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Electric motorsPod vs. outboard motor

Fridtjof Gunkel

 · 22.05.2017

Electric motors: Pod vs. outboard motorPhoto: Nils Theurer
The pod (left) seems to pull better
Who can do it better: the engine built into the boat or the attached one? Using two Torqeedo models as examples, we compared the two motor concepts

The southern German manufacturer Torqeedo has launched a so-called pod motor, which looks like a saildrive and is also mounted under the boat. In the boat, only a supply cable is visible from the power unit. The same motor pod is installed in an outboard motor from the same company.

Which system pulls best and provides the longest running time? Which engine provides better manoeuvrability? We had two identical Bente 24 small cruisers available for testing, apart from the drives.

You can read the test in YACHT issue 12, on newsstands from 24 May. You can also order the magazine order or as Digital edition read.

Fridtjof Gunkel

Fridtjof Gunkel

Deputy Chief Editor YACHT

Fridtjof Gunkel was born on Helgoland in 1962; he started his sailing career there in the Opti and quickly switched to keelboats. North Sea Week, Cowes Week and Kiel Week were early stops, followed by many years in the Admiral's Cup scene on the cuppers “Container” and “Rubin” World Championships and international regattas in the Starboat, with the mini-maxi “SiSiSi” and various tonner yachts as well as participation in the Whitbread Round the World Race were further formative stations, flanked by extensive cruising trips. Fridtjof Gunkel joined YACHT back in 1985 as part of a traineeship, where he later became Head of the Test & Technology department and then Deputy Editor-in-Chief around 25 years ago. He is also responsible for the regatta and sports section. Fridtjof Gunkel privately sails a performance/cruiser moored on the Baltic coast, his favorite areas are the eastern Swedish archipelago and Brittany.

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