- Free shipping from €150
- Own workshop
- Premium quality materials
Yes, the season has started again! Wonderful, spring! We can get back on the water. It's just a shame the dinghy's motor is giving us problems again. Leaking oil, spilled gasoline, tennis elbow from yanking on the starter cord. Will 2023 finally be the year to switch to an electric motor for the dinghy? But which one, and what are the requirements for such a motor? We bought three of these motors and put them through their paces. You can read the results here in our electric dinghy motor endurance test.
We're sailors, and ease of use, weight, simplicity, and portability are important to us. When we want to take our dinghy to shore, we don't first hoist a lead-acid battery on board, then install the engine and hook it up. For this reason, we explicitly exclude whisper motors with external batteries from our tests.
So we looked at motorcycles with an integrated battery. We quickly came up with six of these:
This test is between the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 (the plus one in our case), the Temo450 , and the ThrustMe Kicker . We own all three of these motors and thoroughly tested them. It's important to note that the ThrustMe Kicker comes with a bag and a spare propeller. This doesn't apply to the other two motors, and we factored this into our assessment and price comparison. All three motors come with a 220V charger, and a 12V charger is optionally available. A fast charger is also available for the ePropulsion Spirit and the ThrustMe Kicker. The ePropulsion is the only one that comes with a spare kill switch.
This is the engine we know best. A powerful workhorse that we've been enjoying immensely for over a year. We've waded through some serious waves with this engine, braved headwinds, and racked up some serious miles. We also towed the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus to a scouting lily boat – it went fantastically – and even powered a 12-meter steel pontoon boat with it; it also far exceeded our expectations.
The motorcycle comes with an optional set of beautiful panniers , and we strongly recommend purchasing this set to protect this beautiful product. It's the only motorcycle in this electric dinghy endurance test to feature a removable battery with a whopping 1276 Wh. The battery can be carried in a specially designed backpack . Should the battery accidentally fall into the water, it will float; however, the motorcycle itself will not.
The motor weighs 10.6kg and the battery 8.7kg. This makes it by far the heaviest motor in this endurance test electric dinghy motor, but also the most powerful (1000W) and the motor with the longest range (we easily sailed with it for 6-8 hours). To further extend this range, a foldable solar panel of a whopping 100W (max) is available as an option.
With a large motor bag and a separate backpack for the battery, this motor isn't exactly a space-saver or a weight-saver on a sailboat. However, for those looking for a fully-fledged, powerful electric outboard motor with a long range, the ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus the best choice.
The motor is highly maneuverable; forward and reverse are simply a matter of turning the throttle lever. The motor has a function that allows it to fold up if it encounters an obstacle underwater. However, this must be set first, after which the motor can no longer be used in reverse. In a slightly folded-up position, the driving force is significantly reduced, as is the handling. Furthermore, this motor lacks protection around the propeller. All of this makes the motor less suitable for shallow and polluted water.
We think this is a very nice motorcycle in terms of design. It comes with a spare kill switch. For the other two motorcycles, this is an optional accessory.
The ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus currently retails at €2,199, but when compared to the other bikes in the test, and with the addition of a pannier set and a spare propeller, the total comes to €2,504.
From the first time we saw this motor, we fell in love. What a sleek and innovative design! Why a vertical shaft, a "tank," and a bevel gear? How incredibly clever to simply fill a long tube with batteries and a motor. What creativity and ingenuity.
At Metstrade, we saw the bike in person and were truly impressed by the beautiful metallic aluminum finish, but especially by its ease of use and power. There was a large container of water at the show, and the bike could be tested "handheld." 12kg of thrust suddenly hits you and is impressive. It's like some kind of enormous immersion blender that you really need to hold firmly with both hands.
We had a wonderful conversation with the people at Temo and are proud to call ourselves one of the first dealers in the Netherlands for this wonderful brand.
We've tested this motor several times now, and the following is striking: it's incredibly easy and stable to assemble. A floatation device is available to keep the motor afloat should it accidentally fall into the water. With the stylish mesh bag, which allows the motor to dry inside, this motor can be stored anywhere on board.
We found this motor less easy to operate than the other two motors in this test. The long turning radius of the propeller relative to the mounting makes the boat slightly less maneuverable. However, this does make the boat more stable when sailing straight ahead. Switching between forward and reverse takes some getting used to, but is doable. The trigger grip in the handle makes controlling the speed more difficult than with the other two motors and is more on/off than adjustable, and moreover, cannot be locked. The motor requires more active handling than the other two motors. It only has a very minimal battery meter with four settings.
A major advantage of this motor is its very shallow draft and the protection it provides for the propeller. For landing on a beach, there's no better outboard motor imaginable. Power-wise, the motor is sufficient for our dinghy, but in strong winds, waves, or headwinds, we prefer a more powerful motor. This motor is truly designed for a quick trip from the mooring or anchorage to the harbor or beach, not for a full day's outing.
The Temo450 currently costs €1,599, but when you compare it to the other bikes in the test and add a bag and a spare propeller, the total comes to €1,780.
We first saw this motor on YouTube and then at the Hiswa in-water show. The lightest and smallest integrated outboard motor in the world—we just had to have it. It took a while, but for a few weeks now, we've owned ThrustMe Kicker, ThrustMe Cruiser, of which we've already sold a few this month.
To be honest, we don't think this is a "beautiful" motorcycle. Taste is subjective, but the finish isn't up to the standard of the e Propulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus , and certainly not the Temo450 . The version that was displayed "dry" at the Hiswa Motor Show rattled a bit when running dry, and the whole thing felt a bit fragile and vulnerable. Moreover, it's completely inconceivable that that tiny propeller could generate any thrust.
In short, the first impression wasn't great, and this undoubtedly contributed to us not buying one sooner for our own use and testing. What actually convinced us to do so? The comments in various comparison tests on YouTube! We haven't read a single negative user experience, and ThrustMe Kicker users are unanimously enthusiastic about the product.
Then there's the practical side, an experience of extremes. First of all, it's striking that the ThrustMe comes in a beautiful bag, included in the price, which also features a mesh insert. The bag also contains all sorts of compartments for the charger, the kill switch, the tiller, and so on. Inside the bag's "lid" is the most beautiful product manual we've ever seen, as well as the aforementioned tiny spare screw. This is truly a well-thought-out piece of kit.
The mounting on the boat is standard for an outboard motor, but it feels very fragile. It's all plastic except for the threaded rods. Because our boat has a negative transom, the tilt angle needed to be adjusted. This is where things went wrong. The manual shows a bracket that needs to be loosened, after which the tilt angle can be adjusted. It wouldn't budge, or at least, we didn't dare apply any more force to that piece of plastic.
We got out the tools and tried to loosen the assembly a bit with an Allen wrench. No luck until, with more force, the mechanism clicked into place. We'd expected something smoother, not this rattling noise. Anyway, back on the engine (30 minutes later), a little throttle... BANG!!! Tilt angle reversed. We did this about five more times until we had the right amount of force to tighten the Allen wrench again to hold everything together properly.
OK, we probably brought this on ourselves because we didn't dare push through, and the engine was probably perfectly tuned, but it's a bit of a shame when you have to fight with an engine for almost 45 minutes before it's properly tuned on the dinghy for the first time.
But wait, did that tiny propeller really have enough power to give the mount such a blow? How is that possible? Now that the motor was securely fastened, we were astonished by the power of this little machine. More than enough for our dinghy, far exceeding expectations. Moreover, the light weight seems to suit the boat well. The remote control is very convenient and wireless, so we no longer need a tiller extension. Looking at the display, we realized that this is the only motor that shows the charge status as a percentage, not only while sailing, but also while charging. Thanks to the beautifully enclosed propeller, we actually think we'll never need that spare one. However, the motor still feels a bit fragile, and the high RPM causes some vibration in the boat.
In conclusion, we can only say that this engine offers the most value for money and, once properly tuned, is perhaps the best dinghy engine for sailors who use their engine upfront to get from the boat to shore.
The ThrustMe Kicker currently has a price of €1,450 COMPLETE!!!
For those looking for the most powerful full-fledged outboard motor for their dinghy:
ePropulsion 1.0 Spirit Plus (click to order now)
For those looking for a compact motor that looks really nice, has a fantastic finish and can be used at any depth:
Temo450 (click to order now)
For those looking for a complete, compact and powerful motor:
ThrustMe Kicker (click to order now)
Well, every test deserves a winner. The ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus remains our personal favorite due to its power and range, and because space isn't really an issue, and we have the luxury of three dedicated motors. However, if we had to pick a fair winner in this comparison, we couldn't ignore the ThrustMe Kicker as the deserved winner.
