As we all try to make greener choices, one of the hardest things to reconcile is that we have to build new things to lower our carbon footprint, which increases our carbon footprint. We need new technology, but making new things is part of the problem. It's a catch-22. And it's one RePower Kits can help solve.
A RePower Kit revolves around the idea that your existing petrol casing, jet boat, jet ski, or traditional boat that you are used to operating can be just fine it just needs to be powered differently. So rather than getting rid of the whole boat or the whole outboard, you just change how it is powered. You can easily turn your boat into an electric boat and bring it into the 21st century.
So what we do is provide a fully packaged kit that can replace the current ICE (internal combustion engine) powerhead. You keep the rest of the boat/outboard as is. This switch is not only quick but will also save you time, maintenance, fuel, and money!
This means that all the carbon wasted in the manufacturing process of making a whole brand new boat or outboard, plus all the carbon that would have been wasted if your current boat or outboard ended up being discarded, is now saved, making repower kits the ultimate in greener choices.
When you make the switch to electric, you also reduce your noise pollution, stop leaving petrol trails in the water, and there's no more nasty petrol smell. The powerful torque and easy operation make for a much better boating experience.
But you do care about a great boating experience. Repower Kits also allow you to keep your current look. If you love the outboards, you have, awesome. Keep them. Just let us change what's inside. After the initial investment, you'll end up saving time and money.
So, whether you care about the earth or not, contact us and let us help you make the switch to electric.
We have electric outboards for sale, including a 10hp electric outboard motor and a 8hp outboard motor. And if you have questions about your batteries for electric boat motors then you need to talk to us. Choosing the right battery for electric outboard motor is not just about getting the right amount of oomph in you outboard enginge battery but also an ocean safe battery. And if you are here for the environment consider a second life battery with us.
Electric technology is ready to go, so if you’re not thinking about making the switch, why?
In recent years, the electric revolution has taken the automotive industry by storm and is working its way into the boating industry even faster. Knowing that the switch can help you reduce your carbon footprint while still allowing you to enjoy the activity you love, the switch to an electric outboard is a no-brainer. And yet many people are still hesitating and going with new petrol instead of electric. Why, you ask?
We were wondering the exact same thing and so we've found your concerns so we can answer them. And it always comes down to three things: Can I still go as far as I want to? Is it safe? Is it expensive?
Range anxiety is a concern, and we get it. We're not used to the idea of recharging, but if you think about it it's no different to a fuel gauge. If you have a portable fuel tank, you have no idea how much petrol you have except by shaking it. Once you kept an eye on your tank and when it got a little low, you returned to shore and filled it up, now you watch your LED display, and when it says the battery is getting low, return to shore and recharge. Unlike petrol, electric outboards have a ‘limp’ mode which will get you back to shore.
And just like you can keep spare fuel on your boat you can keep spare batteries if you have far to go. And since every marina already has power on their docks and you have power at home, recharging is easy. So range anxiety be gone, because we know you've got this.
The short answer is yes. The long answer is f**k yes. We have the same safety oversights as a petrol outboard and must meet the same safety standards. However, we're much safer than your ICE Outboard. In fact, despite fears about battery fires (mostly they are cheap chargers on e-bikes, BTW), most boats now carry batteries. A sophisticated lithium-ion battery like the one we sell has a much lower ignition point than petrol, and a BMS to shut it down. Your current fuel tank doesn’t have that. And ours are in IP67 casings - the highest impact rating of 7 and water ingress of 6 - which means half an hour underwater - the biggest waves will not bother these babies!
So, do you want to sit on top of highly flammable fuels, or do you want to sit on some stable and very monitored batteries?
We're big on safety, so we've even added some extra features like our twist throttle handle, lanyard start, and switch-off, which means you can’t start the motor while the throttle is reversed. Also, with an instant take-off and no pull starts slowing you down if you are in trouble, we can get you out of a difficult situation faster - especially in the surf.
Yes and no. Electric requires more upfront investment, but once you have made it and you're no longer paying for petrol, the savings start to rack up quickly. Particularly if you're a serious and regular boater, it can get to the point that you're riding around for free. That's why we've partnered with HandyPay so you can pay off your electric outboard at the same rate you'd be buying petrol anyway. Plus, with fewer maintenance costs and less time loss, you can also save in other ways.
So are you ready to go further, be safer, and save money? Or do you have another concern we haven't yet heard? Let us know because we're always happy to answer any questions.
So contact us and let us help guide you through the process of making the switch to electric.
Distribution Advantages of Electric RePower kits.
• Pathway for thousands of marine mechanics worldwide to transition to electric with an ongoing maintenance income stream
• Use of widely available destination country casing and other components including propellers, gearbox etc.
Consumer Advantages of Electric RePower kits
• Consumer maintains a relationship with the current marine mechanic.
• Significant reduction in running costs compared to fuel.
• Battery agnostic as battery technology improves.
• Retrofitting into existing engine casing reduces upfront cost.
Explain in non-technical terms how your product or service is at the forefront of innovation and how did you come up with this innovation?
Australia’s only electric outboard R&D and commercialisation company EClass has retrofitted and built retail electric outboards since 2020, with over 12 years of R&D experience. For impact we considered our best contribution to scalability. Competitors either produce fully proprietary outboards or fit limited types of conventional casings - to scale would require proprietary factories and high retail prices, out of the reach of modest buyers or developing countries. Knowing there were thousands of marine mechanics available worldwide to retrofit. We turned our attention to:
o Unique ability to retrofit a variety of branded 2-stroke and 4-stroke engine casings (8hp to 60hp) with new electric motors creating a recycling economy that reduces waste and cost.
o Optimized powertrain and propeller selection for each Brand casing
o Ongoing compatibility with existing propellers, accessories, prop guards and forward controls, tilt and trim
o Engineered, documented and produced a variety of proprietary parts to retrofit to a wide variety of existing casings. Safety and retrofit training, mechanics assessment, maintenance manuals and other materials developed.
How has your product been introduced to the global market and how has it been accepted?
• Online marketing presence and have shown with AIMEX at SCRIBS. We have been approached by international boat builders, solar power/battery suppliers/marine mechanics and International Development/Aid Organisations who understand the potential.
• Two successful projects with RePowerKits, Senegal (see video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVXQMhp8JXo and a project for Sea Scouts in Australia. Phase 2 in Senegal underway and discussions with Pacific, Uganda, Portugal and UK
Was there a gap in the market that you filled with this innovation?
We are the only company in the world offering electric RePOWER kits for outboards.
• Millions of polluting two stroke motors available for conversion.
• No integrated electric product available for marine mechanics to convert.
• Global electric boat market - $5.0 billion in 2021
• Projected to $16.6 billion by 2031
• Growing at a CAGR of 12.9%
Has the culture within your business supported this innovation and how important is innovation to the success of your business?
EClass is an R&D company with pilot sales. Innovation is our USP.
• Continuing to develop kits.
• Electric jet ski kit and electric turbo jet leg in prototype
• A trawler hybrid project
• we have worked with jetboats, hydroplaning boats, survey boats and other custom projects.
If you are a marine mechanic interested in retrofitting with our kits or have a project for a custom made electric boat motor contact us.
| We have just produced our first prototype of our electric Turbo Jet Outboard. This is Australia's first electric Turbo Jet Outboard. Turbo Jets or Jet Drives are invaluable for those wanting safe use where there will be swimmers in the water nearby - rescue, diving, fishing are some of the uses. And you are doing away with your propeller, so you minimize net or weed issues and allow you to go into shallower water than with a conventional propeller boat. The issue is that until now the solution has been to use a propeller guard, which is heavy and impacts the performance of the boat. Ron our innovator, who has a 40-year Surf Lifesaving Australia Service Medal says it is; "Like towing a milk crate behind you". The problem with earlier Jet drives and Turbo Jets is that in a petrol engine, the noise of them can be deafening. This is now solved by the super quiet electric motor with no exhaust. And the performance is amazing. So now you can get all the benefits of a turbojet drive without the downsides. This Eclass Electric Turbo Jet Drive Outboard will be available between 6kW and 18kW of propulsive power. We are starting sea trials soon so watch our YouTube Channel and socials for updates. Or if you are interested to be on the waitlist for this product email us to talk further. |
| Check it out! Go to our website and learn more. Marine Trade and Chandlery supply partnerships on request. See our Turbo Jet electric! |
One of the first questions we get asked is how long does the electric outboard motor run for?
This isn't really a question about the electric outboard motor - which can run all day. It is really a question about the boat's design, how fast do you want the boat to go – and of course how much energy you are carrying in batteries - it's no more complex than deciding the capacity of your fuel tank.
At Eclass Outboards we use a guide of 1kWh per kW of engine power to give one hour at wide open throttle (WOT) or two to three hours at mixed speeds.
One hour at WOT is plenty for the typical electric boat outing. Especially as research has shown that most leisure boats spend around 40% of their time on the water at idle – which with electric outboard motors means no amps are drawn during idle.
And with instant torque available to get the boat moving we find that very little time is spent at WOT with an electric outboard. With an ICE engine, the full HP is not developed until the RPMs reach 5/6000 RPM, so again in the low to mid-range RPMs the electric outboard will outperform the ICE engine, conserving battery.
That said, Lithium-Ion batteries are not currently as energy-dense as fossil fuels. This will change as there are literally billions of $ being spent on R&D in this area.
However, for those wanting longer range times, who don’t have the budget for more kWh in batteries or their boat can’t carry the weight of more batteries, or who don’t want to wait until batteries are more energy dense – what if you could change the boat design to get the run time?
The first response to a longer and faster run time was the hydro-foiling electric boat. This puts the boat out of the water while planing, dramatically reducing the energy required to propel the boat.
The most spectacular example is the European luxury electric boat maker Candela. The C-8 model makes a claim that with Polestar EV car batteries they will have the longest range in the world. The Candela C-8 will have a range of up to 57 nautical miles, or 105 km, at a cruising speed of 22 knots, or 40 km per hour, which equates to around 2.6 hours of run time at Wide Open Throttle (WOT). Candela says the C-8’s performance puts it on par with powerboats using internal combustion engines.
Eclass Outboards have had a couple of approaches from companies wanting to build hydro foiling boats in Australia. This technology is very expensive as not only is the boat a completely different design, but the computer technology required for stabilization is very sophisticated. However, we are ready to meet the challenge with our Australian-made and affordable electric outboard motors when asked.
The newest exciting electric motor run time solution, again from Europe, is the air-cushioned hull.
Using technology that has been around for a couple of decades, SES-X Norway has announced they are ready to commercialize an air-cushioned hull. (pictured above: Source PlugBoats) Conceptually this is a cross between a hydro-foiling boat and a hovercraft, reducing the friction between a boat and the water by raising the boat’s hull above the water's surface.
SES-X system hull is a combination of a catamaran and monohull, using the best features of both.
Boat volume provides space for the fans creating the air cushion as well as the batteries necessary for the fans and electric propulsion motors. Sensors collect data as the boat is in motion to adjust the air output from the fan.
These hulls can have any topside installed, so they can be applied to leisure boats, water taxis, work boats, and passenger ferries, however, due to early costs it is expected that ferries, workboats, and luxury 8m leisure craft will be the first vessels with this technology.
This technology could be very exciting as it could be used as an amphibious craft. Again, Eclass would be up for the challenge as we have already been approached by Hovercraft owners and have talked through a solution with them.
Because planing boats powered by our Australian-made electric outboard motors get on the plane early due to the instant torque it is pleasant to cruise at 10 knots on the plane using very little energy and, in some states, don’t require a license to operate at 10 knots or under.
If you have a boat design concept that needs a custom marine electric engine, please get in contact here
With petrol and diesel prices continuing to rise, many boat owners are considering the switch to electric boating.
Most boat owners are not aware of how much they are really spending on fuel and maintenance - after all, you just fill up at the service station as you go or pay for a mechanical service or parts and don't realize how these costs add up.
What you may not have considered is that every hour of running in an ICE (internal combustion engine) outboard motor costs the same. Yes, every hour on the water at WOT (wide open throttle) costs the same or even more over time in petrol/oil spend. So you can see how over 10 years, the sums add up.
That's not the case in electric outboard motors.
Although there is an initial investment in batteries, Lithium batteries are expected to last up to 10 years.
An electric outboard motor or electric inboard motor battery only needs to be recharged.
An electric outboard motor's additional running costs will only be the price of electricity for recharging the batteries. If your mains or generator power comes from solar, that cost is pretty much zero. There is a lot to be said for solar boating!
Electric outboard motors also have very little maintenance - only the regular care you would take with your current outboard leg and casing. The powerhead is brushless (no touching parts) and the whole outboard only has a few moving parts. Unlike 2-stroke and more particularly 4-stroke outboards - which have very complex mechanics and electronics.
Over a ten-year period, you will save substantially. And if you use your boat more than once a week, then those savings are even greater. Great news for commercial boat owners or hire boat operators.
We have brochures with total lifecycle costs at 1-5 WOT trips per week for a wide range of outboard motors from 4kW (8hp) - to 30kW (60hp).
Contact us if you would like more information or a brochure.
Or check out our electric outboard range. All our electric outboards are made in Australia.
If you are curious about seeing an electric outboard come to the SHASA Electric Vehicle Expo next Saturday, 1st October Long Weekend.
We will be there with Australia's first electric speed boat, a selection of serious and powerful kW outboard motors, Lithium Ion batteries, and a solar charging station for solar boating.
We love talking about electric boats and retrofitting your existing outboard or inboard to electric motors. Or showing what's possible with a new electric outboard.
See the SHASA organisers website here
What would it mean to make the planet the largest shareholder in a for-profit business like our electric outboard business?
What would we do differently and what would we continue?
Eclass Outboards already have put a lot of thought into how we can contribute to the circular economy.
If you can think of something else we can do to make the planet our largest shareholder, drop us a line!
One of the biggest barriers to electric marine uptake is batteries.
Most people worry first about the range. The famous "range anxiety" is seen in EV's and now marine electric boats.
Well, the outboard range is only limited by the kWh of Lithium batteries in the boat with you.
Planning your electric boating trip is no different from having a petrol tank and gauge.
The second barrier is cost.
Electric boats usually need high discharge batteries, so basically Lithium or new generation solid-state like Graphene supercapacitors.
Unlike petrol engines, the battery investment is all upfront. Yes, it pays off over time compared to a petrol engine - big time! But you still have to invest upfront. It's like putting solar on your roof or a battery to power your house.
That's why we are so excited about our new association with an Australian battery manufacturer of 'second life' EV batteries. Extra excited, because we are Australia's only manufacturer of electric outboards and want to support Australian manufacturing.
These 'second life'' EV cells are tested and then custom built into new battery packs with new Battery Management Systems, monitoring systems and casings.
This has lots of advantages, but the main one is cost. These Australian made systems are very competitively priced. Especially for those of you who want to power that larger 20kW and 30kW plus outboards.
Suddenly a very realistic proposition. Especially if you want more batteries for a longer range and know how long your electric outboard will go.
You can see starting prices on some of our packaged deals such as the 20kW engine and 20kW battery and get in touch if you want to know more.
As two-stroke and four-stroke petrol outboards come to the end of their life. You don't have to throw them on the dump and contribute to the landfill, we can retrofit to convert it to an electric outboard, using a wide variety of castings up to 90hp.
That's the advantage of being manufacturers of electric outboards in Australia.
This has lots of advantages, including assisting those of you with hard-to-find extra long legs or other quirks. Or you just love your current outboard.
Some outboards we will only do retrofit - like our 12kW. Other kW models, you can choose to retrofit your own casing. The savings are considerable. Or you can buy a completely new outboard.
If your current outboard has forward control or electric (not hydraulic) tilt and trim, no problem, we can accommodate, as long as they are in good working order and you deliver it to us clean and without the powerhead.
Get in touch and we can give you a quote. Contact us on [email protected]
Or view our range here
We are proud to have been judged as finalists in two categories in these awards.
The 2022 Commercial Marine Project/Design or Manufacturer of the Year award identifies product manufacture, design, and shipbuilding within the Commercial Category in the Australian commercial marine sector.
The 2022 Marketing Strategy of the Year award acknowledges the success of an innovative and effective marketing strategy implemented between January 1 – and December 31, 2022
As Australia's only outboard manufacturer and only electric outboard manufacturer, we are working at the cutting edge of the marine industry in electric outboards, electric boats, and electric jet skis.
See the AIMEX Link to the Awards
Creep up to a dock with a silent electric engine and say you are using magnetic fields and GPS to pull the boat along
Go to a petrol station and not fill up
Challenge a similar petrol outboard to a sprint with your electric outboard motor (you will win)
Pretend you have left the outboard pull start cord at home but know a way to get it going anyway
Let us know your best April Fools Day Prank? Contact us.
Including:
COVID safe QR code checking
Sanitizer available for hygiene and COVID safety
Contactless payment for product purchase
1.5m distancing for product demonstration
Product is wiped down after demonstration for hygiene and COVID safe practices
Mask friendly showroom
Online contactless inquiry and information
Staff sent home if unwell or showing COVID symptoms.
Our staff is fully vaccinated against COVID.
Eclass understands you want to keep yourself and your family safe and well. So we are taking every precaution as we want to see you out on the water enjoying an electric boat experience!
Contact us if you want to book an Eclass Electric Showroom demonstration of our electric outboard motors and Ecoflow Delta Max portable power stations.