Link: Shoreline Torqeedo pricing page.
Sailors like wind.
But we don’t always have enough of it. Not enough to leave our beautiful sheltering coves without tacking like mad. So, many of us have resorted to gas powered engines to get us out to the open waters.
Love the sound of shutting down the engine?
We do too. That’s what lead us to look into the practicality of the Torqeedo 1003. While we don’t think this is the engine to get you through a Lake Ontario storm, we do see how practical it is for short runs to the starting line or out to where the wind is.
Meet a guy who knows:
Brian Schwerdt
O’Day 22 Owner
Oneida Lake, Syracuse, NY
I am thrilled with this motor!
After fighting with an unreliable mercury 4 for a couple of years I finally made the leap into the electric world and bought a Torqeedo Travel 1003 for my O’Day 22. The O’Day is about 2000lbs plus crew and I sail on a lake with little to no current. On a calm day, it will move my boat at about 2 knots drawing 200W, or about 5 knots drawing 1KW (the merc 4 could only push her about 1/2 knot faster). I am absolutely thrilled with this motor! The maintenance is next to nothing, it’s infinitely more reliable than the old merc, and it’s much quieter not to mention instant on/off.
I bought a sailboat to sail it, not to slowly motor around.
If you are considering one, make sure that you are well aware of its limitations and how you intend to use it. For example, in my case I never fight current on Onieda Lake or wind (if it’s windy, I’m using the wind, not fighting it). What’s more, being on Oneida, I can only get so far from my marina. I would NOT take this as my only motor on open water. On the other hand, if you are like me and are in a lake with little to no current, and bought a sailboat to sail it, not to slowly motor around, then I highly recommend you consider this motor. It is well worth the price (and the lifetime cost may well be less than or at least on par with that of a small gasser).
I could go on.
There are a lot of less tangible benefits such as instant on/off, near-zero maintenance, light weight, less mess, no space taken up in the cockpit, not to mention environmental benefits (zero pollution for me – I charge the battery with wind energy), much quieter operation…I could go on.
Shared with permission from his forum post in SailboatOwners.com
Check out the Torqeedo pushing an Etchells:
Why the new 1003 from Torqeedo:
For many of our customers, the Travel is the definitive Torqeedo outboard. While its lightness, strength and efficiency were loved by all, we were frequently asked to come up with a non-foldable, more rugged version. This is what we have done. And while we were at it, we have equipped it with more power, even higher efficiency, more battery capacity, and our onboard-computer including GPS and real-time range calculation.
Video of Christoph Ballin, Founder and Managing Director of Torqeedo:
Contact us with any questions you might have about the Torqeedo 503 or 1003
