Increasingly, sailing centres and sea schools are considering the benefits of choosing electric outboards for safety boats and rescue fleets.
With rising fuel costs and concerns for ocean health, some RYA Recognised Training Centres are already adopting electric motors for their rescue craft. Making the switch to electric motors for safety craft is on many sailing club agendas too.
In addition, public awareness of the environment damage to the oceans is increasing. Traditional outboard engines are made to much less rigorous standards than modern combustion car engines. Unfortunately, they introduce harmful fuels into the oceans as well as causing considerable noise damage for ocean life.
Which electric outboards are good for safety boats?
Choosing electric outboards for safety boats means a nicer shore side environment. For example:
- there are no costly and regular fuel purchases required
- no need to manage a fuel store and associated hazard prevention measures
- batteries can be plugged in to recharge on daily basis
- no requirement for messy refueling of engines
Save time – there’s no maintenance
Another benefit is there is no costly downtime for repairs or maintenance, saving your operations team many hours. Because they are made with direct drives and few moving parts, ePropulsion’s electric motors do not need winterising, regular servicing or spare parts. So, it’s totally unlike managing a traditional fleet of marine engines or outboards.
Corfu Sea School has made the switch to electric motors
Steve Hills, Principal of Corfu Sea School explains why they are switching to electric outboards for safety tenders and other vessels.
“We chose the Spirit 1.0 plus for its weight, positive reviews and floating battery pack. When handing an outboard from the yacht to tender there is always a chance of it ending up in the water. By handing over the battery pack separately, and it being buoyant, is very reassuring. The outboard performs flawlessly. Being electric, the power is delivered smoothly and consistently. The simple controls are easy to operate and the battery holds more than enough power for most trips ashore.”
Electric motors are suitable for teaching boats such as Wayfarers, RS Ventures and Hawk 20s. For Sailing instructors it means the that boats get back ashore if the wind drops. And, because they make no noise, they can still coach their clients and be heard.
For us, perhaps the most unexpected bonus is how quiet it is,” adds Steve. “This is a great help when we are teaching. No more having to shout over a screaming petrol motor!”
Image credits: Corfu Sea School