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GM invests in electric boats


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  • 2 weeks later...

Love it but I won’t be able to afford one by the time I’m packing it in. The best I’ll be able to do to clean up my act is go 4 stroke main and kicker and electric trollers as much as possible. 
 

I’ll do far greater reductions by owning EV or hybrids for my daily driving. But it has to start in marine applications too and hopefully the next gens will all be able to afford it. 

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Using electric motors is not my concern; they'll have an estimated range. With the ever changing improvements in battery technology; the electric motor may equal the range of an internal combustion engine. My concern is with the infrastructure to charge these batteries. How many marinas can afford the equipment, in large enough volume to handle consumer's needs. What will the actual environmental foot print be compared to running internal combustion engines. As in how is the electricity being produced (Coal)? What are the by-products of building these electric motors, chargers; how toxic are they.

Dan.

 

 

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15 minutes ago, John Bacon said:

Gas vehicles catch fire far more often than electric ones.  Although, battery fires are more difficult to extinguish.

Well I can believe that by the ratio of EV's compared to ICE's.  Then you have to take into account of what caused the fire in a gas vehicle, did an electrical problem cause it or was it an actual fire started from leaking fuel.

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50 minutes ago, Fisherman said:

Well I can believe that by the ratio of EV's compared to ICE's.  Then you have to take into account of what caused the fire in a gas vehicle, did an electrical problem cause it or was it an actual fire started from leaking fuel.

Gas vehicles have more fires per capita; not just more overall.  And the ratio is about 10 to 1.

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  • 2 weeks later...

All my fly-ins the gas was already there or they brought  2 twenty gallon cans , electric you would need a generator and lots of gas and be charging it all the time 

and when I portage to back lakes I carry a 2.5 hp motor and a gallon of mixed gas couldn’t carry a motor and a couple of batteries or more

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14 minutes ago, Terry said:

All my fly-ins the gas was already there or they brought  2 twenty gallon cans , electric you would need a generator and lots of gas and be charging it all the time 

and when I portage to back lakes I carry a 2.5 hp motor and a gallon of mixed gas couldn’t carry a motor and a couple of batteries or more

Doesn't using a gas powered generator kinda defeat the whole argument for going electric ? just sayin'   maybe find a current bush and charge  🤣

Edited by dave524
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As much as we need to get off of fossil fuels, GM (and all automakers) need to be upping their game to make electric and hybrid vehicles in the auto world first and to make it the absolute choice with buyers, and to ALL buyers, not just the elite.

 
Electric cars have a mere fraction of parts compared to fuel, therefore should be the cheapest thing to build. 

hybrids, by rights, should cost the most due to level of components required. 

They will affect far more change by revolutionizing the automotive industry first, marine second. I’d say an extreme few people operate boats daily even in the warm climes. 
 

I also wonder what the environmental damage would be with sunken, non salvaged crafts? Batteries could leach out for hundreds of years(?)
 

 

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2 hours ago, Terry said:

But I would say that thousands of people carry a small motor to lakes every year and if gas motors get banned those great fishing trips will be done or will be done by oars and strong arms not electric motors 

I don’t know if we will see an outright ban in our lifetime. 2 strokes yes, but I can’t see 4 strokes going anywhere soon. I can see more small lakes going electric or non motorized, especially provincial parks and conservation areas etc. though. 

Here’s an article that may show where we are headed with small motors.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6252380

I went with an electric mower and love it, but I had to buy a spare battery to get it done in one shot and at 3x the cost of a cheap gas mower. That’s a lot of gas and oil. 
 

But recreational engines and outdoor power equipment must be the dirtiest of engines there are per litre burned, so I thought I’d try investing in cordless.

but back to 2 stroke, anyone hear of any legislation coming or in the works? I have 4 of them and don’t want to get stuck with motors I can’t take anywhere. 

Edited by Hack_Fisherman
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1 hour ago, Hack_Fisherman said:

but back to 2 stroke, anyone hear of any legislation coming or in the works? I have 4 of them and don’t want to get stuck with motors I can’t take anywhere. 

In terms of outboards, they're not making any more of them.  I wouldn't expect to see a ban.  But in another 20 or 30 years.  But in the next few decades, two stroke motor oil may become difficult to find. 

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4 hours ago, John Bacon said:

In terms of outboards, they're not making any more of them.  I wouldn't expect to see a ban.  But in another 20 or 30 years.  But in the next few decades, two stroke motor oil may become difficult to find. 

That makes logical sense. (Phasing out the 2 stroke oil) and I suppose that will come with the eventual market dominance of 4 strokes as the 2 stroke motors lifespans come to an end and perhaps environmental pressures to retire them. (Clunker trade in programs etc)

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18 hours ago, Hack_Fisherman said:

(Phasing out the 2 stroke oil)

Yes, that'll likely happen; but as long as there is cooking oil (olive, canola, vegetable ect.) available; your 2 strokes will still be out there running. With some things, we don't always need to use dinosaur juice to keep things running. The high flashpoints of these cooking oils can withstand the temperatures of the lower end lubrication requirements. They are also combustible as to not inhibit the upper end of the engine to produce power. I haven't seen any long-term results on running cooking oil: but I do know it works fine on all the short-term tests that I studied.

Dan.  

PS: Wouldn't it smell great if the fumes from the engine gave off the smell of fish & Chips LOL

Edited by DanD
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2 hours ago, DanD said:

Yes, that'll likely happen; but as long as there is cooking oil (olive, canola, vegetable ect.) available; your 2 strokes will still be out there running. With some things, we don't always need to use dinosaur juice to keep things running. The high flashpoints of these cooking oils can withstand the temperatures of the lower end lubrication requirements. They are also combustible as to not inhibit the upper end of the engine to produce power. I haven't seen any long-term results on running cooking oil: but I do know it works fine on all the short-term tests that I studied.

Dan.  

PS: Wouldn't it smell great if the fumes from the engine gave off the smell of fish & Chips LOL

Would really make you work hard for the shore lunch, wouldn’t it? 
 

I think the “eco oils” are plant based. They are the same colour. I don’t like how you can’t tell that there is oil in the fuel…they should add a dye to it. 
 

And there was talk that the two separated but I did a test. You can see the slight differentiation between the fuel and oil before mixing. But once mixed, they don’t separate, or at least after 6 months in a glass jar anyway. 

but I hope I’ve scraped up enough empties money to buy a new 4 stroke zuki with troll feature by the time I need to worry about 2 cycle oil. 
 

Edited by Hack_Fisherman
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