yachting monthly electric outboards

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Best trolling motors: 8 electric outboard alternatives

• Howard Walker
• April 21, 2022

We pick out 8 of the best trolling motors that have enough electric power to punch an incoming tide without breaking the bank

So you’re looking for an electric outboard to whizz your RIB around the harbour. Who wouldn’t want a fancy Torqeedo to hang off your transom? But at £1,450 and up, chances are it’s not in the budget. A solid alternative, however, is the trusty trolling motor at a fraction of the cost. With prices starting at under £100, the best trolling motors are lightweight, dependable, and if you pay a bit extra, extremely well-built.

We’ve tested some of these models against the Torqueedo (and ePropulsion) electric outboard in our thorough electric outboard motor test and, though they don’t offer quite the same level of functionality, many do pretty well comparatively.

But which one to buy? With more than 40 or more on offer, and with tongue-twisting brand names like Fayelong and Flyhero, U-BCOO and Caroute, sorting out the good from the bad and the ugly, can be a challenge. Remember, many of the motors you’ll see advertised will be aimed at fisher-folk looking to slowly sneak-up on a snook, rather than punch an incoming tide. Power here is important.

And talking of power, know that when it comes to trolling motors, they’re rated in pounds of thrust, not horsepower. They can start off as low as 18 pounds, but load-up your RIB with crew and supplies and you’ll be going nowhere fast. Go for at least 45 pounds of thrust – 55 is better – and you’ll have power in reserve when you need it.

Also, when looking at prices, remember you’re going to need to add-in the cost of a 12-volt battery. Unlike that fancy Torqeedo with its snap-on battery pack, trollers need a separate battery for juice. Budget between £80 and £120 for a good one. And we recommend nothing less than a 105 amp-hour deep-cycle marine battery to give you the range you’ll want. Sorry, that Halfords cheapo won’t cut it.

You’ll also want a trolling motor that’s designed for saltwater rather than fresh, and with a transom mount rather than one at the bow. So which electric trolling motors should be on your wishlist?

Best trolling motors available right now

Minn Kota Riptide 45 SC trolling motor

It’s hard to beat this rugged, reliable troller from the company that essentially invented the trolling motor, and has been building them since 1934. Available in sizes from a 45-pound version with a 91cm shaft, to a muscular 112-pounder, our favourite is still the entry-level Riptide 45 SC, packing 45 pounds of thrust.

With five forward speeds and three in reverse, a 15cm telescoping tiller, indestructible, guaranteed-for-life composite shaft, and full two-year warranty it’s a great balance between performance and value. A icy-cool white finish too. We also like the clever Digital Maximiser tech that helps extend battery power.

Buy it now on Amazon Buy it now on eBay (UK) Buy it now on eBay (US)

With each product is a ‘Buy it now’ link. If you click on this then we may receive a small amount of money from the retailer when you purchase the item. This doesn’t affect the amount you pay.

Newport Vessels X-Series 55 trolling motor

This California-based company’s electric troller delivers a 55-pound punch yet tips the scales at a lightweight 10.4kg. For us, what sets it apart is its 30-degree tilting tiller handle – it also extends by 15cm – as well as its large three-blade prop and, our favourite, the 10-point LED battery meter.

It’s also got a durable composite shaft and five forward and three reverse speeds. The company reckons that powering an eight-foot RIB, the 55 would give a top speed of 4mph, depending on weight in the boat. The X-Series is also fully saltwater-resistant and comes with a two-year warranty. Another plus; that 25cm diameter three-blade prop is made of tough fibreglass-reinforced nylon rather than cheap plastic.

Buy it now on Amazon Buy it now on eBay

Bison Neraus 55 trolling motor

The best-selling electric trolling motor on Amazon UK right now, the US-built Bison Neraus 55 is all about value. At £189.99 with a free spare prop thrown-in for good measure, the price is hard to beat, especially as it’s designed for saltwater. And it has all the typical trolling motor goodies, like a composite shaft and transom bracket, an LED battery level indicator, five forward and three reverse speeds, plus a two-year warranty with Bison’s UK service centre.

Despite the value price, there’s no shortage of 5-star reviews on Amazon UK praising the solid performance and silent running. Of course, if you need more oomph, there’s always the 68-pound version.

Motorguide R3 Digital 55 trolling motor

MotorGuide is part of US-based Brunswick Corporation – they own Mercury Marine – and have been engineering trolling motors for over half a century. Their big focus is on developing trollers for serious fishing machines and have a tight relationship with Lowrance, integrating hi-tech sonar transducers and chartplotter technology into trolling motors. Serious stuff.

For more humble applications, like pushing RIBs and dinks, they have the high-quality, transom-mounted R3 and R5 digital saltwater series. Yes, they’re pricey, but they’re built using aluminium alloy and stainless steel topped off with a three-coat corrosion protection process. We like the R3 55-pound thruster with a 91cm shaft, which at around £280 is still excellent value.

Haswing Osapian 55 trolling motor

Best cheap trolling motor

Up and coming Chinese trolling motor maker Haswing offers everything from a £119 30-pound thruster to a Torqeedo-rivalling lithium-ion-juiced outboard for a hefty £1,240.

For value hunters, we like the simple delights of the Osapian 55 costing around £147. Weighing only 8.2kg, it packs a 55-pound punch, features five forward and three reverse gears, and offers a five-level LED battery indicator.

The cast aluminium drive shaft won’t be as durable as composite versions, and the plastic head cover is definitely on the flimsy side. But there’s a sturdy fin at the base of the motor to protect the prop and the tiller extends up to 35cm and angles up nicely. For the money, it’s hard to beat.

Watersnake Venom SXW trolling motor

Call it the quiet thunder from Down Under. This Aussie-made saltwater troller from Dandenong, Victoria, comes with a choice of 34, 44 and 54-pound thrust motors and 66, 76 or 91cm shafts. All run on separate 12-volt battery power and operate with five forward and three reverse speeds.

There’s plenty of tough composites in their construction – including the shaft – and refrigerator-white paint. We’d go for the torquey, yet super-quiet 54-pound Venom with its three-bladed prop, telescopic tiller and digital volt meter on the head cover. A fair dinkum price at around £317.

EP Carry trolling motor

Most trolling motors tend to look the same, right? The same lozenge-shaped head, skinny shaft, underwater pod with a prop on the end, and wires leading down to a separate lead-acid battery. The US-made EP Carry shakes things up by looking more like a traditional outboard, with a traditional cover and long steering tiller.

Yes, there’s still a separate battery, but here it’s a lithium-ion pack in a soft case weighing just 2.9kg. The motor and battery combined tip the scales at just 9.5kg. Plug in its fast charger and it’ll re-juice the battery in less than five hours. According to makers PropEle, it can easily push something like a three-metre Walker Bay RIB at over 3.5 knots. Right now, it’s only available in the US at $1,600 – roughly £1,220 – though they’ll happily ship one over.

Buy it now on electricpaddle.com

Torqeedo Travel 1003 trolling motor

Yes, it’s pricey at £1,449 and up, but to power your RIB with the least fuss this German-made Torqeedo Travel 1003 is still the Gold Standard of electric outboards. With 68 pounds of thrust – that’s roughly equivalent to a 3hp petrol outboard – it’ll push a decent-sized RIB at around five knots at full throttle. Throttle back to three knots and it should run for three and a half hours on a charge.

And it’s such a lovely piece of design with its built-in high-performance lithium-ion battery pack and distinctive grey and orange colour scheme. The base version comes with a 530Wh battery, though for around £250 extra you can get the bigger 915Wh battery pack for extra range.

Buy it now on BHG Marine Buy it now on Force 4

Don’t miss our electric outboard motor and trolling motor test .

• Search forums
• Yachting Monthly's Scuttlebutt

Haswing Ultima 3 electric outboard

• Thread starter Mike Bryon
• Start date 22 Oct 2024
• 22 Oct 2024

Thinking of buying one to push a Highfield 2.2m aluminium rib. The price seems competitive (£1.7K) and using it convenient given the weight is divided between removable battery and engine. Are there known problems with the Haswing? Anyone know of a more recent yacht press review (YM reviewed it in July 23)? First-hand experience of using one most welcome?  

• 23 Oct 2024

nestawayboats

Active member.

OK I'll jump in! The Haswing Ultima 3 electric outboard is a 1kW motor with a 900Wh battery, at about £1700. As such it is a less well-known but quite-similar specification competitor to the better-known contenders in "the 1kW integrated battery outboard" market. Biggest advantage I can think of for the Ultima over its rivals is no cables to connect, battery clicks on a bit like a (massive) cordless drill. It doesn't have a tiller display but does tell you how much battery left (which is what most people really want to know from their tiller displays) by means of 4 LEDs on the battery. The main rivals are: - Torqeedo Travel 903 which has a 900W motor with a 915Wh battery, current RRP (recently dropped to) £1739 with a bag set. Torqeedo are generally seen as the "premium brand" in this market and a German company (although now owned by Yamaha). The 903 is the last model in production of Torqeedo's "older architecture", not necessarily a bad thing (well tested) and I'm told available for at least two more years. But it does have two cables to connect which their newer, more powerful, and more expensive Travel and Travel XP motors don't. - ePropulsion Spirit PLUS which has a 1000W motor and 1276Wh battery, current RRP £1875. One cable to connect. ePropulsion, once the "cheeky new contender", have been selling motors in the UK about 10 years now and so far as I can tell actually sell more units than Torqeedo in the UK, but are still not as well-known because Torqeedo are or have been bigger on marketing (and been around longer too). A bit more money than the other two yes but to make fair comparison you have to factor in it has roughly 40% more battery capacity than the Haswing Ultima and Torqeedo 903. More battery capacity means more range or (just as relevant to some users) more days between needing to recharge it. The battery is also a bit heavier but bigger batteries are heavier... All three of these motors have removable batteries to make handling up and down easier, you're talking about 10kg for the heaviest bit (lighter than any petrol outboard). And all do basically the same thing in the water. Whether it's a 900W or 1000W motor will make no difference on a 2.2m dinghy. The typical inflatable yacht tender reaches very close to (displacement) hull speed on about 500W, and using the other 500W adds maybe another half knot (whilst using the battery twice as fast). None of them will get a small lightly-loaded dinghy on the plane though, which is where the "3hp equivalent" marketing breaks down (how I wish they'd never started that!). The biggest difference between them is the battery capacity, for which the useful comparitor, or lowest common denominator if you remember your school boy maths, is Wh (Watt hours)... don't get confused by comparing amp hour ratings as they are different voltages (and none of them are 12V which is what a lot of customers think in). For tenders there are also now a few contenders in the "ultralight" class, with about half the power (ie 500W motors) and significantly less battery capacity. Significantly less battery but still enough to get you to the pub and back or take the dog ashore if that's all you do with your tender, as many customers tell us is the case. And key thing, priced from about £1000. Examples of those include the ThrustMe Kicker and ePropulsion eLite. I should as always point out we have a commercial interest in this as we sell most of the motors mentioned above. But that does also put us in the position of knowing what all of them are like, and we do use them ourselves, whereas most forumites only have experience of one of them. We don't sell the Haswing but do have one (and have used it) if anyone wants to see them all alongside each other Ian Nestaway Boats Ltd  

justanothersailboat

Well-known member.

Not having cables sounds like quite a big plus. The Torqeedo is a fine thing but the cables on the Torqeedo are not its best point.  

Does anybody have any experience of the Remigo One?  

• 24 Oct 2024

Useful summary of market thanks. I like to row hence choice of Highfield aluminium rib. So looking for an electric outboard that will cover long trips, against spring tide/adverse sea state or when loaded up with people and gear. So conditions not ideal for rowing. This is why I’m opting for a ‘3hp’ equivalent rather than the ultra-light such as the thrustme kicker. The click in feature and price point are the reasons for preferring the Haswing. If anyone has owned one I would welcome to hear their experience.  

DJE said: Does anybody have any experience of the Remigo One? Click to expand...

Mike Bryon said: Useful summary of market thanks. I like to row hence choice of Highfield aluminium rib. So looking for an electric outboard that will cover long trips, against spring tide/adverse sea state or when loaded up with people and gear. So conditions not ideal for rowing. This is why I’m opting for a ‘3hp’ equivalent rather than the ultra-light such as the thrustme kicker. The click in feature and price point are the reasons for preferring the Haswing. If anyone has owned one I would welcome to hear their experience. Click to expand...

Pure curiosity on my part, but do removable batteries make it possible, at least in theory, to take a spare charged battery around with you to extend range?  

I see no reason why not, but it's a rather expensive option.  

• 25 Oct 2024

mjcoon said: Pure curiosity on my part, but do removable batteries make it possible, at least in theory, to take a spare charged battery around with you to extend range? Click to expand...

nestawayboats said: Yes your use case points towards the 1kW class (ie approx 1000W motor, approx 1000Wh battery) rather than the ultralights. Nobody has come back on owning/using one but we did buy one for comparison and our experience is it does much the same, but is not quite as quiet, as the ePropulsion or Torqeedo. I personally prefer the tiller LCD readouts (Torqeedo, eProp) to the LEDs on top of the battery (Haswing). Yachting Monthly measured the Haswing as about 10% slower on a RIB than the other two, which I would guess as the power is same is mostly down to propeller (H is 3 blade, E & T use larger diameter 2 bladers). I quite like the Haswing's click-in battery but don't find the connector cable(s) on the other two particularly difficult (there is a slight learning curve or knack to it). I don't know how many Haswing Ultima motors have sold but anecdotally very rarely if ever see them on the backs of dinghies in the Solent harbours, unlike the Torqeedo and ePropulsion. Haswing has been around several years now, but is not as widely available as those two. The biggest difference in this class, that most people seem to care about anyway, is the ePropulsion's extra battery capacity compared with all the others. Haswing 900Wh, Torqeedo 915Wh, ePropulsion 1276Wh. If you're within reasonable distance of us (Christchurch, E Dorset) we have examples of the Torqeedo 903, ePropulsion Spirit, Haswing Ultima, and even the thus-far hard-to-obtain Temo 1000 that you can see next to each other. Ian, Nestaway Boats Click to expand...

chubby said: what is your view on the best of the lightweight models? the epulsion elite seems good and would be just right for getting from jetty to nearby mooring! Click to expand...

Chiara’s slave

Boathook said: Yes you can. I did consider a spare battery for my ePropulsion but decided to save money and see how the single battery lasted. So far I have no desire to purchase another battery. Click to expand...

• 27 Oct 2024

Fantasie 19

Members online

• BarrytheViking
• rogerthebodger
• Porthandbuoy
• Sadler25Owner
• stone beach
• hansa-with-yanmar
• Charlie Boy
• FairweatherDave
• AntarcticPilot
• Rock Dodger

Share this page

• Subscribe Now
• Digital Editions

Haswing Motors Ultima 3 electric outboard motor: First look

• Electric boats
• Top stories

Haswing Motors has been quietly making a range of small electric boat motors for some time now, from tiny trolling motors suitable for kayaks up to the Ultima 3 you see here.

The Haswing Ultima 3 electric outboard is suitable for boats up to 7m according to the manufacturer. The brushless DC motor produces 3hp (claimed to be equivalent to a 4hp petrol outboard), and it’s available in short and long shaft versions as well as the standard length.

Its detachable 30V, 1.03 kW 20.3AH LiPO battery charges in six hours on a mains charger and offers typical runtimes from three hours (on half throttle), up to 10 hours (on slow throttle).

Not only is the battery unusually light at 5kg (lightest in class, according to the manufacturer), it also connects to the engine in a single simple operation without the need for connecting cables or other fiddly parts – no bad thing when you’re bobbing about in a tender! Prices start from £1,570.

Article continues below…

Tried and tested: Thrustme Kicker electric outboard motor

Torqeedo 1103C electric outboard: Quick trial reveals this compact motor’s potential

Recommended videos for you.

Our sister title Yachting Monthly recently reviewed the Haswing Ultima 3 as part of its best electric outboard motor group test and electric boats expert Emrhys Barrell had this to say:

“The battery was the easiest of all in our test to fit and remove, just sliding down a set of grooves, with contacts in the bottom removing the need for any linking cables or wires, and an easy one-handed operation.

“The unit is well engineered, with stainless steel used throughout plus an anode as standard, making this suitable for use in salt water, and a spare anode and shear pin. The tiller/throttle hinges up and down for easy operation and storage. It has a streamlined aluminium leg, but rotates 360º.

“A magnetic kill cord is a useful safety feature, and there are 5 LEDs showing battery capacity remaining, but this is the only instrumentation, so there is no way of gauging how much power you are using. It also meant that with no exposed power cables, we could not measure intermediate power settings.”

Read the full electric outboard motors group test on yachtingmonthly.com

A look at the new M17 Scania hybrid diesel-electric system

Best christmas gifts for boaters: 15 present ideas for the person who has it all – 4 days left to order, everything you need to know about boat heating and air-conditioning, latest videos, the boat even drug-runners are scared of: marell m17 hybrid yacht tour, sunseeker predator 55 exclusive tour: full tour of this entry-level sportscruiser, watch: makai m37 sea trial – £720k cruising cat like nothing you've seen before, pearl 82 tour: must-see £6m 'mini superyacht'.