535 - Backup Outboard

[Foadie]

I am prepping my 535 for a season of fishing fun on the Thames.
As part of the prep I was thinking that a backup engine should perhaps be part of the kit to add.

I have been looking at electric options. It seems that 55lbs thrust is a good level of "push for your money" but will that push a 535 to safety or home???
I guess home is relative to the distance I am away from home but any insight into the use of electric motors on a 535 or similar boat would be really useful

Can people let me know what they use as backups? Electric/petrol etc???

[Neily]

I use a 2nd hand 4hp Mercury and it pushes the BH along just fine especially at very low revs for trolling, also saves a bloody fortune on fuel

Picked it up on gumtree for £450 with a nice Avon 280 Dingy, so worth looking around

[donbelcher]

Don't forget an electric motor is the motor and the battery.

Now compute the weight of that, and all the keeping it charged up for a mere 55 ibs of thrust!

I would chose a small second hand 2 stroke every time.

Don

Since I put that up I trolled around a boat design site and saw this statement from a designer.................

A 55 pounds of thrust trolling motor is about 2/3's a single HP, which isn't much to push a 1.55 ton boat. You can kiss off getting anywhere close to hull speed, let alone over 3 knots. Your boat would need a few if not 5 HP to reliably maintain hull speed, in moderate chop, contrary currents and wind.

...........I think that will answer a question about speed in general terms. Not suitable for most boats.

Then calculate how many horsepower hours there are in a battery you intend to use... say 50 amp hour battery times 12 volts equals 600 watt hours.
You will need 746 watts to equal one horsepower so you will get less than one horse power and probably for a lot less than one hour.

Nuff said,

Don
P.S. I know you can get more than 1 hp from a car battery but only for a proportional length of time ie similar to a car starter. Minutes not hours.

[daveinglasgow]

Hi

2nd hand engine prices are silly so

option 1 2.3hp Honda air cooled 6 year warranty and if sold after 5 years you will lose around £200.00 oh and its a 4 stroke an weighs 12kg

option 2 a tohatsu 3.5 hp ( 100% same as the mercury and marina but cheaper) and will lose around the same money but you will need to sell after 4 years as they have 5 year warranty

Happy to quote and post down ( delivery is about £12.00)

Dave
0759 563 8185

PS remember that if you do buy 2nd hand to get it serviced. There is no point having a back up engine that does not work!

[Foadie]

Don
Thanks for locating that info.
Dave
Likewise thanks for the response.

Overall £150 for an electric backup motor seemed like a good idea. Spending £600 on a low hp petrol engine now seems more like a nice to have.
My current engine (20hp Mercury) is only in it's second season and a backup would have been nice but I just think I will have to trust my Mercury for the next few seasons before I invest bigger money to buy a petrol back up.

Cheers guys.

[nulklandazy]

Why not install the mount on the transom without the outboard actually being stored on it and have piece of mind that if you have a problem you can easily put and outboard on it. Even a smaller outboard would at least give you forward motion for docking and emergencies. The outboard motor mount could also be used to climb aboard if someone fell over board.

I like my boat to look good, But Im more about safety and backup plans. especially when my family and children are onboard.