Trolling motors

[Nick]

Anyone else using one? After the 'new' outboard I purchased from a gentleman in Bruce's yard that had obviously been assembled hastily from parts found in a skip (the outboard, not the gentleman) died (the outboard, not the gentleman) only weeks later, I decided a change of tack was due when it came to powering the trusty £90 Avon flubber.

Ten days was spent stuck on the mooring at Alvor in winds too powerful for my aging arms to row against, furiously researching and ordering the various necessities from amazon.es and other European suppliers, before repairing to the fleshpots of Lagos to collect the various bits that had been delivered to the marina office and assembling them.

The motor, a Talamex TM30, itself has a paltry 30lbs of thrust, which many assured me was not going to be enough for nighttime returns to the vessel in strong winds after a few sherberts ashore on Culatra However, it was available stat from the excellent Ayamar Nautico chandlery in Ayamonte and looked of reasonable quality. The battery and control and charging systems in any event cost considerably more than the motor, so if necessary I reasoned I can sell the motor to someone with even less propulsive requirement than us - a kayaker maybe - and buy a meatier motor.

Battery is a 60Ah lithium from a seller on Amazon who heads European stock, so not the usual 5 weeks plus wait. Trolling motors usually have a battery charge gauge, but it assumes a lead acid battery so is useless. To act as a fuel gauge I purchased a waterproof Victron smartshunt, which bluetooths the necessary info to my phone. Charging is taken care of by a foldable 100W solar panel charging the battery through a 10A Victron SmartSolar MMPT controller.

The battery sits in the dinghy on a plastic 'floorboard' made from a couple of sections of twinwall polycarbonate purchased in the local Briocomarche. It is housed in a standard marine battery box with the top vents sika-ed up. The motor is connected to the battery via an Andersen plug, which is also used to connect the solar panel when charging.

The motor weighs 7kg, and the battery box about the same, so very easy for aging crews to get on and off the dinghy.

Sea trials took place between pontoons C and D in Lagos marina and performance - albeit in still water - was surprisingly good. In 5th (top) gear speed with two on board the trusty Avon was an estimated 3-4 knots, faster than our usual with the old 2hp 2-stroke. We checked out of Lagos and repaired to our mooring in Alvor.

Sadly an unscheduled return to the UK for hospital visiting of aging relatives meant we only got to try the set-up for real once. It's maybe 400m from our mooring to the waterfront in Alvor, and the Talamex motor made short and silent work of it. Before we left the boat to fly back I checked the charge = 85% after maybe 30-35 minutes use. Very pleased with the setup so far and cannot wait to get back to Portugal to make more use of it.

One further job to do is to cut down the shaft so the tiller and body of the motor doesn't sit so high above the transom. This looks to be a straightforward job, with plenty of Youtube videos detailing the procedure.

[claymore]

I can see yer still a boy for the bargains Webbster

[Nick]

Running two yachts on a pension requires a bit of thought, Claysie.. . .

[BlowingOldBoots]

Your muscles, when over the age of 50, will atrophies. However, this can be arrested and even reversed with exercise. Therefore, simple arm exercise means that you could have avoided the expense of a trolling motor and being stuck on the mooring for 10 days. A lot better economically. Plus, more beer time for the days when both the wind and motor charge are stacked against you.

[claymore]

Single arm exercise?
Are you suggesting the Webmeister take up a spot of the 5 knuckle shuffling?

[BlowingOldBoots]

Single arm exercise?
Are you suggesting the Webmeister take up a spot of the 5 knuckle shuffling?

I suggest not, as he would go blind, and then a trolling motor or rowing ashore would not achieve the desired outcome, alcohol consumption.

[wully]

Rowing a normal yottie grade rubber flubber in the conventional manner is almost impossible in any kind of a breeze.

On trips ashore from HMS Wully Captain and crew , each with an arse cheek perched on a tube /gunwhale/side , we propel the craft like a Canadian canoe..

Well, on the rare occasions the Yamaha OBM is out of fuel.

[Bodach na mara]

Do you not find that transiting to the shore with arse cheeks perched on the side tubes is a guarantee of wet arse cheeks in the pub?