F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Hello everyone , I’m new on here and just wondered if anyone knows if an electric engine would generate enough power to push 2 big blokes along in an F-rib 375 . Love the idea of electric engines and putting them indoors when I’ve finished for charging . But I would not want to spend more than £3000 on the outboard , I would consider gas but it’s reliability and flushing them out when you’ve finished . Thank you in advance .jon

Hi Jonsy,

Checkout Torqeedo, they make electric outboards up to 80hp! They are expensive though.

In my mind one of the problems is the weight of the batteries which can soon exceed the weight of a conventional gas / petroleum outboard.

You mention reliability but modern outboards have proved to be exceptionally reliable and flushing them out isn’t a big deal.

Electric will no doubt be the future, but I’m not personally convinced that it is the present unless you are just using it to push your tender from your yacht to the pub.

I guess it all depends what you want it for. What kind of range would you need?

Hi jonsy,

Welcome to the madhouse.

Yeah, a Torqeedo Travel 1003 or an Epropulsion Spirit 1 will push you along at displacement speeds for an hour or so for circa £1500....add a further £500 for another battery.

Getting on the plane with 2 big buggers aboard will be mega bucks with something like a Torqeedo Cruise 10 plus battery circa £12000

What’s the point though, unless an avid eco warrior or using in restricted areas. A modern 4-stroke (assumed termed gas in your post) will be ultra reliable, frugal, quiet, quick and a fraction of the price. Flushing after use takes only a few minutes...washing the boat takes far longer.

jonsy wrote: ↑

06 Jun 2019, 13:51

Hello everyone , I’m new on here and just wondered if anyone knows if an electric engine would generate enough power to push 2 big blokes along in an F-rib 375 . Love the idea of electric engines and putting them indoors when I’ve finished for charging . But I would not want to spend more than £3000 on the outboard , I would consider gas but it’s reliability and flushing them out when you’ve finished . Thank you in advance .jon

I don't have an answer but am anxious for this technology so I'm wondering how fast and far you are wanting to go?

I have seen/heard of some using a couple of lead-acid batteries and a trolling motor to move about but they don't go very far or very fast but it's enough to get them offshore and fishing.

I agree with the others in thinking that it will be a lot more than what you want to spend. Every now and then I glance at EV conversions and it appears the only way anyone gets the cost of batteries down is by buying old laptop batteries, breaking them open, testing the individual 18550 cells for good ones and then rebuilding them in a configuration that meets their needs. Appears to be a lot of work but economical if you're willing to do it.

If you move forward with an electric drive system, please post!

Hi folks. i dont know if this will work but have a look and see sales@goldenmotor.com .

Thanks guys ,
think I will be getting the F-Rib 375 with the LEHR 9.9 hp . The Lehr appeals to me because its green credentials and there is an electric start and I don't want the smell of petrol in the car . But it wont be until ive sold my boat .

Thank you

hi jonsy, my name is terry, the reason for my post is nothing to do with electric motors, more to do with your local knowledge. i see you are in weymouth and was wondering what you can tell us about local launching and parking with a trailer attached,where can you leave the boat while parking etc. thanks in advance

jonsy wrote: ↑

07 Jun 2019, 07:44

Thanks guys ,
think I will be getting the F-Rib 375 with the LEHR 9.9 hp . The Lehr appeals to me because its green credentials and there is an electric start and I don't want the smell of petrol in the car . But it wont be until ive sold my boat .

Thank you

I'm not keen on the smell of petrol myself, especially in a confined space where it can be dangerous and harmfull to health. In my case it can occasionally make me feel a bit sea sick when fishing at anchor in less than calm in less than conditions so I can see an advantage in alternative fuels just from that perspective.

The LEHR engines look very interesting. Just a shame that real world data/reviews from owners are a bit 'thin on the ground' to say the least but hopefully that will change if/when they become more mainstream.

I’ll be very interested to see how you find running costs with the LEHR engine.

I would dearly love for electric to become cheap enough to be a viable option.