What is the best dinghy and electric outboard combination for river cruising?

QI sail a Moody Eclipse on the Solent, but we live near the beautiful Beaulieu river and I am very interested to buy, new or secondhand, a dinghy or small river boat with an electric outboard, to take two adults and three grandchildren on the river.

It’s such a peaceful place to be that I think an electric outboard would be very appropriate.

Can you tell me if there is a supplier who could supply the outboard and boat as a matched pair? Joe Hayward

ANorman Kean responds:

I am sure Joe can find a chandler who’d be able to provide the combination of boat and outboard, but the place to start would be with agents for Torqeedo who I think are the market leaders in electric outboards. We have a Travel 1003, which we bought in 2016. This outboard is said to be equivalent to a 3hp petrol motor, with a 20-mile range on a full charge. Those claims are probably stretching it a bit – you won’t get 20 miles at 3hp – but we’ve been very happy with the motor, using it to power a 2.8m Avon Rover as the yacht’s tender, which we’ve now replaced with a Waveline 2.6m RIB. For four or five people pottering about you might want a slightly bigger boat and engine. The Torqeedo is ideal for use by children since it’s easy to use;

An electric outboard allows you to travel virtually silently

simply twist one way for ahead, the other way for astern. It also has, of course, no petrol, no oil, no cooling water, no smoke and no pull cord, although it does have a magnetic kill cord. One advantage of an electric outboard is that you can go infinitely slowly, and at low speeds it’s virtually silent, so very handy for tracking and spotting wildlife. The motor breaks easily into three bits, each of which is light, and it has an LED screen showing battery state, wattage when running and time or distance left in the battery. The battery recharges from 230V AC but I believe you can get a 12V charger too. We use mains, an inverter or the yacht’s generator. Torqeedo also makes electric outboards big enough to tow a water ski behind.

Ian Thomson at Nestaway Boats adds:

A Spearfish 650 with an Epropulsion Spirit PLUS XS shaft electric outboard would be ideal. Together, they cost around £3,500.