epropulsion spirit 1.0 plus for 24ft Motor Sailer

Hi,

I am new to this forum, please be kind I am looking for some advise.

I have a 24ft Motor Sailer, 1,650kg (displacement) with an 8hp Diesel Engine built in (shaft drive). I am looking at getting an auxiliary outboard engine as a backup and had a look at the epropulsion spirit 1.0 plus outboard motor with 3hp.

I know it does not have much hp but I was wondering if anyone had any experience? The only info I came across was this YouTube video (Can an electric outboard survive offshore? Testing the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo - Ep145 - TSF, The Sailing Frenchman). But this is obviously a very different light weight boat.
I also had a look at the charts in this article and the obvious recommended size engine is 8hp improvesailing.com/guides/how-to-calculate-outboard-motor-size-for-sailboats.

Any thoughts? :) I do like the idea of going with an electric outboard motor and the epropulsion spirit 1.0 plus would still be in my price range.

Thank you everyone in advance for sharing your experience.

cheers,

Hi Yamy. Put the effort and money into ensuring your engine is reliable. Does it have a hand crank? If so get proficient at starting by hand. I have a YSE 8 YANMAR that l can hand start in 5 degrees. Your engine backup atr your sails. Practice , practice, practice.
Gary

HI,

I'm currently going through the same kind of thought-process, but with a different goal in mind, which is to mount a retractable electric motor on a 20ft trailer-sailer (a Cygnet 20). I am still not sure if it would work (for a reasonable price). I am currently thinking of the ePropulsion 1.0 Spirit outboard or Pod. In my case, the alternative motor would be a 6HP Tohatsu outboard mounted on the transom. (So why have an electric motor at all, you may ask? It is a good question, and the answer is about convenience and pushing the boat in and out of marinas for day-sails. Like I mentioned, it might not prove worth it, but I like grappling with the engineering challenge to see if it could work). One advantage of these electric motors is that they are light and are relatively easy to mount and demount.

My initial reaction to your proposal is that a 1.0kW motor is under-powered for your boat, which is larger boat than mine (mine would be 20ft, 900kg). It would probably only be good enough for pushing you around the marina at, say, 2 to 3 knots, which is barely enough to make headway against any kind of weather. I don't expect to get more than about 5 knots, and that would only be in sheltered water, and only for short periods, say less than a few hours. The range of electric motors is limited by the size of the battery. Large batteries can get very expensive. By contrast, you can easily and cheaply extend the range of a diesel by strapping extra jerry-cans to the deck to allow for several days of steaming.

Question: What do you think you need the backup motor for? If you are thinking of getting off a lee shore in rough seas with a broken engine, the ePropulsion 1.0 will not do it. If you are thinking about saving face when getting into a marina, I suggest a subscription to Marine Rescue will be more reliable and much cheaper (so will hitching a tow, if you can get one from passing traffic). If you are thinking about steaming long-distance, invest in improving the reliability of your diesel, per the suggestions of other posters here.

If you have a dingy with a motor, tie the dingy to the boat and use the dingy motor to push it around in the marina at 2 to 3 knots. This is how Kevin Boothby does it on his YouTube channel How To Sail Oceans, and he does it because he does not have a motor of any description in his boat. Which brings this around to the question; if Kevin can sail up and down the east coast of the US with no motor at all, why do you think you need a backup? Does your motor-sailer have enough in its sails to get you where you want to go without an engine?

Hi
Just joined as have installed electric trolling motor in 25ft Contessa , for the same purpose - get off the mooring . Only need to have steerage way to manoevre out of tight mooring field into the open bay . Got short 24in shaft 54lb Watersnake to go in outboard well,but needed adjustment as motor catching back of rudder . Running off 110 Ah battery,with 50W solar panel . Not clever with electrics,but people at Jaycar,very helpful/knowledgeable .
Success - Have steerage way,but bigger 70lb Brushless Watersnake would be better,but $700,as opposed to $250 . Only 8kg kg + no fuel !!
Had 6hp short shaft Johnson -ideal but 28kg,and dropped it into cabin when removing . Previous owner left motor down, in the well ,locked and immersed = transmission disintegrated .
Just waiting for Stihl to have Battery Outboard - ? Convert a Chainsaw ?

Might be best to look at electric conversions on conventional outboards. Retain the outboard less the powerhead They are available commercially locally but are very expensive. I have a couple of dead Evenrude 6hp outboards I might have a play with later.

I use a 1kw epropulsion outboard on a Farr 727 it provides about 4.8knots top speed - for me, its fine for what i use it for - in & out of floating pen. It is restricted when there is significant head wind or the bottom is not clean. I doubt it would be very effective on a 24ft motor sailer.

Search this thread, lots of great info