Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 I purchased a Seago 230 eco inflatable last year from another boat owner who was upgrading to something bigger and have been toying with the idea of an electric motor for it, was taking to an adjacent berth holder a few weeks ago and it turned out he had a MinnKota 34lb in his garage, only used a few times and complete with a 75ah leisure battery, a deal was struck and last Saturday I rigged it up and went out for a test run. I went from my mooring to Bargate, once round the edge of the broad and out the opposite dyke, then back on the river, past Brooms and back to my mooring, about 3 miles in total. Based on how long the battery took to recharge I reckon I used about 30ah, this included full speed running on the main river. I am without an accurate GPS at the moment so could not check speed, but its certainly quicker than rowing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 how long do you think you where running the motor for, was it just yourself onboard. is there any risk involved with the battery an water splashing, thinking if the grand kids went out alone. i imagine there must be special housings available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 19 minutes ago, Simon said: how long do you think you where running the motor for, was it just yourself onboard. is there any risk involved with the battery an water splashing, thinking if the grand kids went out alone. i imagine there must be special housings available. Just me onboard, I was out for around an hour and a half, the motor was running the whole time I spend a fair bit of time nosing around the edges of bargate at low speed, went down the dykes at medium, and full on the river Minnkota sell battery boxes that protect the terminals, what I am thinking of doing is cutting off the spades and fitting the quick release terminals as they are plastic topped so no exposed metal. I think if you were looking at a bigger dinghy and/or 2 people you would want a 50lb+ thrust model. Also 2 x golf cart/mobility scooter batteries will be easier to handle than 1 leisure battery. Lithium would be the ultimate as very light but £££ Oh, and I didn't realise until out on the river I hadn't put a lifejacket on, rookie mistake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZimbiIV Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Never thought of this before until you mentioned lifejackets but do electric motors have an engine kill cord? paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, ZimbiIV said: Never thought of this before until you mentioned lifejackets but do electric motors have an engine kill cord? paul No, if you fall in the boat will trundle off without you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZimbiIV Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Thanks. Not good if you have the helm hard over and it comes back to mince you up. I am rapidly approaching the point where I think ALL boats should have some kind of engine cut out. paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Its not difficult to retro fit a kill cord to an electric outboard. At the end of the day all you are doing is exactly what happens on a IC powered boat and killing the power , extremely easy to do and well worth the effort , an electric outboard ( small ones ) might not have the torque to seriously hurt someone in the water but the boat will get away from you , getting it back is a pain ,my is experience mirror dinghy , windy day , tossed overboard , n swimming after unoccupied boat , all around bargate broad n no I wasn't laughing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 24 minutes ago, Ricardo said: Its not difficult to retro fit a kill cord to an electric outboard. At the end of the day all you are doing is exactly what happens on a IC powered boat and killing the power , extremely easy to do and well worth the effort , an electric outboard ( small ones ) might not have the torque to seriously hurt someone in the water but the boat will get away from you , getting it back is a pain ,my is experience mirror dinghy , windy day , tossed overboard , n swimming after unoccupied boat , all around bargate broad n no I wasn't laughing It is about a 500W motor, agreed it would have to be very unlucky circumstances to seriously injure someone, but it is still enough to hurt a lot though, the other risk is of course is the boat getting away from the driver forcing a swim beyond their endurance distance and drowning. So I think they should have kill cords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Philosophical said: It is about a 500W motor, agreed it would have to be very unlucky circumstances to seriously injure someone, but it is still enough to hurt a lot though, the other risk is of course is the boat getting away from the driver forcing a swim beyond their endurance distance and drowning. So I think they should have kill cords. Totally agree as I stated n 500w is near enough 3/4 HP n more than enough to hurt anyone , a kill cord stops be it electric or petrol outboard instantly . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnks34 Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Is it a regulation that all petrol powered outboards have a kill switch? I owned a 2nd hand mariner a few years ago that didnt have one so I fitted one for my own piece of mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 4 minutes ago, dnks34 said: Is it a regulation that all petrol powered outboards have a kill switch? I owned a 2nd hand mariner a few years ago that didnt have one so I fitted one for my own piece of mind Nope not a regulation as far as I'm aware but sure. Is common sense , that said lots of outboards won't start until a tab is I'm place in the kill switch , thing is that doesn't need to be connected to anyone in the boat for it to work , iv seen lots of outboards with kill cord's basically attached to the engine , remember a 4 HP outboard with a plastic prop will cause anyone who gets in it's way serious injuries . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExSurveyor Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 Hi 40, I have a electric outboard I use to use, I am fairly sure it would go to stop if I let go of the twist grip, could it be the return spring has gone in your grip ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 2 hours ago, psychicsurveyor said: Hi 40, I have a electric outboard I use to use, I am fairly sure it would go to stop if I let go of the twist grip, could it be the return spring has gone in your grip ? That would satisfy the requirements of a kill switch, if as you say it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 2 hours ago, Ricardo said: Nope not a regulation as far as I'm aware but sure. Is common sense , that said lots of outboards won't start until a tab is I'm place in the kill switch , thing is that doesn't need to be connected to anyone in the boat for it to work , iv seen lots of outboards with kill cord's basically attached to the engine , remember a 4 HP outboard with a plastic prop will cause anyone who gets in it's way serious injuries . I think we have all seen the video of that idiot who fell out of an inflatable somewhere on the broads, he must have done something similar with the kill cord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 7 hours ago, psychicsurveyor said: Hi 40, I have a electric outboard I use to use, I am fairly sure it would go to stop if I let go of the twist grip, could it be the return spring has gone in your grip ? No, the twist grip clicks round, 5 forward speeds and 3 reverse. They are designed as trolling motors for fishing, so having to keep hold of the grip would be no good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQ Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 It would be easy enough, to rig a kill cord, by putting an fuse unit in line (attached to side of battery box?) with a kill cord attached your leg and to the plug in fuse to pull it out if man overboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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