Click To Play

Hey, so, I’m excited about this. We found Carl of the C-Dory 25, Gigi, locally, and he has a Torqeedo Travel 801 folding electric outboard, and he agreed to have us do a video feature on it. So, we met him down at the marina in Edmonds, WA, where we took the Torqeedo out of its bag, put it together, and tried it out.
A few thoughts about the Torqeedo from our brief test:

 

1. The largely plastic and aluminum construction makes the motor quite light. Easier to lift on to your dinghy’s transom than even a 2 horse outboard. However, I’d be a little concerned about the longevity of the construction on a major voyage, especially with intense tropical sun and plenty of salt spray.
2. The battery pack removes easily from the motor, so you can charge is separately at your convenience. Takes 8 to 10 hours to charge. The LED capacity meter is a nice convenience, but is hard to read in direct sun. And we didn’t see an easy way to secure the $600 battery against theft.
3. The motor was a bit noisier than I expected. Certainly quieter than a gasoline engine, but not nearly silent.
4. This is a high torque motor, not high horsepower. It has plenty of low speed maneuverability and pulling power, but it will not get your inflatable to planing speed.

The Torqeedo is a very interesting little motor. The industrial design is cool, and it will definitely scoot your inflatable along quicker than oars, and without fossil fuel. Folding to fit in a bag is a neat trick. My advice to Torqeedo owners, though, is to protect the plastics from UV as much as possible, and use a good quality anti-corrosion product to protect the metal parts. We’ll check back with Carl and see how things are going with the Torqeedo in a few months.