tested
Deep Blue are available in 80hp and 40hp equivalents, with tiller or remote steering options. The battery is placed below the deck
planing without you ever really noticing. On a standard boat I suspect things would have been different, and this shows us that to really get the best out of electric propulsion, you probably need a hull designed specifically for it. The designer
Water cooling can be added to keep the electrics at optimum temperatures
was a little coy about what makes this hull special, but states that it is a planning hull ‘with a difference’, designed to be energy efficient. Moving up to around 9 knots, the motor was drawing 20kW for a range of around 10nm, and pushing the throttle all the way gave us 22 knots and a reasonably impressive range of 8nm, with the battery supplying 60kW. With this sort of power draw, heat build-up in the electrics can be a problem. Torqeedo has got around this by providing a water-cooled option to ensure that the electrics stays at, or below, 20°C. As we have come to expect of electrically propelled transport, acceleration is very brisk and noise levels are low, although at high speed they are far from silent, being more akin to standing
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December 2017