Don't kill the messenger! And don't get me wrong, I'm old-school! I love gas-operated, combustion outboard motors, I always have! I even collect and rebuild some of the old ones! But I can't help but ask how we're seeing an explosion in electric, battery-powered tools everywhere, except for internal combustion-powered outboard motors! The reasons are many. The elephant in the room, of course, is manufacturers of internal combustion engines, who can't be happy campers! But it seems inevitable given the environmental, conservation, and eventual long-term economic savings from free solar-powered energy versus the economic and environmental cost of fossil burning, polluting the air, water, and any number of species, above and below, including 'US', by burning gasoline and oil. The use of portable, rechargeable, battery-powered tools, charging time, thrust, and life, are constantly getting better, faster, stronger, longer, and cheaper! So why no R&D or talk about the gasoline-powered outboard motor industry? OK, there are a few electric outboards out there, but little has changed with them, and I can't find much at all in new developments in the existing gas-powered manufacturers either! Both technologies are very expensive, but the big difference is, solar-powered battery technology for the outboard use market is in its infancy. (Not even the leading electric trolling motor companies are doing much, if anything in developing outboard electric-powered motors, or they're just not saying!?) Can't boat Mfg develop materials to cover the exposed surfaces of a boat with durable material to collect solar energy even on cloudy days to keep batteries, onboard back-ups, and lightweight portable power-packs easily available and charged like your power drill, lawnmower, and leaf-blower? All of these can be recharged by plugging into any A/C power source now, a power hookup on your pier, or even an outside-use, GFI extension cord. No one likes to see the end of a technology that has served so well! It's that change you hate to love/hate and embrace, but it's the price we pay for progress, or so I've been told! BTW, has anyone else ever wondered if you could rig your battery-powered, electric leaf-blower with gears, a shaft, and a propeller? I have no doubt they are working on it now. I just wanted to see what fellow sports-people thought. What do you think?
