E-drives have already established themselves on many inland waterways. On the one hand, because in some places combustion engines are not permitted for environmental reasons, for example on reservoirs. Or because they can now represent a real alternative to two and four-stroke engines due to their numerous advantages. At least when it comes to serving only as a mooring and casting off aid or to occasionally bridge shorter distances.
The Lower Elbe was chosen as the test area to try out whether they can also cope with tougher tasks. Depending on the tide, it guarantees challenging current conditions, which can place particular demands on the auxiliary drive. This is because, unlike on an inland lake, it is sometimes not enough to have only a weak drive as a manoeuvring aid. Current speeds of two to three knots are normal. If the wind drops too much, the boat can quickly head in an undesirable direction. In addition, the Lower Elbe is a busy sea waterway on which container giants also travel at high frequency. No-one wants to be bobbing around without propulsion in front of their bow.
The requirement was to be able to propel the test boat, a 20-metre dinghy cruiser weighing around one tonne, through the water at five knots for at least one hour. The manufacturer suggested a Torqeedo 2.0 Cruise, which is comparable in performance to a 5 hp petrol engine, as well as the large Power 26-104 lithium-ion battery bank with a capacity of almost 2800 watt hours. According to the manufacturer, this combination should fulfil the performance requirements. The appropriate charger and a shore connection cable were also installed.
Read in the current issue of YACHT, 10/2015, whether the e-drive proved its worth.
