with a flip of the wrist.


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## Brady_Ford (Jun 6, 2012)

I bought a Torqeedo Travel 801L for my Ranger 22 sailboat and it stopped working in 1 ½ hours/3rd time usage. I bought it for $1200 from a dealer on EBay, and they normally retail for $1800+. I emailed the EBay seller and of course no return was offered. He sent me a receipt for $1800 and I called a service center, which where it is now. I dock my boat in San Diego’s Mission Bay, and it was pretty obvious that the stainless steel of the torqeedo does not hold up well in salt water. I did not disassemble the shaft on time and I ended up having to pry it apart with a screw driver. The power was sufficient for a 22 ft. race boat but I was greatly underwhelmed with the battery life. Also, it shook on the transom pretty badly because the of how lightweight the entire thing was. Please learn from my lesson and 1.) don’t’ get a torqeedo travel 801L and 2.) don’t but a “new” one from some guy on Ebay. I should’ve just bought a normal trolling motor, and it would’ve been a lot cheaper and I could more easily isolate issues if it quit working. Overall, torqeedo’s can kiss my a$$


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## WDS123 (Apr 2, 2011)

We have placed 3 on customer Harbor 20s after an extensive testing program last year. (we are the most experienced sailboat builder with some 500 electrically powered boats built ) 

Will keep everyone appraised.


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## JoeDiver (Feb 2, 2011)

sailguy40 said:


> So maybe in the future it could be an option for me to look into, I don't motor sail. My motor goes off the moment I am out of the harbor and stays off until I am ready to bring the sails down and go back in.


X2...and I considered one when I repowered this Spring with a 6HP SailPro. For now, they're just too expensive and batteries too heavy to justify going electric over a small gas engine.

The technology is getting there....it's just not quite where it needs to be for me.

Like electric cars....Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt or something....needs to be: 300 miles on a charge of normal driving, recharge time of 1 hour or less, and cost of vehicle $18k. Meet this and you have the next Model T.


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## CarbonSink62 (Sep 29, 2011)

One of the big manufacturers (Hunter?) offers an e27 that has a huge bank of batteries and an electric outdrive.

I love (LOVE!) the idea of a boat that charges its batteries with solar cells all week long so I can show up on Saturday and have enough juice for 2, maybe 3, trips down the river and back. The issue is that it takes away a lot options.

1. Can't sail 2-3 days in a row (fixable with shore power charging, but loses 'green points')

2. Can't get stuck miles out with a gear failure if you only have 3-4 hours of motoring in the bank.

Best option remains a hybrid with maybe a small aircooled generator that can either move the boat at 1/2 power or charge up the bank at anchor for a full power run.

It seems like electric propulsion would be able to solve the issue of removing the propeller drag when you're done with the propeller. Retract the outdrive(s) into a faired well?


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## whroeder (Aug 20, 2007)

1 battery == 1 cup of fuel.
So you're either have very limited range (certainly not 3-4 hours) or a lot a batteries that need to be replaced every few years, or a generator and fuel, until batteries get much more storage capacity.
The only cases I see where it might make sense are 1) already have generator for water maker, or 2) catamaran - one generator, two motors.


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## dacap06 (Feb 2, 2008)

I agree -- hybrids with photovoltaics are the most sensible approach, but I am no fan of motor-generator combinations. They convert only 15 % - 18% of the energy in gasoline into electricity. SOFC fuel cells run on a variety of fuels to generate electricity directly. Those made with microchannel architectures and running on methane are approaching 60% efficiency during tests at PNNL. We have huge domestic supplies of methane, enough for at least the next 100 years. I expect to see these fuel cells for sale within 5 years. An SOFC and CNG or Propane, anyone?


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## sebez (Aug 23, 2011)

I love the smell of gasoline in the morning! Tried and true and fossil fuels are not going away anytime soon. Some day the technology will be there when we can all move about with electric power, however, today is not that day...


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