[Rhodes22-list] Electric Outboards for R22, Merc 9.9 For Sale

[Tom Van Heule]

Thanks Reuben. Great write up/recount.
To add fwiw...  6gal of gas is also about 45lbs.    I'd prefer the gas be
opposite the engine for the balance. (8hp 4.strike.is about 89lbs?)

I personally like low maintenance, a lot.
I am finding myself more energy/pollutant conscious as time goes on.  I
still grill steaks.

Fair winds , all,

On Mon, May 17, 2021, 3:09 PM Reuben Mezrich <reuben.mezrich at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I apologize for the delay in responding to this thread, but I’ve been
> traveling (finally took advantage of being vaccinated and it's the first
> time we’ve seen the grandkids in over a year)
>
> As Stan indicated, I had an electric outboard installed on the Rhodes 22
> that he rebuilt for me and which was delivered on Dec 22 to me in Sarasota
> by the team of Nick and Chris Geankoplis.
>
> I chose the ePropulsion Navy 3 engine, the E80 battery, a 20 amp charger,
> and a top mounted remote control (which Stan mounted on the port coming).
> The E80 battery (which weighs 100 lbs) was placed in the space normally
> occupied by the 15 gallon water tank and a smaller 5 gallon water tank
> shoehorned in next to the battery and its charger. This put the battery low
> and amidships for good weight distribution. The engine, which weighs about
> 54 lbs was mounted on the usual electric motor mount.
>
> I chose the ePropulsion over a Torqueedo because it had better specs at a
> lower cost for a more or less equivalent system.
>
> The ePropulsion Navy 3  is a 3kwatt engine, equivalent to a 6hp gas engine.
> It weighs 54 lbs and I chose the short shaft version because the distance
> from the propeller hub to the transom clamp is the same as that distance on
> a long shaft gasoline outboard. The battery stores ~4.1kwatt-hours and as I
> mentioned weights 100 lbs. The 20Amp charges will bully charge the battery
> in ~6 hours. They do sell a 40amp charger that will fully charge in 3 hours
>
> What follows are my thoughts after using the engine for about 4 months
>
> Pro’s
>
> There is little (actually so far no) maintenance. The unit has a brushless
> DC motor mounted in the pod at the bottom of the shaft where the propeller
> attaches so it is water cooled and there are no moving parts except the
> propeller.
>
> No fuel or oil is required. I keep the boat in a slip which has a 120 volt
> outlet nearby and so simply plug it in after each sail. You have to
> remember to unplug it before leaving the slip for a sail.
>
> There is good weight distribution with a 54 lb engine at the transom and a
> 100 lb battery low and amidships
>
> The engine will push the boat at hull speed -~6knots -  at least in flat
> water without much wind.
>
> It seems to have reasonable range - about 5 hours at 4 knots. It will run
> longer at lower speeds or less at higher speed for an effective range of
> about 20 miles, about what you’d get with 3 gallons of gas on a gasoline
> outboard. But to be honest I have not actually tested the full range and
> I’m reporting what the computer in the remote throttle control reports I
> would get if I pushed it all the way.
>
> The remote throttle is a pleasure to use, nicely at hand and displays speed
> and time/distance remaining at the current speed.
>
>
> Cons
>
> It is expensive compared to a gasoline outboard. My total coast was a bit
> under $5,000 and it would have been worse but Stan passed on to me what the
> distributor charged him.
>
>
> The biggest problem is that service and support is non-existent. The
> company is based in China. There are no service personnel in the US. There
> is no parts depot in the US. The East Coast distributor is Mack-Boring,
> whose main business is distributing and servicing Yanmar diesel engines. I
> purchased my unit from Mastry, located in St. Petersburg, who also mostly
> deals in Yanmar engines but  also handles ePropulsion and Torqueedo
> engines. The salespeople at both Mastry and Mack-Boring have been very nice
> and tried to answer some of my questions, but they are not service people
> and have no resources in terms of parts or engineering support. A few
> cables were missing in my original delivery and it took a month to have it
> shipped to me from China. I expect that as the ePropulsion equipment
> becomes more popular in this country they will start stocking parts in the
> US and perhaps even open a service office, but that's really just a hope on
> my part.
>
> There is no equivalent of a friction control to keep the engine from
> turning. When I’m using the Rhodes tiller to steer the boat I’d like the
> engine direction to be fixed (with the prop pointing aft) but there is no
> mechanism to do that. They do sell a “locking arm” which is sort of a
> U-bolt, about 10” long that extends from the starboard side of the engine
> mount and does lock the engine but unfortunately it interferes with the
> rudder and limits its range….its a very kludgy design.
>
> There is a tiller that can be attached to the engine but it can only angle
> up ~70 degrees from the horizontal and with the engine lowered it would
> have to angle up nearly 90 degrees to clear the transom. I plan to fix a
> tiller mount to the top of the engine, sort of how Stan affixes his rudder
> to outboard engine coupling, to give me better control of the engine
> direction..It would be particularly useful when trying to steer in reverse.
>
> The propeller has only two blades and there are no options for a 3 or 4
> blade propellor. From my meager understanding of propellers I would think
> that the efficiency of the engine could be improved by a better propeller.
>
> The bottom line is that I don’t really think the company had sailboats in
> mind when they designed the engine.
>
> So...If I had it to do over again I don’t think I’d choose an electric
> outboard again. You can get a new 9.9hp gas outboard with electric start
> that weighs about 90 lbs for about $2,500 (e.g. Tohatsu). I would imagine
> the savings in the cost of the engine would pay for at least a few years
> worth of maintenance.
>
> Reuben Mezrich
> Pelican Cove in Sarasota
> Cell: 410-499-8922
>
>
> On Fri, May 14, 2021 at 8:48 PM stan <stan at generalboats.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Peter, You remember Doc Reuben from Sarasota who tried to hitch a
> > test sail with you.  He ended up with an epropulsion outboard we
> > installed on his Rhodes.  I never got a chance to try it. But by now he
> > knows the good and the bad. You have his email address in your
> > computer.  Can't think of a better reviewer to send you to.  When I told
> > him the best doctors I have run across got an engineering degree first,
> > he raised me by saying he got three engineering degrees before going for
> > his MD. There may be some fodder there for a fresh poem if you are still
> > at it.
> >
> > stan
> >
> >
> > On 5/14/21 4:54 PM, peter klappert wrote:
> > > I'd be glad to hear from R22 skippers who use electric outboards.
> > > Recommendations (pro & con) would be welcome.
> > >
> > > I'm also selling my Mercury 9.9 BigFoot. Very low hours, but it needs a
> > > minor repair & professional tune-up. I'm in Palmetto, FL, and reachable
> > at
> > > 202-821-2679.
> > >
> > > Peter Klappert
> > > s/v Aeolia  (2012)
> > >
> > >
> > > *>>>>>>>>>  *[image: Sailboat on Messenger]*  <<<<<<<<<*
> > >
> > > *Peter Klappert5012 Bay State Road Palmetto, FL 34221*
> >
> >
>