Electric or gas motor for a core sound 17 mark 3?

[Steve W]

Paul, this looks like a great setup. Are you adding Solar charging? 

[sanmi]

I have a short shaft. It has worked fine so far, but I have never had to use the motor in waves. 

[paul_stewart]

Solar charging?   yes!   The plan is to locate a solar panel on the garage top (26"x25") that covers the bypass sliding hatches.      The ePropulsion battery normally sits on top of the motor, but a 2meter extension power cable allows it to be in the aft locker, which I like better.    Some related DC wiring/battery-storage plan details remain to be decided,  and obviously it's all an untested work in progress.  Solar panel tech and battery tech has been improving over the years, which is encouraging.    

 

[ photos in a separate post:  "Core Sound 20 Mark III  #16  Dawn Patrol"  ]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andy B]

In an article on Small Craft Advisor, the EP Carry manufacturer (note: different that E-propulsion, which makes the Spirit electric outboard) announced that it can be for bigger boats now.  It was originally for boats up to 12 feet, though one of the Off Center Harbor guys uses it for his Caledonia Yawl.  The whole motor is designed differently with a very large, 2-blade propulsion.  It's lighter than most of the other motors, and cheaper.

 

From what I can see, the difference in the "new" update is that (1) the motor can take 24v or 36 v batteries, instead of the standard 12v, and they updated the software accordingly.  So the actual unit is the same, instead of using the built-in 12v battery they now accommodate larger, unattached batteries.  This would be interesting, as the weight of the motor, with battery, was 21 pounds.  If it gets much less without the battery, that would be really easy to take on and off the transom, even daysailing.  It sure would be nice to not have an outboard to catch the mizzen sheet and look ugly when sailing.

 

The specs say for boats up to 19 feet and 1,000 pounds.  That would exclude my CS-20, which lists common sailing weight (gear and people) of 1,300.  But I've emailed EP Carry to see what they say.

 

https://www.electricpaddle.com/index.html

 

[Jonathan M. Cohn]

I bought the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 short shaft. Its 62.5cm vs the long shaft at 78cm. This worked great on my Catalina 18 as its motor mount went up and down 18 inches or so. I usually sail on inland lakes and the short shaft does fine but when I was in waves in Pensacola last year with the CS 17.3, I definitely had some cavitation. If I had to do it over again I'd get the long shaft. I've considered getting a different motor mount that goes up and down but that'd require an overhaul of the transom location.

 

I do not have a linkage between the outboard tiller and the main tiller. I fix the motor in place with its blue nylon lock pin and steer with the main tiller. I also use the extension cable so I can keep the battery in the stern locker and leave the motor unencumbered.