The Epropulsion Spirit XS - A Horse for our Course?

[Graham W]

I expect that various tests will reveal things like the effects of drag in due course.  The EVO isn’t even on eProp’s website yet, so it’s all very new news.  Here’s a bit more about it from UK distributor Nestaway https://forums.ybw.com/index.php?threads/epropulsion-spirit-1-evo-hydrogenerator-in-ym.557173/post-7511576.  Other interesting new features are a detachable throttle, interchangeable with a remote control.

When I think of the times that I have sailed for hours at hull speed, I doubt that trailing a prop in the water would have made much difference to progress.  However, apparently the EVO does not generate power at speeds of less than four knots and under those more marginal circumstances every bit of drag must make a difference.

[Graham W]

There appear to be EVO versions of the larger Navy outboard and Pod drive coming out soon as well.  See this from a German eProp distributor https://www.greenboatsolutions.de/en/shop/hersteller/4/ePropulsion.

Postscript: I’ve just stumbled across the eProp 2021 catalogue, which was published yesterday https://issuu.com/epropulsion/docs/epropulsion_catalog_2021.

[Peter Cockerton]

Thought I would check charge level status on my Spirit 1 plus at this mid winter point So I pushed the power up button and it failed to initialise, put the battery on charge for 5 minutes and tried again, this time it powered up. The charge bars showed fully charged which is not how I left it three months ago which was 60%, so I put the engine over a water tank and opened the throttle to mid range, a few minutes later the motor stopped with error EO5 (low battery voltage), the charge indicators still showed fully charged. the Battery is now on charge and hopefully will be sorted when finished, will update later. Following an overnight charge the motor ran fine with the charge bars all complete, ran it at full power and the bars decremented as you would expect.

Peter C

[Graham W]

Some lithium batteries go into sleep mode if not used for any length of time, I think to protect their lifespan.  It’s all rather anxiety-making when this happens but as Peter has done, a blast on the charger should bring them back to life.  They should be coddled inside the house, not left out in a cold shed during the winter. Another thing I have only recently learnt is that fast chargers, whilst more convenient (and quite expensive), reduce the battery’s life cycle - so slow and steady does it.

[Graham W]

The EVO versions of eProp motors have now been officially announced https://www.epropulsion.com/.  Buried in the text, I noticed this comment: “The Pod Drive 1.0 is the smallest electric pod motor on the market and ideal for daysailers in the 20-foot range.”  I wonder who they have in mind??

UK distributor Nestaway give their own spin (no pun intended) on the new developments, further down the page on this link https://nestawayboats.com/shop/epropulsion-spirit-plus-1kw-electric-outboard/.

[tcave]

Please can someone with an epropulsion spirit and a BRe let me know what speed you get at 1000w power and 500w power. Many thanks. Toby

[Graham W]

Toby,

See https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1952.msg13679.html#msg13679.  And on a BR20, which will be little different https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1952.msg13671.html#msg13671.

[Henry H]

Since we recently bought 'Spark' (from Jeff Curtis, hi Jeff!) without an engine, it's only appropriate that we consider equipping her with an electric outboard

Has anyone looked into fitting the Navy 3.0 to a Bayraider? Its ludicrously expensive... but since we're moving the boat to the tidal Thames, I think we need something with a bit more oomph than the ~3.5hp that the Spirit offers. I'm all for keeping the engine off as much as possible - but we've got two small kids and the reality is that we're usually short on time: so punching against the tide is just going to be something we do sometimes i suppose.

It would be nice not to buy a 6hp petrol engine for all the reasons you've discussed so far!

Do you think I'm right to consider the Spirit underpowered? Since i'll be planning sailing mostly around the tide anyway, perhaps ~3.5hp is enough to get me on and off the trailer?

All suggestions gratefully received.

[Graham W]

It would be nice not to buy a 6hp petrol engine for all the reasons you've discussed so far!

Do you think I'm right to consider the Spirit underpowered? Since i'll be planning sailing mostly around the tide anyway, perhaps ~3.5hp is enough to get me on and off the trailer?

Henry,

I think that with two small children on board and with tides on the Thames being what they are, the Spirit may be underpowered for your purposes.  The pursuit of zen-like cruising under electric power, timing your sailing with the tides, may not be compatible with having children who are cold/bored/seasick or whatever else ails them.  You may need to get back to base in a hurry and except over short distances, and unless you have a spare battery or two, the Spirit may not get you there fast enough.

I don’t know how electric outboard manufacturers justify their claims of 3hp equivalence but however they dress it up, real world experience says something different.  In a straight race against the wind, a BR with a 2.5hp Suzuki should beat a BR with an electric outboard running at 1,000W full speed.  I read on another forum that 1hp = 750W, which would suggest that “3hp” electric outboards are only 1.3hp.  I don’t think that it’s quite as bad as that but you get the general idea.

[Ray S]

Yes, Graham, that's what I aspire too, the zen like quality of Bayraiding that the electric does nothing to assuage but only augment! After all for millennia sailors and fishermen have been plying all around the world with only wind, tide, oars and sculls relying only on seamanship and sufficient victuals to keep them going.  Isn't it a little bit of that escapism we try to emulate when we take our Bayraiders out?  Go electric, take some extra mars bars and a Hamlet Cigar! Wait for the tide if necessary.

Ray S BRe Whimbrel 047

Pss. Hush Hush, don't tell anyone - electric motor-sailing an absolutely delight and great for range extending...
Other yachts can't understand how we sail so fast. Did I mention solar panels?
 

[Gavin Y]

I read the thread with great interest and decided to go electric for this season with the Spirit Plus XS. Dry fit on my BRe seemed to go ok and managed to tilt up without using a wedge, though took a few goes to perfect the technique and I forsee it could get interesting if it does not go well underway.

Will report back after sea trials, but having an engine that propels both my tender and then the boat looks like a great combination and other than initial range anxiety I'm really looking forward to some quiet sailing.

[Graham W]

Gavin,

Looking forward to your report of sea trials.  You decided not to wait for the EVO version of the Spirit?

If you do encounter range anxiety, I strongly recommend the eProp 12V/solar controller https://epropulsion.uk/product/spirit-12v-and-solar-charger/.  Not only does it recharge fairly efficiently from solar panel(s) but it will also take a charge from a 12V battery.  For example, an old car battery or better still (from a weight point of view) a 12V lithium battery if you already have one.  You can use it to recharge while actually using the motor.  This is a whole lot cheaper than buying a spare eProp battery and allows you to extend your range by a third or more, depending on the weather and/or how much capacity your 12V battery has.

[Henry H]

I had an interesting chat with Ian at Nestaway boats this week - he suggested that the combination of the BR20's lightweight hull and the EVO mode's inherent hydrodynamic resistance would mean that we'd be mostly be better off without it - we'd lose too much speed for it to be useful; unless it was blowing a hooley, in which case we'd be sailing anyway.

That said, it's kinda weird that they're even offering the option on the Spirit - since if its not suitable for a boat this size then what would it ever be suitable for?

He also talked me out of the Navy/Pod/DIY lifting bracket - it would all end up being too heavy, quite apart from it being way too expensive

According to my latest calculations, even a 6hp petrol motor would never free us from thinking about tides and river flow - so I think i'm going to press the button on a Spirit Plus XS and see what happens! With the money i didn't spend on a Navy 3.0 I can buy a porta-potti and a games console for the kids so we can stay out indefinitely...

I think i'm going to follow Graham W's lead on the 12V/solar controller tip - that sounds excellent!

[Gavin Y]

Thanks for the tip Graham. I did buy the solar charger at the same time as the engine and will report back how I get on at charging the battery using via the cigarette lighter attachment/solar powered battery option on my BRe. Evo did not seem to give the benefits as per Henry's points.

[Gavin Y]

Initial sea trial complete. Did not seem to need a wedge and found the supplied prop ok, providing you are happy to dip your hand into the water to see it through the gap when raising it. Must confess I did that when moored to a buoy; would probably present more of a challenge underway. It was a blustery F5 with wind against tide so I spent time staring at the range and need more experience to overcome the inevitable anxiety. However, loved the silence and found it easy transferring the engine to my tender. Definitely converted and if it means I have to get used to getting from A-B under power a bit more slowly then it will be a very worthwhile price to pay.