The Torqeedo 801L finally arrived from Canada via an eBay seller (I would have gone for an 801S, but frankly I got a goood deeal on the L, some 50% off of MSRP). The day it arrived, it was very cold and windy, one of those few cold snaps we get down here in the Keys, it was only in the 60s. But Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I was on the boat every chance I got. Here's a few snaps for you...
Porta-Bote 12' with Torqeedo mounted on transom, tied up to my seawall
Closer shot of Torqeedo on the transom
As you see, humble beginnings. Frankly, I'm glad to be learning this (hard) way. Bay Point (the island) is surrounded by a channel about 10 feet deep, beyond which is an extremely shallow shoal. At first, the trick just staying in the channel and not hitting the shoal. And this is in the winter time, when the water is very low. As the saying goes, when the Canadians go home, the water comes back. In the summer, I can probably clear that shoal with the prop down and go all the way to Abba Zabba. For now, if I wanted to do that, I'd have to pull the prop up and row out over the shoal first (which isn't something I want to do because the headwinds are pretty fierce in the winter, and they make me zig-zag even under full power).
Without further ado, let me present to you the first few rules that you will find nowhere else on the Internet:
1. Get a nice warm jacket. You know, like those foul-weather windbreakers they sell at West Marine? It may be a pleasant day, but once you get out on warm water, the wind can be enough to turn your fingertips blue.
2. Bring a paddle. Or an oar. A kayak paddle is fine. You will make mistakes and run that little 10-Amp-hour battery down a couple times at first. Better to paddle home in shame than to be calling friends on your cellphone and begging for a tow in. Better still to paddle home in shame than to wash up on the edge of a mangrove stand waving your arms in distress. I've never done either of those things, because you bet your arse I bring a kayak paddle with me.
3. Never ever ever ever use full throttle on a Torqeedo! Better yet, only use about 10-20% throttle. Do this and the battery will last forever. But if you use full throttle, it only lasts 20 minutes, and then I hope you've read rule #2. Just go very slowly and don't hit the throttle hard unless you're within sight of home. I can seriously make that battery last for hours as long as I never crank the throttle all the way up. This is the single biggest rule of using a Torqeedo.
With those rules in mind, the going is incredibly great. I do morning cruises, sunset cruises, midnight cruises, lunchtime cruises. I get on the boat whenever the battery's charged and I can get away. I know where the fish are, where the crabs are, where the sunken boat hulls are, even the location of a sunken torpedo. I've decided that I'm going to keep at this for a few more weeks before getting a nice big Boston Whaler, for a lot of good reasons. Despite the fact that I've learned a ton already, there's still more to learn, and there are essentially no consequences for grounding a Porta-Bote, while the consequences for grounding a real boat are far more serious. I'm going to the Tag and Title office tomorrow to get her formally registered and then she'll have an FL number on both sides of her bow.
I really hope the world is ready. I'm a captain now.
-Chris