Glad it is helpful... I'm not sure how the bigger trolling electrics compare with Torqeedo's electrics. I have a little experience with a Torqeedo 1003, which the club also bought as a gas-free auxiliary, mainly for one or two larger boats. It was used some on the Potter 19 and was plenty of power - Torqeedo compares it to a 3hp gas engine. Mostly it is used for one or another of two international folkboats the club has, which for those not familiar is a full keel 4750 lb. displacement boat. Again not as a long-range or intense conditions motoring solution, but for getting on and off a mooring in a fairly tight and flukey-wind location, or for motoring in and out under the bridge and back to the intermediate dock to rig up or down, same as described for the Potter 19 and Venture 17. Definitely enough power for that. And, range is still an issue, for any electric...I don't have enough experience to back, or buck, Torqeedo's claims of range/running time. It does have a high-tech monitor screen which tells you power usage, remaining run time at current usage, etc. etc. so at least in terms of information you've got more than with a regular trolling motor and battery. cheers, John S. On 03/06/2017 05:22 PM, Wilson Frye wrote:
Thanks, John. Just the kind of experience I was hoping to get a synopsis of…
Will
On Mar 6, 2017, at 2:26 PM, John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net> wrote:
Forgot to respond to this part...
On 03/05/2017 05:22 PM, Wilson Frye wrote: ...
Will any M17 owner who has used a trolling motor as auxiliary propulsion for leaving and approaching the dock, and for short term auxiliary propulsion when winds are light, share what you may have learned from the experience?
Haven't used one on my own M17, but have used them on a Potter 19 and a Venture 17. Both are somewhat lighter overall than the M17 - Potter at ~1200 and Venture at ~900. But the Potter has more windage than an M17, I reckon.
Both boats had to be launched at a ramp, then motored several hundred yards under a low bridge to rig up at another dock past the bridge. The channel has a constant current, ~1 kt. at the low end (tide coming in against river outflow) and probably ~2.5 kt. at the high end (tide and river going out). The trolling motors were fine for this. On the return there was motoring back into the basin/dock to de-rig, against the same current and sometimes against some wind for the first part. The trolling motors also did fine with that. They were not fancy trollers - just ordinary old small ones. I think the Venure 17 one was just a 30 or 35 lb. thrust. The Potter might have had a 40-45 lb. thrust.
Against max current and some headwind progress could be slow back to the dock, barely a knot or so over ground. So the motor might be running full or near full power, but only for a short time, a few hundred yards or maybe 1/4 mile at most when returning. As long as the battery was charged up, this was all fine.
cheers, John S.
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com