BC23 & Electric Outboards

[PYoung]

I am wondering if anyone has successfully married an electric outboard with the BC23 yet. After poking around the forum I couldn't find much experience has been shared on this particular arrangement.

I haven't got much experience of outboards, in fact my maiden voyage on 'Mist' was the first time I had used one. The Yamaha 6 is way too loud for me, I feel could get very annoying very quickly. A silent version would be much more welcome!

[Graham W]

I think we can all understand your wish to avoid the noise, vibration, smell and even sporadic unreliability of petrol outboards.  However, if you sail your BC23 in tidal areas, standard "3hp equivalent" electric outboards from the likes of ePropulsion and Torqeedo are unlikely to be adequate.  Even on the smaller BR's their use requires a different mindset because they lack the power and range compared to the small stinkpots to which they are allegedly equivalent (eg the Suzuki DF2.5). And they are truly feeble compared to your 6hp Yamaha.

So what are your options?  There are "6hp equivalent" electric outboards that would be more suitable for a BC23 but the batteries are seriously expensive.  For example, the eProp Navy 3.0 without batteries costs around £2,300.  You could then add an E80 lithium battery weighing 48kg without a huge range (probably about 15nm at 5 knots on a BC23, depending on conditions) for another £1,900.  Or lead acid batteries of about the same capacity but with at least three times the weight and volume for around £500.  Imagine trying to take any of those home to recharge!  By contrast, your Yamaha with a 12 litre fuel tank (which when full weighs just over 10kg) costs about £1,400 new and gives you a range of at least 30nm at 5 knots.  Plus the ability to open up the throttle to blast your way out of trouble.

As you say, there's not much on the forum about electricity on BC23's and I think the above cost, weight and range comparisons explain this.  I vaguely remember the very first BC23 having an electric inboard but that aspect of it didn't get much publicity and I'm not sure that the experiment was repeated.

You won't be able to do much about smell with your Yamaha.  With care over what fuel you use, you should be able to avoid sporadic unreliability.  And the noise and vibration? A while back there was a discussion about how reverberation in the BC23 outboard well magnified this and what might be done to reduce it - see https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1393.0.html. 

There may be two other options.  You could get a bigger petrol outboard - an 8 or 9.9hp with two cylinders is reputed to be much more refined but weighs around 50% more and is twice the price of a 6hp.  See https://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1742.0.html.  Or you could ease up a bit - Rob J reckoned at the end of that thread that by reducing the throttle to half on his 6hp outboard, his BC23's speed was only a little less and it made a big difference to noise, vibration and fuel consumption.

Or use noise-reducing earphones? AirPod Pro's are claimed to reduce noise by more than 20dB.

[PYoung]

Thanks Graham. I always love to receive your detailed responses!

Are the 8/9.9hps that much quieter? I have no experience with them whatsoever.

I may have to go for slightly more power in turn as I will be carrying x 4 adults on a regular basis inevitably trying to beat the Darts tides.

Something I am really interested in is the remote control option of any new outboard. I really like the cockpit mounted throttle levers. I find the throttle grip combined with side mounted gear shift on the Yamaha 6hp really awkward (albeit unfair judge as I don't have huge experience with). The remote lever seems much more intuitive.

As anyone installed the remote option for the larger outboards successfully? Are they even compatible with a BC23? 

[graham2burton65@gmail.com]

I agree with Graham W

bigger petrol outboard engine to get two cylinders.
Bigger for more power and use less of it.

I would add that the Honda rubber mount their engine so that less vibration gets to the boat.  I'm not sure if other manufactures do this in the small two cylinder range.

Later this summer I will be experimenting with soundproofing the hood, ive purchased the sound deadening materials I just need to fit them.... I will report back when done

[Rob Johnstone]

There's no doubt the single cylinder 6 hp engines are loud, particularly at more than half throttle - and there is some evidence that the 2 cylinder 8 hp versions are quieter. Martijn, who now owns Riff Raff, could possibly confirm this as I think he changed out the 6hp single (fitted when I sold her to him) for a twin.

Part of the issue is the "echo chamber" in which they are installed on the BC23, both the outboard well and the deepish cockpit sides make good sound reflective surfaces. If you stand away from the boat when the engine is running it's doesn't sound noisy at all!  I experimented with  foam rubber sheet stuck to the sides of the outboard well - which was partially effective but became pretty grotty in a short period of time and didn't last long as I had really only "jury rigged" it in position.  I suspect if one went to the trouble of buying acoustical foam wedges (http://www.acousticsfirst.com/acoustical-foam-poly-urethane-max-wedge.htm) they'd work quite well and the "upgrade" would be more economical than buying a new outboard.

I fully concur with Graham's assessment of electric power prospects for the BC 23. The first (plywood) prototype was fitted with an electric motor and batteries at the owners request (and Kevlar sails). It was for sale when I was first looking at buying a BC23 (2010) and the new owner had the yard rip out the electrics and rebuild the cockpit area to the petrol configuration.

[Sea Simon]

"Or use noise-reducing earphones? AirPod Pro's are claimed to reduce noise by more than 20dB"

Ordinary industrial ear plugs (appx £1) work well for me, but only on longer passages that cannot be sailed.
I use Bose noise cancelling earphones when travelling, but not by BRe!
They're too expensive to get wet/dropped.

More seriously, I'm in the larger outboard, at part throttle camp; ideally a rubber mounted twin cylinder.
My single cylinder Honda is very considerably quieter, and vibrates less than my old Tohatsu.

[Julian Merson]

Another vote for earplugs, or their more fancy cousins, those noise cancelling earphones.  The outboard is so close to the cockpit, noise is inevitable and on an extended passage could get extremely tiresome.
In my previous Drascombe, I motored across The Wash from Wells to the Humber.  If winds are light, what other choice is there for such coastal hops.  The outboard well in the Drascombe is that much further away which makes it just about bearable.  But, I am on the lookout for serious noise cancelling should a repeat trip in the BC20 happen.  And, the electric option just isn't currently competitive in terms of longevity...  no point having silence, if one grinds to a halt mid-passage!

[Baycruiser23]

We have the 9HP Honda which also has electric start and I must say we have been delighted with it.  At low speeds its noise is in the background and low vibration etc and so you can motor along quietly at about 4 knots and still enjoy the scenery etc. The electric start is immediate and ideal for last minute backup if you are sailing in restricted places. The solar panels seem to keep energy topped up nicely also. The motor is larger than the 6HP but overall this is happily compensated for by the above!

[PYoung]

That's great to hear! Seems like the most viable option for me.

Did you have the option of remote control with electric start 9hp Honda?

Also, did you have to make any mods to get the engine to sit in the well?

[Baycruiser23]

I'm not to sure as to what is available but I dont think there is a need for a remote control as you are generally on the tiller. Matt and team did a great job adjusting the brackets overnight when we collected our BC23 as we had to pick up the outboard on the way up to him last year. We are at Bucklers Hard marina if you want to see it in action or if you are further afield maybe we do a video call when I am next down there? As our choice was made in Jan 2020 there may be other alternatives available now but Honda seem to make a reliable motor....

[PYoung]

maybe we do a video call when I am next down there? As our choice was made in Jan 2020 there may be other alternatives available now but Honda seem to make a reliable motor....

That would be great! There is no way I could hold a video call with my 6hp whining away!

Let me know when you are down next.

Many thanks

Pete

[Baycruiser23]

Yes will do - I have done a video which I can forward - maybe by what's app if easier?

[PYoung]

Sounds great. Here's my number 07792678846

Thank you

[MarkDarley]

I just took delivery of my BC23 Foxwhelp.

Second day out, in order to have her name  applied,  I had to motor up the Dart from just above Dittisham into Totnes with my Spirit Plus Epropulsion.  I had 15-18 knots on the nose and a fair tide.

What I found was that in contrast to using it on my BR20, there is so much more windage on the BC23 that I nearly exhausted the battery in one hour at 3 knots. This was very disappointing as I have grown accustomed to the quiet of the electric engine. (I sailed back down).

Two days later I fitted my Yamaha 6hp four stroke which had been in the back of the garage. Yes, it shot me down to Dartmouth on a foul tide, and back up at the end of the day (again a foul tide plus a headwind) but what a terrible din, and vibration!  I fear it is sick which might account for some of the vibration, but I am reluctant to put any money into such a horror!  It is also brutally heavy to carry, and I found that the weight in the transom increases hobby-horsing in a Channel chop.

I concede that for punching a distance up a river with head wind and foul tide, I will need more than 4 horsepower. However the boat sails well enough that I think I will revert to the electric and plan to sail upriver, waiting for the fair tide.  I think it is worth the peace and quiet, and there is nothing wrong with the choice of pubs and restaurants in Dartmouth or indeed most of the harbours I plan to SAIL into!

When anyone finds the ideal 6-8hp electric, please let me know!

[Graham W]

I concede that for punching a distance up a river with head wind and foul tide, I will need more than 4 horsepower. However the boat sails well enough that I think I will revert to the electric and plan to sail upriver, waiting for the fair tide.  I think it is worth the peace and quiet, and there is nothing wrong with the choice of pubs and restaurants in Dartmouth or indeed most of the harbours I plan to SAIL into!

Mark,

Congratulations on Foxwhelp.

We get so used to our iron donkeys punching through foul weather and tides that using electricity comes as a bit of a culture shock, requiring a substantial change of mindset.  Zen and the art of electric motoring?

Roger Barnes sometimes takes dinghy cruising to extremes (eg no engine, just proper length oars) but his way of doing things has much to recommend it.