Adding an electric Motor to Montgomery 15
I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way. I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat? Scott Larson
Hi Scott. This seems like a drastic mod to me. I abhor making holes anywhere on my boats, and drilling a big one below the waterline makes me queasy. I think you'd be adding a great deal of complexity to a boat that works best (in my opinion) in it's simplest form. I dislike motors as well, and use mine only when absolutely necessary. However I have to admit it's saved my butt once or twice. t t _/\_ On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 12:03 PM, Scott <salarson2@comcast.net> wrote:
I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way.
I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat?
Scott Larson
Scott: DON'T DO IT! Sal&Gail's M15, JUSTUS, had this done and it was a mess. the trolling motor 'inboard' was removed. if you want to go electric look at the offerings by Torqeedo. i know a couple of M17 owners using the Torqeedo, and two Sage 17 owners have Torqeedos. the Honda 2HP (now sold as the 2.3) is a great motor. light, reliable, and more than enough power to move the M15, a Sage 17, and even (in most weather conditions) the M17. the Honda 2HP is what i used on my M15. I have three of the Honda 2s in the shop ... one is used on a Moore 24. during boat shows you can usually find a new Honda 2.3 for about $1000. this is less than a Torqeedo. :: Dave Scobie -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 1/15/14, Scott <salarson2@comcast.net> wrote: I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way. I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat? Scott Larson
Scott, Dave has a good point--penetrating the hull is bad for value. A few years ago I placed 100 amp-hours of 24V AGM batteries in M-17 Robbin to power a transom mounted MinnKota RT80. It has been great. In bad conditions, I'd want the Honda 2HP back on there, but then I try to avoid bad conditions. Happy sailing Bill Dixon Windsor, CA -----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of W David Scobie Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 11:04 AM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Adding an electric Motor to Montgomery 15 Scott: DON'T DO IT! Sal&Gail's M15, JUSTUS, had this done and it was a mess. the trolling motor 'inboard' was removed. if you want to go electric look at the offerings by Torqeedo. i know a couple of M17 owners using the Torqeedo, and two Sage 17 owners have Torqeedos. the Honda 2HP (now sold as the 2.3) is a great motor. light, reliable, and more than enough power to move the M15, a Sage 17, and even (in most weather conditions) the M17. the Honda 2HP is what i used on my M15. I have three of the Honda 2s in the shop ... one is used on a Moore 24. during boat shows you can usually find a new Honda 2.3 for about $1000. this is less than a Torqeedo. :: Dave Scobie -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 1/15/14, Scott <salarson2@comcast.net> wrote: I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way. I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat? Scott Larson
Don't do it. Anything out of the ordinary, especially something that would take a major effort to change back is usually not good for resale. On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 2:03 PM, Scott <salarson2@comcast.net> wrote:
I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way.
I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat?
Scott Larson
Have you considered a larger outboard trolling motor? They make very large saltwater trolling motors in 24v, and 36v varieties. I had a 24v 82lb thrust Motorguide on my Catalina 22, and it would easily do 3+ knots, and even make headway into strong winds. It only cost me $300 used on eBay. If you get the right batteries, you can mount them below the waterline in the center of the boat and (unlike normal motor/fuel weight), they might actually make the boat sail better. Tyler M15 On Jan 15, 2014, at 12:03 PM, Scott wrote:
I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way.
I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat?
Scott Larson
Scott When I bought my M-15 a few years ago I bought a heavy duty trolling motor that I calculated would be about the equivalent of a 2-horse motor. It draws about 50 amps at full power and as I started sailing on overnight cruises at the time where I often became becalmed and needed several hours of motoring to get home. I replaced it with a 2-horse gas motor and never used the electric. It's a transom mount saltwater model and should get you in and out of the harbor easily. If you are interested I'll dig it out and get you the information - make - model - year etc. Reply if you are interested. John Roland SV-Wokini On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 3:03 PM, Scott <salarson2@comcast.net> wrote:
I have a 2 stroke motor that came with my Monty when I bought it. In good conscience, I cannot get myself to use it. I have a 12 v trolling motor that worked OK for getting it in and out of the smallish bay on Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka, but it was a little slow. Getting in and out of Carson's bay generally took me about a half hour plus each way.
I am tempted to take the lower unit off the motor and bolt it to the bottom of my Monty behind the keel and mount an electric motor inside the hull. I have figured out what I need for power and duration in terms of the motor and batteries, but I am reluctant to put a hole in the bottom of the boat to mount the motor and prop. Any thoughts on how that could affect the value of the boat?
Scott Larson
participants (7)
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Bill Dixon -
John Roland -
Scott -
Thomas Buzzi -
Tom Smith -
Tyler Backman -
W David Scobie