“Sea Trials” of  Curtis 1505 PWM/Endura 34

Here is a pic of my son Will riding around on Lake George, NY in a 12' Jonboat powered by the 1505/Endura and two (2) WALMART 105A Johnson Controls/EverLast batteries. 

Yesterday we went together for a ride of just over 5 mi along the shore. For maybe 25 cents and not $5/gallon. 

At 30A/12V into motor we get 3.0 mph! Faster than paddling. When we got back we still had a 70% battery charge - so we likely could have gone twice as far and still had perhaps a 40% charge left. (not a good idea to discharge much more than that to get max battery life - but of course you could do so if necessary)

The 12’ Jonboat is like being in a canoe but better - no work, faster, and not as tippy. But right on the water like a canoe, and we went along shore in very shallow places we could never take our 18’ 140HP I/O SeaRay. Absolutely silent. A lot of fun actually. 

The 1505/Endura, as an electric drive 'proof of concept', is everything I was hoping for. Maybe next year I will be able to weld up something with a bit more freeboard - and maybe 18' or so in length - an Electric Launch. The Jonboat gets 3.0 mph with about 1/2HP. The Launch would have a longer and more efficient semi-displacement hull, and with twin 46 lb thrust Enduras  we will surely get 5 or 6 mph, possibly at only about twice the power consumption. So with the same two batteries, we would have the same range, but perhaps half the cruising time. 

It will definitely be all aluminum, not plywood/wood/fiberglass. With electric, our experience shows weight is everything.

The electrics – 1505, output in-line breaker, volt and ammeters are packaged in the orange ‘waterproof’ WALMART sports department tackle box. The 10GA wires are knotted for strain relief, then silicone sealant sealed – no fancy/expensive bulkhead power connectors.

Upper left shows main power switch and the reset button for the 40A breaker in the B+ output line. Battery voltage next to it on right. The Batt V also shows on the small $5 DVM on the lower right. Center is Motor A and Motor V - zero - we are stopped.

There is a clamp-on ‘console’ with the throttle pot and a ‘kill switch’  (opens the center connection to the pot) Also all gobbed up with silicone sealant. Works great. 

In keeping with our cheapskate approach, we use two automotive Black and Decker 3-stage 12A chargers – model BC12B. (WALMART $30). Electrically they work great. But the packaging/cooling stinks. It uses a super-cheap ’bearing-less’ fan for cooling – which will freeze up the second it gets wet. I’m going to put my two in a plywood ‘doghouse’ (birdhouse?) so I can leave them on the dock and not worry about them getting wet. 

The Jonboat is a Chinese-Ebay thing – usually auctioned for anywhere from $160 to $280 – depending on how many crazy bidders. I paid $172.50. At 90 lbs, that’s about the value of the aluminum as scrap. It will not have a Hull number, so you have to go through the trouble of getting one if you want to register it. But I wouldn’t want to be out in any kind of rough water with it.

Kipawa 314 Propeller

I found the three-blade Kipawa to be much better balanced than the stock MK two-blade. Much less vibration at higher amps with the 314 - so thats what I'm using, and keeping the MK as a spare.

Fishing - Trolling

Works great for trolling. At 1.4 - 1.6 mph, current to the motor is about 10A - or less than 5A to each battery. We trolled for 2 hrs and had 95% charge left.

If you make your own Endura/PWM drive let me know your experiences? Email Chris # aii.com - with the # replaced by @ and spaces removed. (anti spam harvester)