The Epropulsion Spirit XS - A Horse for our Course?

[Thomas Rahm]

Hallo everybody, I'm looking for photos or a film of the EPROPULSION flipped up. The engine interests me very much for my
BRE ( well done )
Thomas  ( Düsseldorf )

[Thomas Rahm]

There is another questions.  Which accessories are needed to mount the EPROPULSION xs in the BRE?
 Thomas  ( BRE 084 "well done" Düsseldorf )

[Ray S]

Hi Thomas,
When we did our test of the Epropulsion XS we found no need for any accessories - the engine just mounted onto the standard engine mounting pad.  But it must be the extra short shaft version XS.

Ray

[Thomas Rahm]

Thank's, can the e Propulsion be mounted with the battery?  Can the motor be pulled up with tiller?
Did you mount the xs with tiller?
Thomas
 

[Ray S]

Hi Thomas,
The eProp XS is in two parts:  The first part is the electric motor (below waterline!) in the nascelle directly in front of the propellor together with the upright shaft and tiller assembly. See image below of the eProp with battery removed.

The second part is the removable battery housing which is where a petrol engine would normally be. See second picture below.

The tiller section swivels up and down -  the down position makes the unit very compact for storage in a locker or bag.

At the back of the battery housing is a large handle for easy carrying. A security chain can be passed through the handle if the battery is being charged in a public area and of course the battery can also be put in a bag while charging to disguise its presence. Eprop have their own storage bags at a cost.   

The battery handle is also used to tilt the motor into the up position.

[Thomas Rahm]

....Thanks! Can the BRE be driven with the battery installed? The battery handle is needed to tilt the motor in the up position.
When the motor is in the up position , where is the tiller from the engine? Do you have pictures from the e Propulsion xs in up position? So I can order the e Propulsion xs with battery and tiller and operate in the boat?
Best regards  Thomas

[Ray S]

Thomas,
I think you mean can the BRe be 'sailed' with the battery in position? Once the battery is installed the motor is just like a regular petrol outboard - you can sail whether the propellor is down or whether the propellor is up out of the water.

So if the propellor is down it will free-wheel allowing you to sail - although I was told you shouldn't go more than 6 knots like this!  If you're trying to go this fast I doubt you'd want the propellor down anyway!  Somebody - was it on this forum - said that sailing with the prop down is like flying with the undercarriage down!

If the engine is pulled up - most conveniently by the battery handle, you then tilt the engine sideways just like you would a Mariner so that the battery housing is well clear of the main tiller.  The eProps tiller swivels up and down so that it is out of the way.  Then you can go sailing in the normal way.  No need to remove the battery!

I don't have photos or videos with the eProp in the up/sailing position - the above is only from my experience of a test session.  I'll be purchasing mine early next season to maximise the two year warranty.

Ray S BRe 047 "Whimbrel"

[Thomas Rahm]

Thank you Ray! Then I'll look for an EPROPULSION XS with tiller.
Thomas  BRE 084

[Graham W]

I see that the ePropulsion Spirit in now available with a 1,276Wh battery - 25% larger than their previous standard battery and with 39% more capacity than the largest Torqeedo equivalent.  Driving a BR20 flat out in calm conditions, the new battery should give a range of around 7 nautical miles and at 4 knots, around 11nm.  Yet another step in the right direction by ePropulsion, speaking as a somewhat disillusioned Torqeedo owner.

[Thomas Rahm]

Hello Graham, have you seen the EPROPULSION with 1.276 Wh battery also in XS version? 

Thomas

[Graham W]

Hi Thomas,

Nestaway in the UK have that version on their price list for £1,600.  See https://nestawayboats.com/shop/e-propulsion-spirit-1kw-electric-outboard/

[Ray S]

We now have our Epropulsion Spirit XS but now its the XS PLUS with 25% more battery capacity - i.e. 1276W/h.  I have to say it is a great match for the BRe.  Finally an engine which fully matches the versatility of the boat! I have put full details of our experience so far in an article in the library called POWER ON DEMAND.

RayS BRe 047 'Whimbrel'

[Graham W]

Excellent article Ray, thank you.  If anybody is having trouble finding it, it's here https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/?p=2203. 

Just in case I win the lottery, does anyone know if the measurements of the BR20 outboard well, transom, tiller height etc are identical to those of the BRe?  It would mean that the Spirit would fit snugly in the BR20 in exactly the same way.  Then, lottery permitting, it would be goodbye Torqeedo.

[Ray S]

Thanks Graham,

Had a second day out yesterday with the Eprop - hot sunshine and winds 0 - force 4 up and down.

There might be a bit more twiddling with the Eprop's 'fit' as with the prop up out of the water and the tip of the tiller throttle control just in the drainage runnel on the BRe's floor you cant rotate the engine sideways out of the way. You have to do the rotation while the engine is coming up which isn't so convenient. So I think I just need to raise the height of the engine on the mount by inserting a small 2cm thick block of wood. Another solution might be a slight wedge on the engine mount and a possible adjustment of the prop shaft angle if needed.  If the rain stops I might get out on the mooring and have a fiddle.

Speaking of moorings, yesterday I noticed that the stern and rudder cheeks were well out of the water, presumably because with battery off I had about 16kgs less weight in the back than I would have had with the Mariner. (Water ballast out). This might help with self-draining on a mooring?

Favourable winds and tides yesterday but tackled the South Deep Channel in Poole harbour  to windward under sail which we've never done before and the River Frome return under sail too, just with the odd nudges of 50-100w or so power.  All in all we came back with 80% battery reserves after our day trip, so very good result.

Ray S BRe 047 'Whimbrel'

[Ray S]

To finalise the fit of the Eprop after a couple of trials - I put a 20mm high x 10mm thick wedge which tapered down to 3mm or so behind the engine mount with the engine clamped around this. When the prop is brought out of the water to its 75 deg position the tiller arm has to come up to clear the cockpit floor. The tiller arm can lift by 38 degrees but that isn't quite enough to clear the floor and allow rotation of the arm into the fender bay. The small wedge fixes that issue. That leaves the prop shaft pointing slightly forward and not able to steer round to 90 degrees because it is too near the front of the engine well cut-out. This is fixed by adjusting the prop-shaft angle back one notch - there are 4 positions - the first notch moves the shaft back 7 degrees to compensate for the wedge. 

Now the engine is a snug fit and can be steered plus and minus 90 degrees and the prop shaft can be raised up in the straight ahead position to allow the prop through the floor and then rotated sideways out  of the way with the twist grip control located in a fender bay. Got there in the end.

I'll take some more pics and add an addendum to the library feature.

Ray S BRe Whimbrel 047