Mailspeed's electrifying new outboards

Martin Schwarz of Torqeedo at the London Boat Show

That far advanced? You betcha - as Martin Schwarz, the chappie who came over for the London Boat Show was proud to demonstrate.

You can tell if a product offer is real or not by the passion of the guys flogging it. And Martin Schwarz of Torqeedo - if you can believe the name they've chosen for this little revolution - was over the moon about it. According to him - and you can check it out yourself at the Boat Show, Stand N1354 - the technology is about thirty years ahead of existing electric outboard alternatives.

Sales talk, right? Until you take a look at the battery. Lithium manganese rechargeable (LiMa). Lightweight and water-resistant. Shaped and integrated (Travel 400 and 800 models) into the head of the stern upright. With an output of a whacking great 300Wh. Three to four hours to recharge - and get this, it loses only minimal charge in storage. Which means after six months of no use, you've probably still got as much as 75% of your juice left.

18 inches x 13 inches x 12 inches of this...

And remember, this is an electric. Unlike a petrol engine it works best with the revs low down. A few turns of the prop and it's pushing out as much shove as it's not-so-enviro-friendly rival rattling away at 1,000 rpm or more. Efficient too. On one charge flat-out, you'll get about three hours of travel at just over 3 knots. That more than ten miles!

Alright, you've got it unpacked from its travelling rucksack. An easy load this - all of ten kilos - you'll stagger back from Sainbury's with twice that, and not a murmur. Now look at the way the unit fits onto your boat. Boom, it clamps onto the transom - and slides up or down against its mount to exactly the position you want - like maybe you want to stand 'cos you're fishing, or maybe you prefer it low to keep the centre of gravity down on a heavily-loaded tender.

And look at the stern upright itself, streamlined into a pleasing aqua-dynamic shape - keyed into its clamps so it can't vibrate out of position. Oh, and the twist-grip tiller is telescopically adjustable too. So you can stand further forward if you need to.

... unpacks out of this

OK, just suppose you did go MOB. See that square-shaped orange loop on the top of the tiller close to the upright? Take a light cord and loop it through there, with the other end round your wrist and... dort sind Sie (German for "voila" so my instant translator tells me) - your instant kill-switch. Well, you just might get a little excited if you're fishing and hook a big one. Now at least if you go overboard you won't have the boat going round in circles while you wonder how it is that circumstances can gang up on you in such unpredictable ways.

Of course, so far I've been blabbing on about the smallest in the range, the Torqeedo Travel 400, so called because it pumps out 400 watts of power, say about half a horsepower, but effectively way more than that. Neat isn't it? Simple enough for the kids to take the dinghy ashore without getting themselves into trouble or burning themselves on the exhaust pipe - needs no maintenance either, just a wipe down and maybe a short run in fresh water before you put it away for any length of time.

I also haven't mentioned that it's light enough to power a canoe if you're having that kind of holiday. Just fix a beam across the gunwales and the Torqeedo can clamp to that without too much of a list - though do take precautions with the whole unit suspended out over the water - the unexpected does happen.

... and unfolds into this, 400 watts of power which probably weighs less than the family dog before you've had lunch

There's another model up from that - the Cruise 2.0 S. Yes, it's electric too - with enough welly to move craft with a displacement up to three tons. That's a bit much for the battery packs of the two Travel motors, so the Cruise is designed to work with external power. The Torqeedo people have thought of that too, because you can get two different conventionally-shaped lithium manganese rechargeable that will fit straight into existing battery spaces, a 58 amp/hour version or a 77 amp/hour version.

Why not use your existing lead acids? Well of course, you can. But you'll find the LiMa batteries push out an energy density increased by a factor of four, so beat that! They run better in cold weather too, with a more stable charge. Plus of course, they're all-sealed for no maintenance, don't cause any emissions of greenhouse gases, and drive a system that's pretty well silent.

The downside, if there is one, is price. But don't go comparing apples with pears. Yes, you can get yourself a little electric jobbie to go trolling or puttering up little streams for under two hundred quid - and yes, you'll probably be very happy with it.

But if the tide gets in on the act and the wind comes too, the odds change a little. Especially when it's the children coming back with the inflatable after an expedition ashore. Especially if you need an electric motor that looks as though it will keep going no matter what. Especially then.

Cheap is expensive remember. And the best economy - in safety terms too - is to buy the best. In which case you won't mind forking out the £870 odd for the Travel 400, with extra batteries at around £350 each - or fifty quid over a grand for the Travel 800 which uses the same batteries. Top whack for the Cruise 2.0 L is just under £1,400 with various accessories available.

Prices on the external lithium manganese batteries are not available yet, but you can bet Mailspeed will be able to advise you as soon as the excitement of the Boat Show is over. If you're quick enough, you can still see the Torqeedos before the show closes, otherwise it's down to your nearest Mailspeed.

Need more? These things are so new they're not on any website yet. Mailspeed should have them up any day now and Torqeedo themselves go live in Germany a week from now to be in time for the Dusseldorf Boat Show (Hall 09, Stand E26).

Till then, you read it here first - and that's the way it always should be at TheMainSail.com.

www.mailspeedmarine.com