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Unfortunately, like many vehicles electric boats are limited to new... no one offers retrofit parts, and it will take decades before enough of these trickle dow

Unfortunately, like many vehicles electric boats are limited to new... no one offers retrofit parts, and it will take decades before enough of these trickle down to new owners for them to take the place of existing boats, even assuming the drives last that long. I'd convert my boat to electric in a heartbeat if I could retrofit the drive for a similar cost to a replacement engine/transmission... but that's still impossible, and probably will be for longer than I'll own it. Most of the people on the road or on the water don't buy new for very good reasons. If we're going to limit climate change, there has to be more done for all those people than just telling them "buy new or go without". An effort needs to be made by the governments of the world to provide affordable conversion parts or replacement vehicles for those who will never buy new.

tyingq 7y ago
They seem to be selling an outboard engine and battery pack that goes on your outboard boat, so I'm confused by your comment. https://www.purewatercraft.com/pure-outboard/ https://www.purewatercraft.com/pure-outboard/
- Accujack 7y ago
  They're selling a 25-40 hp equivalent. My boat needs something like two 75 HP motors to run safely at displacement speeds, and much more to get on plane. In case you're curious, it's about 10M long. You have to have a larger boat to travel away from shore with any safety... small boats have to stick to the coast. My boat isn't actually very big, and doesn't have the range or stability to travel between continents away from shore, either. Electric scooters and electric outboards have been around for a while, they're okay for what they do. However, what I would need (and most of the people who own boats larger than 5M long) is the equivalent of a tesla battery pack and motors... which aren't available.
  - jessaustin 7y ago
    It's understandable that the first useful motors would be smaller than you seem to require. Big boats are fun and useful, but so are small boats. Someone will eventually make motors big enough for your needs. In the meantime, other boaters will enjoy the motors described in TFA. If you want to "travel between continents", get a sailboat. No powerboat is practical for that. If you're just talking about a fishing trip, powerboats smaller than 10M can certainly get you out of sight of shore.
    - Accujack 7y ago
      >If you want to "travel between continents", get a sailboat. No powerboat is practical for that Not true. Lots of power cruisers are out there, and all commercial traffic (cargo, people shipping, etc) happens via motor vessels.
  - andyrebele 7y ago
    There are 3 answers to the "higher power" topic: 1) higher power motors are easy, bigger batteries are expensive and heavy. 2) frequency and regularity of usage are the best determinants of whether electric makes economic sense, not size/power, but the bigger power boats tend to go infrequently and highly variable distances. 3) longer-term the low utilization rate high capex problem is solved by shared usage models (as it has been in every other field).
freerobby 7y ago
Doesn't meet "similar cost" criterion, but check out Torqeedo: https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us
URSpider94 7y ago
Torqueedo do offer a range of outboard and inboard motors that can be retrofitted into existing boats. https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/inboards https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/inboards
- Accujack 7y ago
  Only for tiny boats, though, and they're quite expensive. My boat needs two 150kW plus engines to move at speed. I might be able to get by at displacement speed with two 50kW engines, but something that like isn't available, and neither is the needed battery pack (Li-Ion, lead is too heavy to work).
  - driverdan 7y ago
    If you can afford a boat with twin 200HP motors you can afford to retrofit it with electric.
    - sokoloff 7y ago
      They can also much more cheaply afford to not retrofit it, despite having some amount of inclination/willingness to do so. (They literally can't afford to retrofit it right now as nothing is commercially available in that power output range.)
    - Accujack 7y ago
      Common misconception. I purchased my boat for $3000, and have spent around $12000 on it in four years making it safe and cleaning it up. I don't have the money to pay for a $20,000 retrofit to electric power. I can't afford a Tesla, either.
      - driverdan 7y ago
        That sounds like you got a pretty good deal.
andyrebele 7y ago
This outboard motor is 100% compatible with existing hulls, and complies with ABYC standards. That's the beauty of the boat market - a built-in API for the interface between the powertrain and the hull. The rowing club in the article is using the same hulls they've had for years, and mounting the new Pure Outboards on them.

tyingq 7y ago

They seem to be selling an outboard engine and battery pack that goes on your outboard boat, so I'm confused by your comment. https://www.purewatercraft.com/pure-outboard/ https://www.purewatercraft.com/pure-outboard/

Accujack 7y ago
They're selling a 25-40 hp equivalent. My boat needs something like two 75 HP motors to run safely at displacement speeds, and much more to get on plane. In case you're curious, it's about 10M long. You have to have a larger boat to travel away from shore with any safety... small boats have to stick to the coast. My boat isn't actually very big, and doesn't have the range or stability to travel between continents away from shore, either. Electric scooters and electric outboards have been around for a while, they're okay for what they do. However, what I would need (and most of the people who own boats larger than 5M long) is the equivalent of a tesla battery pack and motors... which aren't available.
- jessaustin 7y ago
  It's understandable that the first useful motors would be smaller than you seem to require. Big boats are fun and useful, but so are small boats. Someone will eventually make motors big enough for your needs. In the meantime, other boaters will enjoy the motors described in TFA. If you want to "travel between continents", get a sailboat. No powerboat is practical for that. If you're just talking about a fishing trip, powerboats smaller than 10M can certainly get you out of sight of shore.
  - Accujack 7y ago
    >If you want to "travel between continents", get a sailboat. No powerboat is practical for that Not true. Lots of power cruisers are out there, and all commercial traffic (cargo, people shipping, etc) happens via motor vessels.
- andyrebele 7y ago
  There are 3 answers to the "higher power" topic: 1) higher power motors are easy, bigger batteries are expensive and heavy. 2) frequency and regularity of usage are the best determinants of whether electric makes economic sense, not size/power, but the bigger power boats tend to go infrequently and highly variable distances. 3) longer-term the low utilization rate high capex problem is solved by shared usage models (as it has been in every other field).

freerobby 7y ago

Doesn't meet "similar cost" criterion, but check out Torqeedo: https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us

URSpider94 7y ago

Torqueedo do offer a range of outboard and inboard motors that can be retrofitted into existing boats. https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/inboards https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/inboards

Accujack 7y ago
Only for tiny boats, though, and they're quite expensive. My boat needs two 150kW plus engines to move at speed. I might be able to get by at displacement speed with two 50kW engines, but something that like isn't available, and neither is the needed battery pack (Li-Ion, lead is too heavy to work).
- driverdan 7y ago
  If you can afford a boat with twin 200HP motors you can afford to retrofit it with electric.
  - sokoloff 7y ago
    They can also much more cheaply afford to not retrofit it, despite having some amount of inclination/willingness to do so. (They literally can't afford to retrofit it right now as nothing is commercially available in that power output range.)
  - Accujack 7y ago
    Common misconception. I purchased my boat for $3000, and have spent around $12000 on it in four years making it safe and cleaning it up. I don't have the money to pay for a $20,000 retrofit to electric power. I can't afford a Tesla, either.
    - driverdan 7y ago
      That sounds like you got a pretty good deal.

andyrebele 7y ago

This outboard motor is 100% compatible with existing hulls, and complies with ABYC standards. That's the beauty of the boat market - a built-in API for the interface between the powertrain and the hull. The rowing club in the article is using the same hulls they've had for years, and mounting the new Pure Outboards on them.