Open wet cell (true deep cycle) battery maintenance is problematic, I mean. The torqeedo battery is sealed high-tech light weight (relatively speaking) so as long as it gets charged regularly it is very low maintenance. An amazing amount of power actually for such a small package - 18AH capacity, and 100% duty cycle (you can run it all the way down, no penalty). That is part of the high price tag... True lead acid wet cell deep cycles are 50% duty cycle (don't run it down more than 50% on any regular basis) and "Marine/RV" so-called "deep cycle" are only about 20% duty cycle (don't run it down more than 20% on any regular basis). Your car battery is 10% duty cycle, for comparison. Designed purely for short high power cranking use. cheers, John S. On 11/11/2014 10:30 PM, John Schinnerer wrote:
Another reason our club got the Torqeedos - issues with gas engine care & maintenance on shared club boats, and with storing gas on the boat (or not). The electric is much simpler in terms of maintenance, and there is no risk of inexperienced people doing stupid things with gasoline (in the engine, in gas cans on the boat, vapors in the bilge, etc.). So it was partly to reduce the hazard of gasoline on the boats and to remove the challenges some people have (or create) with using & maintaining gas motors.
We have used an electric trolling motor on our Potter 19, which is a light boat (but with a lot of windage) - I don't know the thrust, it seems like a medium size trolling motor. 40 lbs? There is a 40 or a 45 on the motor as I recall. Far less power than the Torqeedo 1003. We just run it off one 12V AGM marine battery. It only gets used for getting from launch ramp to rigging tie-up to sailing water, and back. About 1/4 mile each way of protected water I would say. There is current up to ~2 knots in the channel at times though. It is adequate, and, I would NOT want to rely on it in situations needing to motor against much wind or current or for any great distance. It's adequate setup for a specific application. With more battery and a stronger troller it would be less marginal. But battery care/maintenance in a shared club boat is also problematic.
cheers, John S.
On 11/10/2014 09:46 PM, Tyler Backman wrote:
For electric drive consider a 24v trolling motor over the Torqeedo- it's cheaper and you can mount the batteries down by the keel where they provide extra ballast. I had a MotorGuide 82# trolling motor on my Catalina 22 and was happy with it. It would run most of the day, would motor at 2 knots dead into a 20 knot headwind, and the boat sailed better with the batteries as extra ballast.
Tyler Davis, CA M15 #157 "Defiant"
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com