I just had to add my 2 cents. First of all, I have being running the following setup for over a year and have only had to charge my system a couple of times with an electric battery charger. This was only because it was winter (less sunlight hours) and we had a full week of cloudy rainy weather. The whole system cost me roughly $200 since I already had a trolling motor and a battery. Your numbers are probably correct if you run the trolling motor constantly and as the main propulsion for the boat. Most fishing trip I do would be pushing it to use the trolling motor more than 50% of the time. Every time you stop to fish or do something, the solar charger will catch up. I fish every weekend, all day Saturday and half a day on Sunday's. Most of the time when I get home my battery is 90% charged or better. I even charge going down the highway and while it's sitting in my yard. I have a 12 Volt trolling motor(XI5), 100ah lead acid (about to go lithium for weight loss), a $40 charge controller and a 100 watt solar panel in the boat. I also have an addition 100 watt solar panel on the side of my house. I plug this one in when I get home for 200 watts maximum charging. Add another $100 for this one, but I don't think I really need it. I probably should have just bought a 200 watt solar panel for the boat and be done with it. This set up work for me in my 18 foot aluminum bass boat.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

So it can work in this situation - and that is how many people do use it (trolling motor as not the main propulsion and only used some of the time) Thanks!

@commoguru

Жыл бұрын

If you use a PWM speed controller you can stretch that out even more. The trolling motor uses the same power regardless of speed setting, any excess is just burned off as heat.

@KennyFishbone

Жыл бұрын

I'm trying to get to the point you're at. Just calculating the solar panel size that doesn't take up too much room on the boat. But your system is ideal! Thanks

@jasonmccarthy9764

Жыл бұрын

disclaimer: I don’t own any electric motors for boats or EV’s I think Wayne was extremely narrow minded in this video. Right now, if you have an electric trolling motor, you may be disconnecting the battery everyday to bring it back to charge. Solar probably solves this daily charge chore… it can also charge the battery when stopped. There’s also draw differences in how you use a trolling motor. Getting from point A to point B would have different draw characteristics than slowly trolling while fishing (depending on current, wind etc)

@noyopacific

Жыл бұрын

@@commoguru I had wondered about the PWM speed controller question too. I switched from a Minn Kota Endura trolling motor that uses a heat sink speed controller to a Minn Kota PowerDrive that has what they call their "digital maximizer technology." I believe this is a PWM controller. The way I use the motor is for low speed trolling, 2 or 3 hours at a time. I only have an 78 AH battery and the bigger M-K PowerDrive takes less time to recharge than the smaller Endura did. (Either way my power demands are low enough that I'm not over-taxing even this small battery.) I'm thinking about using a solar panel to recharge the battery next summer just so I don't have to run a long extension cord out to the dock for recharging.

I have just powered my kayak with a 36 lbs trolling motor. It assist us while paddling. I chose two small lithium batteries which fit through a small porthole and keeps it out of the weather. Our range is three hours on setting 3 at a speed of almost 2 miles an hour. Since we have balance issues we needed the widest kayak we could find thus heavy to paddle.

I wish you have included the numbers. Here are some facts. a 100watt panel puts out about 5.7 amps per hour under perfect conditions and that only happens for a couple of hours in a day, the rest of the day the output is much lower. Now ill use my motors as a example. Its the haswing brushless 12v 65# thrust. Being brushless it has a built in esc so its very efficient. I run a shunt based meter while running my vessel. The vessel is a kayak so its small and light. At half speed iam pulling 24 amps and at full speed iam drawing 46 amps. the 5 amps from a 100 watt panel isnt even going to make a dent in my run time. And that 5 amps is only for a couple of hours. The rest of the day its more like 2.5 amps. Anyone who says otherwise are fibbing!! Math doesnt lie!!!

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your real experience numbers! Our math matches up - I figured that 6 100w panels might be able to do the job in ideal conditions. Six of those panels would totally cover my boat and cost quite a bit of money. I was considering putting up some data and numbers, but decided to keep this video focused on the aspect that nobody else seems to mention which is the cost of the gear and how much space it would take.

@drister007

Жыл бұрын

Just run your motor at one tenth of the full power (at 10 %). When going 3,5 mph, the trolling motor only consume 100 W and 100W solar pannel produce just as much electricity as motor uses.If you have 2000 W solar pannel instead of 100 W, then you can run it the whole day long (twice the solar power to account for non ideal conditions).

@gsp49

Ай бұрын

Funny, I was pulling 3 100 watt panels that ran my Minn-Kota just fine.

I absolutely LOVE your videos, Wayne! Keep making Greta content. I build solar powered electric boats as a hobby and my most recent project uses a 120W panel and a 54lb trolling motor. It's called the "solar express MK IV" and without people like you on KZread it would've been a lot harder to build! I agree that solar power certainly isn't enough to fully power my boat but it is enough to charge the battery very well while I'm not using it, for every one hour of full speed motoring it only needs about 4 hours in good sun.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! How many and what kind of batteries are you using on that setup?

@bensteele4936

2 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy I've got one 100Ah 12V lithium battery, it's good because it can be run down to almost empty without any long term damage.

@edgarl.mardal8256

2 жыл бұрын

can you help me buying the right parts and finding the right gear?

@Alberthoward3right9up

Жыл бұрын

@@bensteele4936 that's something most people don't factor in with an AGM battery. All that weight of a 100 ah battery and only 50 ah on tap sucks.

@steveprudell9976

18 күн бұрын

Yes very good explanations

I ran the simplest possible version of a "solar boat" on my local lake for a couple summers. 1x 50lbs-thurst motor, 2x 100AH deep cycle batteries, 1x 100watt panel. I would troll for maybe an hour or two to reach a destination, anchor/beach the boat in the sun while my kids swam for a couple hours and then troll back. Having two big batteries and assuming I would always end up with a net-loss of stored energy made me comfortable enough to omit the charge controller to keep the system super simple. Other than being slow it worked quite well.

@noyopacific

Жыл бұрын

This worked for me on my RV. You might want to check the electrolyte levels in your batteries once in a while to make sure you aren't boiling off too much water. If you have to add more than about 12 ounces of water a month to each battery you may need to consider a charge controller . . . or you could disconnect the solar panel periodically to reduce overcharging.

@catchcookcreate-zm5xg

2 ай бұрын

makes no sense when renogy wanderer controllers are $30 to be honest

@rogue3

2 ай бұрын

Based on the fact that my batteries never once reached 100% SoC with the solar panel connected, I'd say that in my use case the extra $30 would have been the thing that made no sense. To be fair though my use case is fringe enough that I don't suggest anyone else do it this way. Basically I was willing to take on the extra hassle of manually protecting my batteries rather than paying for the convenience of a charge controller.

I used solar to charge a battery so we wouldn't have to carry it back and forth from a pond to charge. We didn't go on long trips and the boat wasn't used everyday so it worked great.

@fishgod20

Жыл бұрын

How big of a solar charger?

We have an extra battery too. Pretty simple plus the smart 12v charger does a great job of keeping the batteries powered up before hitting the water.

I have 22ft sailboat with a 120w permanent solar glued onto the front deck. Its batterybank is always charged up when I come to use it with the 1000w brushed motors on it. It just works!

Thank you for an honest, sensible evaluation of the solar panel / trolling motor hypotheses.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

That was the point of this video!

This was extremely helpful. Thank you!

Thank you so very much for your video. I like hearing all sides of the conversion (including those that fellow viewers made in the comments) so that I can make the best informed decision for myself. Knowledge is power.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! There are so many factors including intended use and advances in technology!

I’ve been studying this subject for 6 months. The way you dumb down the process is helpful to me😃👍. It has been quite the challenge trying to do the math regarding, size of electric motor, number of batteries, the multi panel large footprint problem. Your presentation was superior. Series vs parallel is clear now. Thank you for your efforts 👍👍. Please comment on whatever you know about the higher watt, higher 💰panels- flex vs rigid. It seems like if ya can afford these high end panels, we would cover fewer sq ft with the higher power panels. Please give me your thoughts on that option. Thanks. Dan

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

You and I have probably been looking at many of the same videos/websites/forums etc. It seems that in some areas, used panels with higher output are easy to find and not expensive. I never see these things near me, and when I ask follow up questions on other comments that say how easy it is to find cheap and higher output panels they never respond back. It seems that in the next few years we might have panels that provide more watts per square foot and maybe electric motor options that are not expensive and use less electricity. When those things come along, it might be a game changer for many applications. From what I have read, the flexible panels seem to have two disadvantages - they can get damaged more easily and they don't usually produce as close to their rated output as rigid panels.

Great video answered everything I really wanted to know 👍

I have envisioned doing that sort of thing with a tiny trolling motor on a canoe or similar. The idea is that the solar panels are on a little styrofoam raft (or chain of such things) trailing along behind. Close to the water they won't catch much wind and you can have 600 watts trailing along behind you. You could eliminate the battery entirely although I'd keep a small battery for voltage regulation and the occasional cloud passes between you and the sun, or go under a bridge or some other shadow situation. This won't be effective for fishing of course since you are also trailing your hook, but for simple cruising and exploration of bayou and things like that, trailing solar panels behind your small boat would work well.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

There's a guy in NZ who has a sort of catamaran setup with panels beside the main hull which is an interesting and possibly more durable and similar idea.

@analogalbacore7166

2 жыл бұрын

Nope would not work. Wind waves momentum of the raft

@Alberthoward3right9up

Жыл бұрын

@@analogalbacore7166 and the extra drag would defeat the purpose of it. Just use a battery

@jasoncthomas

Жыл бұрын

This is The Ticket! Drag will not be even detectable if the raft is light weight.

@gsp49

Ай бұрын

I do this regularly, runs my radio and cooling fans too.

I have a 210 watt solar system that I have used to take my bedroom off grid. I am amazed how well it works and how quickly my battery recharges everyday.

@gsp49

Жыл бұрын

I have 410 watts in 4 panels but only need half that much.

For emergencies having a solar panel to slowly charge batteries, power lights and horns is a good idea, but not for main propulsion on a small boat, more batteries would be simpler and effective

Also putting a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) speed controller on the trolling motor would have a net reduction on the energy requirements. Typically a small trolling motor draws full amps at all speeds, with all speeds beneath top speed bleeding off energy into resistors which is lost as heat and lowers motor speed in the process. The PWM in contrast "chops" the DC current up by switching power on and off very quickly in relation to the speed desired; obviously full on at top speed and decreasing as lower speeds are selected. There is much less wasted energy as heat, and less load on the battery. This would make battery draw less, and less solar assist would be needed to top up the battery. I'll leave it to you to work out the details. Good explanation of solar chargers, controllers in your video!

@Andy-df5fj

Жыл бұрын

Although a resistive speed control does waste power as heat, it still reduces current draw considerably at lower speeds. Let's say your motor draws 36 amps at full speed. That represents 1/3 of an ohm of impedance. If you throw another 1/3 of an ohm of resistance in the circuit, you'll only draw 18 amps. Half the current, but 1/4 of the power since the voltage to the motor is also cut in half.

@andthesunsets

Жыл бұрын

Low speed full amp draw is a myth that i see everywhere. A simple current test would prove that low speed draws considerably less current than high speed. 6.6A at F1 with Minn Kota endura c2 40.

@jasoncthomas

Жыл бұрын

This comment is technically inaccurate.

@RICHIE26636

Жыл бұрын

I'm glad you said "typically" because I've tested that with the Xi5 trolling motor. The Xi5 draws close to 50ah(625watts) at full speed and as I mention earlier is only draw 80 watts(6.4ah) at power level 3 out of 10.

Everything you said makes sense. My boat (actually it’s two coleman canoes mated together) is the same way. I have a 4 horse yamaha to go upstream as far as I want to, then trolling motor on the way back. Two deep cycle marine batteries parallel connected will give us plenty of direction control and if it gets late, there’s always a little left for a small light if you need it

@vihreelinja4743

2 жыл бұрын

dude. i been thinking to make the hull between the kanoes wide enough for solar panels. easily fit 300-400 wats and a big trolling motor ... could also add a sail cause a catamaran is really stable.

Great video! I have a 13' Smokercraft with a 15hp 2-stroke Mercury & a 35 pound of thrust Minncota.I've extended my range by using 3 group 32 deep cycle batteries [one in the back & 2 up front] I connected them with jumper cable wire & proper battery fittings. Between the gas motor & fully charged batteries I can fish 5 days on the big lakes in Washington state. At 76 getting home is big to me --- Plan A is the gas motor, Plan B is the electric motor, Plan C is to row. Had to use Plan B twice --- took some time but those 3 big batteries never seem to die!! Solar just not practical ---don't bet your life on it!

@sharonbraselton4302

2 жыл бұрын

scout 145 hybride 8 hiur 8 moh 6r mioke eange teksa cell new ines 74 mióe ekrrc rànge

I have been running two (2 watt) Colman solor batter maintainers for a 24v 80lb thrust minkota Terranova, these keep my two blue tops. I have run two 6 hour days including using the anchor lock in a river and never droppped below 25%. I run this setup on a 18.5' tracker aluminum bass boat.

@sharonbraselton4302

2 жыл бұрын

buy new 17 fiit 7 inçh 50 ekrrc oyt biar 20 to 40 m8kes sivge vater 2 bares 40 too 80 mie teksa bew cell 92 miles 46 mile ranfe

Excellent top speed and the difference between 1 and 5 are equally distributed. Great motor!

I like the idea of a roof big enough for one or two solar panels . Having a roof gives you some shade that I love. . And if you park your boat in the sun when you go to use your boat the battery ( or two ) is fully charged ready to run. A roof solar for the guys that have their own pond or lake that sits on your wharf dock and the boat stays in the water this is a no brainer always charging battery ready to run and best of all the batteries stay in the boat always.

Great video sizing up the options. One side point worth mentioning: If a two battery setup is something one would do every time going out, two 6 volts in series is worth considering. It avoids the parasitic drain issues that come with parallel setups. However, two 12 volts in parallel affords the option to bring only one on short range days. It does come down to preference.

A mast and sail with a little wind! 😂 I did buy a deep cycle lithium battery for a small boat for 100 dollars. It ran a 30 lb minn kota trolling motor for about six hours of on off fishing. It lasted about 4 to 5 hours on a windy day at a more consistent use. I did like the fact that it was really small and light to handle.

@stevencartlidge6574

Жыл бұрын

What size battery did you buy for $100? Was it maybe a 50amh battery? That would be almost equal to a 100amh lead acid battery.

I’m up in Alaska. My 100 watt panel kept my 80 amp battery topped up for around four hours in optimal summer solstice conditions, in a 13 foot pontoon raft with 55 thrust motor set at middle speed. I also oared the raft at the same time to cover more water. Got to explore connected lakes off of Lake Louise near Glennallen. Getting an extra battery though is the next step. Thanks for the math!

Excellent information! I’ve been wondering if having a panel onboard was worth it, now I know. Thank you sir!

@artsmith103

2 жыл бұрын

The discussion needs to include amps. If the panel provides 50% it doubles the useable time. If it provides 50% it will charge the battery in less than 3 days. If you use the boat 2-4 days per week it could all work plus a ~4amp charger will recharge over night.

@artsmith103

2 жыл бұрын

8amps is a good practical draw for a small boat. 50 usable amp-hrs in the battery. 6hrs of run time. 50W panel is 50% of draw to extend you to 9-12hrs depending on sun. That's a full day and 4amp charger over night will fully recharge the drained 50 amp-hrs.

Great analysis on the pros and challenges

Great info, and price comparison 👍.

Great video Wayne. For now, doubling up on the batteries is the best way to extend your range. More cost effective too.😊

Depends on the boat and the size. I myself have a Breifcase of 2-100 watt panels with a controller. That is enough to charge while parked fishing which I am most of the time. The panels can then go with me to charge the batteries on land when camping. Not listening to a generator, People love me. Caring about others is worth the money. I do have the gen too, not being creepy.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

The "parked while fishing" approach seems to work well for many people - thanks for sharing!!

Right On!!! Thanks for the reminder that was not an actual solar panel. I almost bought the wrong thing.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

lol

Great tips and advice!

Hello Wayne and viewers! Gas is at $2.20 per Litre or more in my corner of Western Canada. Probably the same all through-out the country.There are about 4 litres in an "American gallon" .(128 oz) That is $8.80 Canadian dollars for a U.S. gallon of go-juice! Getting up there! We drive or boat less than we used to CHEERS from here!

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

That certainly stings! Always good to hear from you!

If you had just a supplementary solar charger and the two batteries it should effectively give you unlimited range for the day with downtime recharge and the batteries will add great stability to the boat and you only need to put the solar panel up forward out of your way maybe like a little Bimini top or a windbreaker windscreen

Great video thank you

Well, this math is valid for USA maybe, but for South Eutope it is rather the oposite: Here 100 Ah deep cycle battery cost arround 200 eur (~usd) and 100W panel 60 eur (~usd). We have arround 250 sunny days a year. Panels have ideal conditions for maximum power from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Before and after this time the produced power is less, but still something. With 2 panels or total 200W you get more than 11 hours of 10A supply current which is more than 110 Ah. Consider that 100 Ah battery may be discharged to 20% maximum, it means that you actualy have 80 Ah from a battery. Conclusion: 200W solar panel in sunny area offers more than 50% power per day than aditional 100 Ah battery.

@bass_lander

6 ай бұрын

Why not take the battery out of the circuit then?

I’ve considered adding a solar panel to my Jon boat while fishing. But it would take up too much space and limit movement.

Good information. Thank you.

I am partial to small gas powered engines particularly as auxiliary power for small sailboats. The Suzuki 2.5 hp LS at 31 pounds is perfect on my Lightning sloop (19 ft). With a small extra can of gas, the motor runs forever, and at 4 stroke is so quiet, it is barley more than an electric motor. Powering upriver at low/med throttle is almost like sailing . I hope Wayne can do a more complete review of this motor in a future episode for usage on sailboats!

Oh wow thank you for this important information.. I bought a turbo 35 27lbs thrust for my canoe. I bought two 60 w photovoltaic module solar for camping and was considering using it for the trolling motor... I'm glad I caught your video... Also, I don't support lithium harvesting after learning children in Congo Africa are mining it.. Ok thank you friend, marine battery it is... (*!*)

My experience with solar panels is they exceed their rates power under ideal situ. Also im always amazed how well they perform even on hazy days. Really depends on how dense the cloud cover is.

I already got a bunch of solar panels and equipment I got a 14 foot Jon boat i like to sit in the floor of the boat while I fish for a back support im thinking about mounting a 100w solar panel on the side of boat and putting it on rails so when I get to me fishing spot I can pull it up off the side and it bend over my head it would at like a shade umbrella while it’s putting some charge back into my battery idk what do y’all think

Most of the time when I am fishing it is for several days and I am bushwhack camping for three days or more. I already have a solar setup that is fairly easy to scale-up. Now having an extra battery to trade with the one on the boat starts to make more sense than trying to have the boat be the place to solar charge the boat battery.

I think the extra battery would be the solution I would choose. Additionally I always keep a set of oars in the boat for those unexpected emergencies or mechanical trouble.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah I always bring my 'spare motor' (which is a paddle) because I stink at using the oars!

@ProlificInvention

2 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy I do the same, paddle is the way to go!

@yanickborg3118

Жыл бұрын

No, it's not the solution. It's the opposite. You want a smaller battery with a lesser recharge rate. Sure you do more cycles, but that's how to design it properly. Also, this type of hull is too light and too small.

I built my own charge panel but I I only use mine just to charge while we hang out in the water with the Radio ph ect on. So far so good its easy to forget how long you been drifting or anchored. After all its about the fun and keep it that way.

Good job sir, thanks for the share.

I really enjoy how right you try to be to the facts "about 60 pounds" shows real weight

Like others in the comments here have said, it depends on your application. Of course, you are correct to say adding another battery is cheaper than adding solar, but maybe you need to keep the boat as light as possible. Then the lightweight flexible panels might be a good idea regardless of cost. But then, they say those don't last very long due to heat damage. Maybe add a mist sprayer or some other way to keep them wet? But I digress. My boat is so tiny that more lead batteries really makes an impact. Solar or lithium could help. Or, I am getting old (59). Maybe I need the whole system to be as light as possible to be able to keep doing this in my old age. There are always "what if" conditions, and I'm not saying you are wrong in the least. For the conditions you laid out, you are 100% correct. Here's another thought I have been toying with. What about a solar barge that is towed behind the boat? It would be light weight and close to the water, so no wind drag. I wonder how much drag the barge itself would create?

Thx again for common sense look at boating info...

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

What if I am using it just just for a amp and stereo think it we’ll help the battery last longer I got a eco-worthy 10w panel coming

The other option to help your range would be to use a pulse width modular instead of the speed controller in the trolling motor. (Lots of videos on this) One of the biggest issues with your motor is the draw is the same no matter how fast you are going. The speed controller in the trolling motor again uses heat to lower the output to the motor. Where a "PWM" will control the speed far more efficiently and less drain on your battery.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

I have heard about these.

@markjackson6829

Жыл бұрын

If you get a "brushless" trolling motor they are mostly if not all pulse width modulated and much more efficient than brushed motors, but check manufacturer. They also last much longer.

@tango-bravo

Жыл бұрын

What electric motors offer this PW modulation as a stock component to the motor?

@kantill

Жыл бұрын

@@tango-bravo Pretty much all of the bow-mounted from minn kota.

@jckdnls9292

Жыл бұрын

The draw is the same no .matter how fast I'm going? So why do I get double the time on low sleep than on high speed?

There is a big drop in price per Watt from 300W panel size and up. Anything smaller is a rip-off aimed at ignorant consumers. I can only comment on local prices in South Africa - a Canadian Solar 300W panel will cost the equivalent of $100. A 20A EP Solar mppt is $75. The Panel measures 5ft 6in by 3ft 3in and weighs 41lb. You can easily mount it overhanging the bow to leave you enough usable space. The weight up front will nicely balance the weight of the battery in the stern and allow the hull to run at much lower drag. A 40lb Riptide draws roughly 200W at speed 4 and it gives me 4mph on a 13ft dingy. A solar panel will give you much longer service life than a second lead-acid battery. Even a small panel can benefit the battery. Every amp that you get from solar is one less amp required from the battery. Reduced battery current means you actually get more usable amp-hours from your battery. Depending on the battery's Peukert factor, this would be around 10% additional capacity by reducing current from C/4 to C/8.)

Yes, you are correct in your assumptions. You can probably make a custom made, ultra light (carbon) roof with wall to wall cells and use a specialized high efficient motor and light weight Lipo batteries but that would be VERY expensive but it would probably cost more than an expensive ski boat. This type of project would be good for a university team for a solar competition. Seems like i have seen this with solar cars. Even so, there are new breakthroughs in solar cells and solid state lithium batteries just around the corner. (They have been saying that for 10 years)

I’m a true believer and user of a 100w solar panel on my 18.5 Nitro bass boat. Sir you are correct that the panel won’t charge as fast as the draw while running the TM but if you’re anchored or just drifting that panel will add some charge back to the battery(s). A 2amp solar charge for a hour is significant when you’re running low on battery power. Even if it gives you 30 minutes more of running time that may be enough to get you back safely to the dock. I made a T bracket and I use one rod holder to keep the panel angled upwards towards the sun, the panel came with a 30a controller and I added longer 12awg wires to reach the batteries. I fish on Reservoir electric motor only but they do allow you to fire up your gas motor (no wake speed) for emergency purposes to get you back to the dock.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

29 күн бұрын

Nice!

And with my solar boat when not in use it will power part of my house needs!

nice video. I think using the motor as you duggest short trips to and from. I would use 1 or2 panels on 1 battery. To alleviate the necessity of having to charge battery in any alternative fashion. after all is said and done. It would be an excellent form of off grid water transport worth having in many scenarios. Happy Trails!

what do you say about larger as in more powerful electrical motors? i would like to know your opinion on this matter? hope to hear from you. thanks.....

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

I have another video looking at some of the recent offerings - but only really looking at the upfront cost aspect, because that’s what’s important to many small boat owners. Is 2023 The Year For Electric Outboard Motors for Boats? kzread.info/dash/bejne/fomcxdWcnZDaY5s.html

Spot on! I run an electric shallow water work boat with electric mud motors, small electric blowers for weed less operation, electric launch wheels and litthium batteries from a Chevy volt....along with a small propane generator and 1200 watts of overhead solar panels! I literally have thousands invested to operate a 14 ft jonboat with 4 ft paneled outriggers and I'm in the middle of a major redesign and refitting. If all I wanted to do is go fishing for an afternoon, none of this would be worthwhile!

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you have some cool toys! Thanks for watching!!

Off of a 100 watts I usually see 65. I have 200 watts with a 1500 wh battery lithium ion. Solar generator. This generator runs a refridge/freezer at 55 watts , it cycles on and off on DC power and will last about 24 hrs. 1000 watts will give you about 650 watts of solar charging. Off of 200 watts I have seen it get up to 182 from solar panels but usually 200 watts will be 135 watts. 65 % of 100 on a good day and usually about 100 watts in Kansas. It will charge my solar generator and run the freezer. 24 hours as long as I have sun. So I always have a gas generator for back up. I would run both like you said go out with gas let your solar charge and drive back on electric or just to save gas or emergency back up which is always a good thing.

LIFEPO4 is the only way to go regardless of the initial cost, they can last 10+ years and 10,000 charging cycles. Plus you would save a significant amount of weight and space. A brushless motor would also dramatically improve the efficiency of the system.

@sailor-rick

2 жыл бұрын

I was just talking about that. My 116 lbs of flooded lead-acid batteries still have another couple of years left, so as they go bad, I will be replacing them with LifePo4 batteries. I just didn't have the money when I put my fishing canoe together. Now, I am regretting the decision. Who knows? Maybe in a couple of years Tesla's "4680" batteries will be on the market and I can skip the whole lithium-iron-phosphate generation, altogether.

@joewoodchuck3824

2 жыл бұрын

Brushless motors aren't really that much more efficient. Just 10% according to one article I read.

@theowink

2 жыл бұрын

I had a puffy life-po once . Reality is that not all cells/pouches can last 10.000 cycles. They should make it easy to swap the bad one.

@Matthew9306

Жыл бұрын

@@joewoodchuck3824 The speed controllers are also more efficient with a brushless set up, so in real world conditions you can expect to see a 20-30% better efficiency from brushless motor / speed controller.

@Matthew9306

Жыл бұрын

@@theowink a 12 volt LiFePO4 battery typically has 4 cells. Fairly easy to diagnose a bad cell and replace it. Harder with Lithium Ion, you might have 100+ smaller cells in a 12 volt battery. Two totally different animals. I have never had a problem with LiFePO4, but have had so many Li-ion and Li-po batteries go bad, I lost track. I also keep Li-ion and Li-po batteries in a steel box, have also had a few explode.

My setup on a 27-foot 6,000 lb sailboat is one 35 lb thrust trolling motor and one 52 lb thrust trolling motor each operating at half-speed with one 240 W $35 used solar panel and one 300 $250 watt solar panel with a pulse width modulation controller $60 running to a 5 amp hour lithium iron phosphate battery $35. Yes you heard that right a 5 amp hour lithium iron phosphate battery. You don't need a lot of storage because you're running off the panels. I crank the motor is up to the highest speed that that day's sun will allow me to use without the voltage on the battery dropping which you can tell via the pulse with charge controller. It'll move a 6,000 lb sailboat at approximately two-and-a-half knotts all day in the sun.

I bought a lifepo battery for a little over 500. The price hurt but I believe it extended my range by more than double and at a quarter of the weight.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

I would like to try a LiFePo battery someday!

@RICHIE26636

Жыл бұрын

It will double. You have higher voltage (Constant > 13.00 volts) and you can discharge much lower than a lead acid. Lead acid recommends not to discharge below 50% state of charge. You can discharge a LiFePo4 till the BMS (Battery Management System) shuts you down, which is generally the amp hours stated on the battery. They do say not to do this on a regular basis, but an occasional complete discharge should not hurt it to bad. The BMS takes care of that for you. Be safe!

Greta video, thanks for metric measurements, solar panel great idea but problem is there's no sun in Finland 😂,

I have been thinking of using solar as a back just to charge while "at the holes". I am running 2- group 27 deep cycles run parrellel on 2 - 30lb thrust motors and barely make it back to the dock sometimes. After seeing this kinda wonder it is worth it and just get another back up battery.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

It really depends on how long you're out there (not running the motors), the weather, and how much space you have for a panel.

@sharonbraselton4302

2 жыл бұрын

just get scort 145 hybre8 hour 8 moh 64 míke tejsa cen cell 74 mioe teltic range

My use case doesnt concern range, but convenience. The range of our 120 amp hour SMF battery is enough for us for a weekend at our cabin. The key point of the solar is to avoid caryring the heavy battery to and from the boat - over the weekdays the 100W panel tops off the battery for next weekend.

Nice !!

I just bought a sailboat with an electric trolling motor. The previous owner would charge them at home, then schlepp them down the dock to the boat. As there’s no shore power where the boat is stored, I’m considering a solar powered trickle charger and spare my back some grief. My concern is knowing how much power I have remaining in the batteries. It’s easy to see how much gas is in the tank of an outboard and my cell phone let’s me know how much juice I have left. Is their an accurate gauge available for a trolling motor running on a couple of deep cycle marine batteries?

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

I "think" you could buy a cheap volt meter and check them on the boat right before you head out. I plan to play with volt meters some more in the future because when a 12 volt deep cycle battery like mine is "fully charged" it is something like 12.8 volts and apparently when they're 'flat' they're like 11 volts - so it seems to come down to knowing how to read the numbers.

2 hrs is plenty on my pond boat. What do I need to charge my battery while it is docked? I have no electricity at my dock and I tired of hauling it to my barn to charge it.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

8 ай бұрын

Solar panels and a charge controller would probably work fine to recharge a battery when docked.

@duckhunter8387

8 ай бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy thx

Neat idea but I'd use 3 batteries if I needed too. But I think the optimum set up is a gas engine to get you from the dock to your fishing area and then switch to the eletric motor for quite fishing. Also you can get a 6 to 10 hp gas 4 stroke air cooled engine to make it easier

Good video good idea

Agree with all your points. The day may come when solar technology will do the job. Since you have both you can pick which one you need for the day or both.

Put a T-top on my 17' key west. Fishing with radio, fish finder and lights just needed to offset the draw while the motor was not running. Just put a 100w BougeRV flexible panel on top of the T-top. $140 total with controller. If I get 2A on the water I'm good. I do have alternator charging from the motor was well and a pull cord if my math is wrong. lol

I been running a commercial passenger boat for 3 years on solar now. I have 3 100amp hour batteries with one always on charge from the single 100w panel. It works. Have saved thousands in gas. And we are silent. Total reliability.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

That's awesome! What motor are you running?

@TheSardineNews

2 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy 54lb Watersnake. I have two in case the wind comes up...very practical solution to noisey outboards. We surprise turtles and all sorts being so quiet. Catch more fish too. It's totally do-able...naysayers carry on pouring gas then...BTW the boat takes 17

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

VERY COOL - I have read about the Watersnake a couple times now and it seems like they might be brushless, and slightly "faster" than a Minn Kota or other common electric trolling motor.

Good presentation

well i did a small cart with a 300w scooter motor, and a few hundred watt solar panels. id' always get the voltage low, but it takes time for it to recharge even though its pushing out power. its just not the same as stored power. i dont know why

I fully agree. The only conditions under which it will work is if you use the motor say only 20% of the duration of your fishing outing, which in my experience is a realistic guess. However, the second battery does not care if it is cloudy or raining, and is financially a better proposition with technology as it is today.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

Exactly!

I’m currently adding 2 solar panels to the roof of my t-top on a 21ft center console. I have 4 batteries on the boat total (2 in series running 24v for the trolling motor) 1 for my main motor, and 1 for the console/accessories. I’m hoping that by having 2x 200watt solar panels will keep all my lights, navigation, gps, etc. charged and topped off while on fishing trips! I’m not exactly sure if this will be enough to go for what I’m trying to do but I’d assume it could also be a very good backup plan if the main battery was to ever die for some reason.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

I don't see why that wouldn't work. A lot of it comes down to having the correct charge controller and fuses in place and the current draw and a T top is a great place to mount panels!

@RICHIE26636

Жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy Agree! I have bought 4 different charge controllers. My opinion is Victron controllers are by far the best. They are more expensive, but once I owned one, I will never go back to the others.

I am revisiting this topic only to share. To make a small boat run all day or for days on solar only, there are many options out there to go about it. The good thing is the longer the boat the better. First off stop playing around with 100W panels. There will not do the job. Believe it or not you can pick up a used 200W+ panel for under $100 bucks. So what it's used, the average panel has 15 to 25 years or more life spand. Although it highly depends on what kind of fishing you do and the body of water you fish on but all day fishing can be done. Yes it will cost more than the type of set-up you have in this video but I think it's worth the extra money because what I am taking about last for years. (In Fact the charge controller is the week link in this system so get a good one) Now, a 200W+ panel is about 4ft wide and something like 5.5 to 6ft tall on a 12V out put panel. However, turn the thing sideways and give up 4ft of your boart from fishing. All the other perks will make up for the lost space through power production and shade on the boat from the hot sun. Go on Amazon/EBay or something and get the parts you need to build your own 12V Lithium battery no mateer what chemistry you go with. Get a good MPPT controller and go fishing any time you want for as long as you want. Lead and/or AGM is not the right battery for this application do to it's characteristics of charge and discharge. Lithium batteries will take a charge when lead or AGM just can't. The nature of lead and AGM takes more power time and power over all at the end of there charge to become 100% charged than any Lithium will ever need. Lithium will also give you all it's power until the end where as a lead or AGM just cannot do this, you will hurt AGM or lead if you do this to any times. Example: An AGM and/or lead battery with 100AH of power can only give you 50% of the power. (remember 10V is a dead lead or AGM battery) It is true that a deep cell can and will draw down lower with no risk of damage but the charging parameters do not change much from lead and/or AGM to deep cell. With lithium, what this means is you can not only charge faster but you will have more AH's available for use than any other battery out there. This also means you can charge on cloudy days which are the best fishing days. Yes it will cost a bit more and you do not have to go with the top of the line Battleburn which will set you back a grand EZ for a 100AH 12V battery. There are planty of other companies out there selling good batteries that will hold up in this application very well and last for a few thousand chargings. Now understand something about all lithium batteries. The number of charge cycles do not I re-peat do not mean the life of the battery. It only means, at this point is when degradation starts. This means the batteries AH will start to go down sslloowwllyy. But with a 200+w panel will do it's job to get you back to shore, so put in a monitor so you will know when this process begins to take place. There is no reason to be afraid of lithium but you do have to know what your doing. It's dummies that make lithium dangerous to us all. DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK Even if you still go with Lead and/or AGM, the key is power production. In this case the panels will get you to shore even with a dead battery. Stop playing around with 100W pales for this application, they just can't put out enough power for the job. A 100W panel will do much better with Lithium than any lead or agm but still 200+w panels is the right way to go for this application. Just take a look at most sail boats! If they have 100W panels they have a ton of them and more so than not their not hooked up right or running so little power it does not matter. But if they are running 100W Panels they are not used to charge a battery bank to run a motor (I bet you this). Thanks folks I just wanted to share this bit of info on this topic. Happy Holidays everybody...

Thanks Wayne, you made a lot of good points with using an electric trolling motor on a smaller boat. I am actually thinking of putting an electric motor as backup on my 14’ (4.01 meter) aluminium runabout. I would most likely be using it in a river and lakes but not sure how powerful it would be against a flowing tide? Or do I just get a little 2hp motor like you have. Cheers…

@davesboatingfishinggaming

2 жыл бұрын

I've got a 55lb on a 15' fibreglass, does 3-4kph flat out.it will hold against a strong current but that's about it. Works well for slow trolls around bays and harbour structure for fishing.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

A cheap electric trolling motor might not be good enough if your currents and tides are significant. Around me, there isn't much of a current in our river.

@wayneberry8703

2 жыл бұрын

@@davesboatingfishinggaming thanks Dave

@wayneberry8703

2 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy thanks Wayne

those have to be the most expensive solar panels. I have 1.2kw at home, and paid 998$ less than a dollar /watt. I agree with the video points made. there is a reason large sail boats use windmills, they pack more power into a smaller footprint. of course like sun, wind is unpredictable. but you could put a 900watt windmill on that small boat and get a decent charge rate

I have a 12'6" Bassmaster pro plastic boat and I've powered it for years with various old 2 strokes, and recently switched to using a 42lb thrust minn kota. It is not quite enough power and also gets warm after 2-3 miles and needs to cool down. I've decided to use an AGNI/Lynch high power DC motor which is 15kw capable however I'm just going to mate it with an old lower unit and run it at 3kw max. I'm also building a solar canopy that can switch to being a sail, so far I am using 2 100ah deep cycle marine batteries but when I switch to the AGNI power unit I'm going to upgrade to 200ah of 48v lithium. I haven't determined the best batteries for that use case however, I'm leaning towards 20ah ebike batteries but they're very expensive

I have a fishing boat that I can run off my 350w panel with no battery on a clear day. The panel is big, so I use it for a shade roof. It puts out 48v at 10 amp, so I use a 48 to 12v buck converter my cheap old trolling motor. Fun experiment

I have a 50 watt solar panel on my pedal kayak. It charges 2X 12V 7ah batteries that run by fish finder and intermittently my fresh water bait tank. I generally go home at the end of the day with full batteries.

good video, I use a Lossigy lithium for my 55lb trolling motor, 100ah, currently at under $300 on amqazon and it lasts all day for me and I use my motor a lot. I have a SeaEagle Foldcat 375, a 12.5' inflatable pontoon. Lithium doesnt have to be expensive.

There are walk-on solar panels. Also, for fisherman, they can sit in a spot and it charges up for when they're ready to move again

Hello! Nice video! Could you please suggest me a light weight battery for my trolling motor HASWING OSAPIAN 40LBS? Thanks !

@WayneTheBoatGuy

11 ай бұрын

If weight is most important - a lithium battery is going to be much lighter than a lead acid or AGM type. However, they are usually twice as expensive as the other types of batteries. The other factor is range/run time. A 100 Amp-hour battery has much more run time than a 50 Ah battery, but of course it is bigger, heavier, and more expensive.

Down here in Queensland, Australia it's very sunny. I have 2.1m plastic boat with a 350W canopy panel. It can move the boat on its own, but of course a cloud will stop it. Moreover, the speed is very low. My trolling motor needs at least 10A to go at a reasonable speed.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

So are you running a panel with no batteries?

@ChrisKirtley

2 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuyNo - it's not reliable enough. Just increase the time I can be out.

@sharonbraselton4302

2 жыл бұрын

add wind generotr 400 wwats troñ mirt maxoum369 wats 40 watt chagng full liad

You have to take into consideration wind and rain too as a small boat can soon become flooded with water how are you going to protect the electrics if your boat gets swamped?

Would jury rigging a sail to a small aluminum electric boat be a practical substitute for the gas motor? Just a thought.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Smaller sailboats often run an electric trolling motor to get in and out of creeks or to get themselves into open waters where the wind is blowing. A small aluminum boat would basically have to be totally converted into a sailboat for it to work (rudder, keel, mast mounting points, etc)

@sharonbraselton4302

2 жыл бұрын

just buy j88 sóàr ektrc sail boat

To power my 14 ft canoe for an unlimited range, I use a 55 lb trolling motor + two series-29 lead-acid batteries + one small gas generator setup* + one small gaff-rigged sail + one mark-I double-ended paddle. I rarely use the generator setup*. Half of the time on the water I use just the electric motor; 33% of the time I use the small sail all by itself; 15% of the time I use a combination of the sail and the electric motor ( low throttle); 2% of the time I use the generator setup* to directly power the trolling motor. I use a 15 watt solar panel (with a diode) to trickle-charge one of the batteries while I fish or camp. Back at home, I use a 125v 40 amp charger to charge both batteries at once and I use the 15 watt solar panel (with a diode) to keep them topped off when not in use. * my generator setup is comprised of a cheap 1000w generator (800w continuous), a cheap 750w inverter, and a good 12v AGM motorcycle battery (350 CCA). The whole setup fits inside my customized crate and weighs around 40 pounds (including the gas and the reserve metal 1-liter refill bottle). When I hook this setup directly to the trolling motor I can only use about half-throttle because of the limitation of the little motorcycle battery. The canoe scoots right along at half-throttle and I seldom go faster than that, anyway (3.5 knots). The generator will run for more than 6 hours on the generator's 2-liter tank. I have never had to use the reserve gas from my 1-liter refill bottle so unless I am going out for many days, I tend to keep my generator only half-full so that I can more easily empty the tank. After returning home I use a squeeze-bulb to empty the tank back into the gas-can and run the generator long enough to top-off the motorcycle battery while the carburetor runs out of gas. It is a bad idea to keep gas in the fuel tank or carburetor for a long time.

@robertrichmond3074

2 жыл бұрын

I like the setup but that seems like a lot of weight in a 14 foot canoe.

@sailor-rick

2 жыл бұрын

​@@robertrichmond3074 The canoe has an 800 lb capacity. Let's add it up: 2 series 29 deep-cycle batteries at 58 lbs each, minn-kota motor at 30 lbs, generator box setup at 40 lbs, double-ended paddle at 2 pounds, sail at 2 lbs, mast at 3 lbs, solar panel at 2 lb. It all adds up to about 195 lbs, which is about the mass of another person. We can take it further: me at 205 lbs, fishing and camping gear at 60 lbs (including food and water). That puts my total cargo weight at 460 lbs, which is slightly more than half of the canoe's rated capacity. I do, however, put the big batteries and generator box in the front half of the canoe unless my son comes along, in which case I put them in the center. When my son comes with me we add: teen-aged male at 170 lbs, extra gear, food and water at 20 lbs. We are still 150 lbs under the max load, so we can still bring home a bunch of fish. Of course, when he comes along, the canoe sits a bit lower in the water and we assume a slightly slower speed. Back at home, I have a Gorilla Cart that I use to haul it all to and from the canoe and my garage.

@robertrichmond3074

2 жыл бұрын

@@sailor-rick sounds good,

I was looking at this. I would consider using a small camping generator.

I run a solar kit on my canopy but that's to offset the draw for the radio, lights (at night) and fans (Florida can get hot). Any net gain after that is just a bonus imo.

@WayneTheBoatGuy

Жыл бұрын

That's cool. Do you have a seperate 'house battery' circuit on your boat?

@trumps-a-hoe

Жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy no, in the off chance there's any issues I tried to make things as simple as possible for my boys. The trolling motor is on its own fuse but the batteries are in parallel (2x 100 amp/hr) and the wiring is similar to a house, a few circuits off a breaker and switches for everything.

About a year ago I was on a sailing boat in Spain. And they has three panels which were pulling in the same power as was going out. This was for a 30' sailing yacht. I guess if you're living in the murky backwoods....you've got a problem. In the Med, this isn't the same

I tried my 35 lbs thrust trolling on a solar panel with 315 watts 36volts directly and it works great, but I'm not sure if it can handle the heat

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Neat!

@williammurphy4644

2 жыл бұрын

Explaining it is one thing but you're talkin too damn much get to the f****** point

@RICHIE26636

Жыл бұрын

be carful!

I use a LifePo4 Lithium 12.8V 100Ah battery for my Minn Kota 30lb electric motor and wondering how you know how much power the battery has left? Since it is an intelligent battery, I was expecting a visual feedback directly on the battery but I find out I was dreaming. Anyway, how do you monitor your battery power on the go?

@WayneTheBoatGuy

2 жыл бұрын

That is a challenge. There are some volt gauges that people install, but the trick is knowing what voltage is 'too low'.

@MarioBruneau

2 жыл бұрын

@@WayneTheBoatGuy Thanks Wayne.

If I were to set something up on a fishing boat... I would install 1-2 Lifepo4 batteries and 200w of solar on a raised arch on the back of the boat. This would also provide a bit of shade for a cooler. The Lifepo4 batteries would supply more than enough power to get through a days fishing while being partially recharged by the solar panels. Typically you aren't going to use the trolling motor all the time and often at low speeds. Since the solar is there all day long regardless of your activiity it continually trickle charges the batteries. With this setup you should never have to charge the batteries.

I use solar for boats and bikes but my panels are on my house and I just take the charged batteries with me. Works for me and the few hours a day I use them👍

put in battery bank under the seats with 2-4 batteries. When you bring the boat in, plug it up to a solar array at home in the back yard?

They're extremely useful on sailboats.

Hi Wayne. I have a 16-ft inflatable fishing skiff by Sea Eagle. I run a WaterSnake 70-pound-thrust trolling motor on a single 12v, 122Ah, Deep-Cycle, Marine Battery from Walmart (size 29; $89.99; it's a beast). WaterSnale recommends a 105Ah battery minimum at nominal 12v and a 60amp breaker. I completely charge it and maintain it charged with a PowerFilm 45W flexible solar panel with built-in 12v Solar Controller. I can't take a lot of Sun, so I have a canopy. I also don't have outings much longer than about 4 hours and that is not constant use, let alone full throttle. But I run the motor until it noticeably slows down because the battery is running out of juice. We know that SLA Batteries should not be discharged much beyond 50%. So if the Walmart battery delivers 1464Wh you only have access to about half of it, or 732Wh. Since I don't go boating every day, I have multiple days that the solar panel can charge and maintain the Walmart Battery. In 3 years, I have never connected an AC-powered battery charger to that battery. The trolling motor has a digital display that tells me when the Battery is at full charge. I live in Southern California and get a full 7 hours most days of sunlight. I've never tracked how many hours/days it took to bring the battery back up to 100% SOC. LifeP04 batteries are down to $325 each (12.8v 100Ah) 1280Wh and only weigh about 21 pounds. Three of them are the equivalent weight of the Walmart SLA. They can be had with BMS's that have BlueTooth with an app, so no need for a shunt and a monitor. Most can support connecting 4 in series or parallel (4S4P). LiFeP04 batteries don't slow down when they are running low on juice. Their BMSs just shut them off. They can run almost to 0% SOC. If I bought 3 of them for say $1,000 they might deliver 3840Wh. They want to be charged at 14.4 volts and to charge 3 of them in parallel it would be necessary to get a solar controller meant for it (pair of charging leads for each battery) that can do the 3 stages of lithium charging: Bulk, Absorption, and Maintenance. Suspect I could run almost more than 24 hours at full throttle and recharge all three with a 180W panel in a few days.