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50 km of sailing for 1 Euro, why is electric sailing expensive?
On Saturday, May 11th, we sailed a long tour of Westland, Midden-Delfland, and Delft in one day with our Robust-MT ZWS500. The conclusion is that the operating costs of electric boating are completely negligible. Read more here.
We left Monster around 11:30. Our boat is equipped with a very lightweight ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo . We deliberately chose this to demonstrate that a serious sloop can easily handle small inland waters with a light motor and portable battery . This also demonstrates that it's possible to enjoy electric boating without relying on a charging station or shore power. Even when the boat isn't moored at home, you can still sail electrically, with a range of approximately four hours per battery.
Now, however, we also have access to a few more powerful ePropulsion E80 batteries from our other demo boat. For convenience, we've simply installed them in our Robust-MT ZWS500 .
We left Monster around 11:30 a.m. We set the throttle (a strange word for an electric boat) to about 500W and basically didn't look at it again all day. At that speed, the boat runs somewhere between 6 and 8 km/h, which is just above the maximum speed allowed on our local waterway. With a standard Spirit battery , this speed can be maintained for 2.5 hours, a fraction slower, and that increases to 4-5 hours.
From Monster, we sailed via 's-Gravenzande, Naaldwijk, and Heenweg, along the long Zweth Canal to De Lier. Be careful, though: the canal has a few very low bridges, and the flagpole really needs to be removed to avoid losing it (again).
In De Lier we stopped for a delicious, extensive lunch at the #1 location in Westland: De Bongaard .
After a delicious lunch we walked around De Lier with the dog and got an ice cream before continuing our journey.
From De Lier, we traveled to Schipluiden, where we waited briefly for the bridge and did some small shopping. Tip of the day: €3 in cash is required for the bridges in Schipluiden, which we didn't have with us. The bridges do open one after the other, though.
After Schipluiden, we sailed via Den Hoorn, right through and around Delft. Then, via Rijswijk and Wateringen, to our dinner location.
There aren't many waterfront dining options in Westland. There's only one on the Wateringen side of the Zweth River, and that's where we ended up. We wanted to try it to see if it was as good as De Bongaard. It wasn't! We won't name it, but we don't expect to be back anytime soon.
After a quick bite, we continued sailing along the Zweth to intersection 20. Turn right to Honselersdijk, through Honselersdijk to Poeldijk, and then left back to Monster.
We kept the power at a constant 500W. Along the way, we were frequently overtaken by wave-producing motorboats with combustion engines. So we weren't particularly fast, and we certainly don't want to be if we're going sailing for peace and quiet.
However, we overtook two electric boats. The first one had the identical ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo motor on board. This boat was running at full power, we were at half. In Schipluiden, we overtook a rental boat with an ePropulsion Navy 6 Evo on board . Inquiries revealed that the skipper was using 1400W at the time; we were using 500W. The efficiency of the Robust-MT ZWS-500 appears to make a huge difference.
At the end of the trip, 10 hours, two dinners, and 50km later, we'd used 4kWh of the more than 8kWh we have on board. Converted to the average price for April, we sailed all day for €1.04. That's a lot to live up to with a combustion engine. Especially when you factor in maintenance and depreciation, which are minimal for us, but certainly not for the combustion engine.
The current price of an ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo with battery is €2,589, excluding running costs and depreciation. We believe this engine is in no way inferior to a 6hp four-stroke engine in small inland waterways. With a top speed of 6 km/h, we don't need to worry about power or top speed, and in terms of torque and thrust, this engine is just as good as a 6hp combustion engine.
Looking at a brand like Yamaha, there's a single-cylinder version for sale with a suggested retail price of €1,685. The downside of this engine, besides its high fuel consumption and maintenance, is its incredibly noisy engine. A quieter-running two-cylinder version is also available for the same price of €2,589.
Our ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Evo isn't "quieter" but "silent," and it's identical in both purchase and consumption, and it's also much better for the environment, especially the local ecosystem.
50 km of sailing for 1 euro? Our conclusion: electric boating in 2024 is no more expensive than sailing with a combustion engine. Any higher purchase price is quickly recouped, and the peace and quiet on board are priceless.
