Electric Waverunner?

[jaredhoefsmit]

Hi All,

To be honest, I'm a complete noob when it comes to watercraft (been a car guy my whole life), well anyways, I'm moving to a lake house that does not allow gas engines.

So long story short, I was wondering if there are any electric waverunners that would fill the void?

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, I honestly don't know where to start!

Jared

[mydauphin]

It would be more like a wave crawler.... Not enough HP for speed. Get a Torpeado powered canoe. May be get 10knots out of it. May be someone else has more ideas.

[marshmat]

Hi Jared,

The power needed to get a PWC (jet-ski, sea-doo, waverunner, etc.) to get up and plane is really quite large. A few folks have reported swapping the gas engine out for a 5hp or so electric and a battery pack, but the result is pretty much stuck at displacement speeds- 5 knots or less on a hull like this. A PWC that can't go fast and can't jump isn't going to be much fun.

Depending on what you want to do with the boat, you could go a couple of ways. If fishing is your game and speed doesn't matter, an aluminum utility or jon boat with an electric outboard (Torqueedo or similar) would probably do the trick. If you want to go a bit faster on electric only, you're looking at something long, light and skinny.

You'll find a friend with almost the exact same situation on this thread: Seeking speed with a 3hp electric outboard ...

[redoctober]

I made an electric PWC and it is a gas. I used 290 lbs of lithium cells in place of the gas engine, gas tank, and exhaust, etc. I used a hi revving hi torque, 3 phase motor, which is liquid cooled. It goes lightning.

[J3]

What's your top speed?

And how much run time do you get on average?

Can you post some pictures of your setup.

[redoctober]

Hi J3
I am new to this forum, and I replied, but it didnt take. My fault, I am sure.
Run times vary on amp hours used. Low of 60 amp hours gets about an hour.

filled with 160 amp hours, also at 96 volts, it should do alot better. Im working on that now. I am hoping to get a few hours. We'll see.

Top speed is about 65, Im guessing. I have no knot meter hooked up. Charge time is about 1.5 hour right now. I have not done an on board charger yet. Soon!

Either way, this has been alot of fun, its totally quiet, and so far...reliable. Ill try to get a pic attached somehow. I am not familiar with doing that, but will learn.

[Squidly-Diddly]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL5IaSc-dnU

but not 50 for 3 hours