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New CARB Proposals Threaten Future of Outboard Engines

Vikingstaff said:
That is pretty cool. Intriguing. Not sure about its 2 hour running time for now, but a neat option and possibility. Didn‘t even know something like this is out there.
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I'm not too familiar with electric and running times. I would think the harder you hit the throttle the running time drops.
I have a friend who bought a top of the line Tesla a few years ago. He took off for Lake Tahoe with a charge range of 250 miles. After you get through Sacramento you start climbing into the Sierra's. He said once he hit the mountains the mileage range started dropping very quickly. He found himself looking for a charging station at 1:00 am.

I'm sure things have improved over 3 years but I'm still a bit leery of what things can do on a full charge.
 
Vikingstaff said:
That is pretty cool. Intriguing. Not sure about its 2 hour running time for now, but a neat option and possibility. Didn‘t even know something like this is out there.
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Jeff, I think Sea Doo will be coming out with an electric option in the near future as well. Actually, the two hour run time might be more than enough given your location on the lake. I get the impression that most folks don't ride them that long in one stretch as you tend to get tired. I should be able to give some real world opinions by the middle of summer. With your own dock you could install a charger, but as CLDave eluded to, you'd want to take every precaution to guard against electrocution.

That said, you've got your eye possibly on another snowmobile? One for each member of the family perhaps? ;)
 
Yianni said:
I'm not too familiar with electric and running times. I would think the harder you hit the throttle the running time drops.
I have a friend who bought a top of the line Tesla a few years ago. He took off for Lake Tahoe with a charge range of 250 miles. After you get through Sacramento you start climbing into the Sierra's. He said once he hit the mountains the mileage range started dropping very quickly. He found himself looking for a charging station at 1:00 am.

I'm sure things have improved over 3 years but I'm still a bit leery of what things can do on a full charge.
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That happened to me when I was returning the Tesla I was test driving. Not having a real charger at my home, trying to charge the battery up was a loosing proposition over the course of a week. The last morning I had to drive approximately 40 miles to drop it back off and the gauge told me I had close to 70. I figured I had enough, but by the time I pulled into the parking lot, it was giving me a warning that it was about to shut off to protect the battery against damage.
 
I’m pretty sure when Henry Ford was trying to figure out the down side of the combustion engine, hard to start where to get fuel ect, he did not say maybe we should just build horse carriage. Granted we are all happy to have what we are comfortable with but looking over our shoulders is not the way forward to the future. The fact that an electric motor can produce an incredible amount of torque and will change how we look at the vehicles we drive, the technology is not perfect. Time will fix this. I for one am looking forward to our country and world to move FORWARD. Just my opinion.
 
Michiman said:
Jeff, I think Sea Doo will be coming out with an electric option in the near future as well. Actually, the two hour run time might be more than enough given your location on the lake. I get the impression that most folks don't ride them that long in one stretch as you tend to get tired. I should be able to give some real world opinions by the middle of summer. With your own dock you could install a charger, but as CLDave eluded to, you'd want to take every precaution to guard against electrocution.

That said, you've got your eye possibly on another snowmobile? One for each member of the family perhaps? ;)
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I look forward to learning through your experience. Maybe 2 hours is a lot in the world of jet skiing. Being a Ski-Doo person, I am very intrigued by the idea that Sea Doo might be developing an electric option too. That would be nice given our mutual dealership services them. I know for snowmobiling my riding can be as short as a half hour spin, or as long as a 4-6 hour trip, so I wasn’t sure on what I’d want or expect from jet skiing.

Yeah, the whole snowmobile thing is me considering selling off one or both of our 2-strokes and getting another 4 stroke. Our other 4 stroke is so bullet proof: runs in any conditions and gets amazing gas mileage. It’d be nice to have another one. That said, the two 2-strokes provide a certain utility and flexibility to us as well...so who knows. Anyway...silly stupid first world musings for sure.
 
Michiman said:
That happened to me when I was returning the Tesla I was test driving. Not having a real charger at my home, trying to charge the battery up was a loosing proposition over the course of a week. The last morning I had to drive approximately 40 miles to drop it back off and the gauge told me I had close to 70. I figured I had enough, but by the time I pulled into the parking lot, it was giving me a warning that it was about to shut off to protect the battery against damage.
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I took it all the way up to midland when I had it and stopped at a super charger. It was free unlimited supercharging so I went for it!
 
The good news for electric watersports is that they play out during warm temps. Take a look at what happens to battery capacity as temp falls. Also many areas during this year's winter had temps that cause permanent battery damage in an unsheltered vehicle. I, too, like the potential of partial or all electric vehicles that are more than toys. However it's clear that it takes an informed consumer to avoid problems...meaning the kind of info not in advertising propaganda.
 
CapKaz said:
I’m pretty sure when Henry Ford was trying to figure out the down side of the combustion engine, hard to start where to get fuel ect, he did not say maybe we should just build horse carriage. Granted we are all happy to have what we are comfortable with but looking over our shoulders is not the way forward to the future. The fact that an electric motor can produce an incredible amount of torque and will change how we look at the vehicles we drive, the technology is not perfect. Time will fix this. I for one am looking forward to our country and world to move FORWARD. Just my opinion.
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That's a very good perspective.
However, just because something is new, does not mean it is better.
There's a mindset out there that we must move on from fossil fuel. This is a false narrative.
 
I love my gas powered golf cart. Always ready to go when I need it and it’s recharged in 5 gallons. Also, any idea when SpaceX is using electric thrust to enter the atmosphere?

electric cars are fun to drive but the range anxiety is what holds me back from the switch. And the sound of a v8 and a throaty exhaust note is sweet.
 
lakeliving said:
Also, any idea when SpaceX is using electric thrust to enter the atmosphere?
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I'm likely not understanding your question, but here's a general shot in the dark. There are no electric thrusters capable of any form of Earth launch. All of them I know of are in the micro-thrust category and use the acceleration of some ion (action-reaction), frequently xenon. They are used for small course corrections and looong speed changes because of very low thrust. I suppose one could be used to drop a cubesat out of orbit....once.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat

Maybe a better answer is here:

en.wikipedia.org

Ion thruster - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Yeah, I think the point he was trying to make is that our use of fossil fuels will, by necessity, continue into the foreseeable future because of the shortcomings of green energy for some applications (such as rocket launches).
 
Bill N, I absolutely agree. Fossil fuel will be necessary for the foreseeable future. I hope to be able to enjoy my new beloved 2020 Ram 3500 for at least as long as I did my 2005 Dodge Ram 3500. Which by the way continues to serve a new owner. We need to get behind the science and hope a new and efficient, environmentally safe or safer form of amazing, manly form of power Will be found. I will jump on board of this technology so my children and my grandchildren will be able to have the life I have had. I love everything that requires some form of fuel. I would list them but I hope that’s not necessary. I just want my tribe to have lives, that I hope, I have shown them , and they can enjoy it with, whatever power allows it.
 
All forms of energy have their strong and weak attributes.
I simply want to correct the myth that electricity is "green", and point out that our grandchildren will face the issues of landfills full of discarded battery materials, thousands of acres that will be cemeteries for wind towers and blades and solar panels.

I think much of these negative attributes could be mitigated by using more realistic timelines implementing new power technologies.
Kind of a "We need to learn to walk before we can run" philosophy.
 
Electric rocket propulsion was me being a smart ass!! Sorry!
 
lakeliving said:
Electric rocket propulsion was me being a smart ass!! Sorry!
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Oh, no worries. I once wrote a paper on a nuclear thruster of my own design, even though fully aware it would have been an ecological death machine (if it worked or not). Nevertheless, the paper got an "A" in a non-technical world! Nothing wrong with a little "what if" brain stroming.
 
If you've ever driven a Tesla, you know that there's a lot more to an EV than trying to save the planet (although eventually it might): basically, pure power and speed = FUN! So, it was with interest that I see that they're now taking deposits on a 180 HP electric outboard engine. While it should definitely pass the new California CARB regulations, with only an estimated 3.5 hour run time and a price of $79,000, I'm going to call it not quite ready for prime time. That said, check out their web site and (perhaps) take a look into the future...

E-Motion 180E | Vision Marine Technologies
 
 
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