Three things decide whether an electric outboard works for you, and none of them is how much power it has. Is it allowed on your water? Can you carry it on your own? And is it quiet enough for the places you fish? This page takes them one at a time.
Electric outboard motor or petrol outboard engine?
Electric outboard engines for boats are sold by thrust, petrol engines by horsepower, and the two numbers do not convert cleanly. Beyond that, three differences decide it, and one limitation does.
Where you can use it. A growing number of reservoirs, drinking-water lakes and small inland waters restrict or ban combustion engines. The motor produces no exhaust at the propeller, so it is allowed on some of those waters — not all of them. Check with the operator before you drive there.
What it sounds like. 50 dB measured at the motor. You hear the water, the birds and the person next to you.
What it needs from you. No oil changes, no spark plugs, no carburettor, no fuel going stale over winter. You charge a battery instead of filling a tank.
What it cannot do. Range. Five litres of petrol holds far more energy than any battery you can lift into a dinghy, so if your day is hours of running at full throttle, an electric boat outboard is the wrong tool and we will say so.
If you are moving across from petrol and want to know what size replaces what, start with the hp equivalent of each Wattkeel model.
Portable and lightweight: what the weight means in practice
Published weights include packaging, and the motor inside is lighter than the box suggests. Even so, the groups are clear.
- One person: P150 at 10 kg, P200 at 11 kg, P250 at 12 kg. One hand on the shaft, the other under the head.
- Two people recommended: P300 and P360 at 13 kg, P350 at 14 kg, P400 at 15 kg. Fine alone on a flat dock, awkward on a sloping bank.
- Two people: P500 at 23 kg. Plan the launch around it rather than improvising.
The head is the heavy end, so the balance point is not where the handle is. Carry it head-down and close to your body.
Quiet and fume-free: what 50 dB actually means
50 dB at the motor is roughly a quiet conversation. There is no exhaust, so there is no smell in the boat, nothing to spill at the ramp, and no idling fumes when you spend an hour working a shoreline at low speed.
Every Wattkeel model is transom mount and runs on a battery that is not included. Thrust, voltage and current prices for all eight Wattkeel electric outboard motors are listed side by side.