Boating – June 2019

(C. Jardin) #1
MH
MOTORHEAD

By Randy Vance

SCAN ME


The answer is possibly, but in
the United States, at least, the
process is going to be evolu-
tionary, not revolutionary.
Electric power has been
growing steadily but silently
just like the whisper-quiet en-
gines run. We’ve been in elec-
tric runabouts that can hum
across the water so quietly, the
shush of the water drowns the
murmur of the motor. And one
motor, Torqeedo’s Deep Blue

50 kW (80 hsp) powerplant,
recently earned Top Gun in
the world-famous Lake Rescue
Shootout at Lake of the Ozarks
in Missouri last summer.
It wasn’t the fastest electric
boat on the water, but it was the
fastest one with the nerve to en-
ter the shootout. Now the shoot-
out has its own class of electric
boats, and there is bound to be
more competition in 2019.
But will electric power
go mainstream? Over time,
electric-motor makers like

Torqeedo and Elco will ease
into ideal applications, partner-
ing with boatbuilders to create
optimum hull designs that
maximize the electric power.
It’s a predictable process, in-
evitable in its approach, and it’s
not unlike one boaters have al-
ready been through: the advent
of the four-stroke outboard.
Those new-age ( back in the
day) green machines began to
gain traction in the early ’90s,
even though they were slow
and heavy. Those liabilities
were the antithesis to outboard
engineering to that date, and
though their heavy four-stroke
valve train was cleaner, boats
couldn’t carry it gracefully
on their transom. Evolution
kicked in. Boat owners began
to see the benefi ts of them, and
boatbuilders began to build
boats with wider, deeper tran-
soms to carry them. By the time
four-strokes left two-strokes in
their wake, motor-makers had
trimmed their weight back to
the svelte numbers previously
achievable only by two-strokes.
As a result, most boats today
have the better seakeeping abil-
ities of wider, deeper transoms.
We think electric propulsion
will grow and likewise become

mainstream. Don’t scoff. Gen-
eral Motors will have 20 elec-
tric cars by 2023. BMW will add
12 electric cars by 2025.
Then GM showed its custom
Forward Marine pontoon boat
at the 2019 Miami Boat Show.
“The challenges in boating
are greater,” says Trevor Fayer, 
GM’s controls integration en-
gineer. “The main reason is
getting the battery capacity
needed to push the boat. The
batteries get really big.”
Poorly engineered lithium
batteries can be volatile too,
burning fi ercely if compro-
mised in an impact or an eroded
connection. Poor battery man-
agement can lead to problems.
Recall the cheap imported hov-
erboards that burst into fl ame?
Or the expensive Samsung
Galaxy phone that handed out
hot pockets? So, manufacturers
such as GM and Torqeedo spend
millions in researching the best,
safest battery management sys-
tems so trouble never happens.

Torqeedo builds excellent
motors but shines brightest in
the genius of its electronic bat-
tery management systems that
optimize battery power and
mitigate safety concerns. In
fact, Deutz, Europe’s answer to
Caterpillar, recently acquired
Torqeedo to share those tech-
nologies in its engine business.
For GM, migrating into
electric marine propulsion
is a natural. After all, GM has
been the primary provider of
gasoline engine blocks to the
marine industry for practically
forever. Its propulsion systems
are widely varied, well-proven
in millions of highway miles,
and many are ready to launch.
GM’s pontoon boat is an excel-
lent example of an engineer-
ing marriage of the right hull
and boating activity with the
right electric propulsion to op-
timize boating fun. “When we
look forward, we see a lot more
applications on the horizon,”
Fayer concludes.

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ELECTRIC


REVOLUTION


OR EVOLUTION?


Will electric propulsion revolutionize recreational boating?

This 1 kW motor offers propulsion equivalent to a 3 hp gas outboard, and is ideal for tenders, kick-
ers for sailboats, and propulsion for small but popular square-stern canoes. It will run one hour
at a top speed of 6 mph, but can go 62 miles at 2 mph. The detachable battery fl oats and can be
quickly switched for a spare to extend range. Its direct-drive design eliminated a gear case, attach-
ing the propeller directly to the motor protected in an aluminum housing. $1,999; epropulsion.com

EPROPULSION
SPIRIT 1.0

Scan this tag to get the full
story on the Torqeedo Top
Gun Award in the electric
propulsion category.

80 | BOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2019

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