Quiteness, a real plus. You will find that one of the great moments on a
sailboat is when the auxilary is shut down and there is the near silence of
the boat making way by sail alone.

Low emmisions? A real plus. There are some places (inland lakes) that have
banned 2 cycle outboards altogether. This explains the popularity of the
Honda outboard motors. 4 cycle, quiter than 2 cycles.

Would I pay more? And how much more? Don't know. For as little as a
sailor runs his auxilary I am not sure I would pay much more if any.
Perhaps a little more mainly because of the silence thing. That certainly
has it's appeal.

Safety is another factor. Before I bought I would have to be shown that
this motor would do the job. Is it going to power my boat through current
and waves? Is it going to be dependable?

I know this next statement sounds obvious, but on a sailboat the only time
we start our engines are when we NEED them. When they don't start, then we
might have problems. What I mean is that sailboats can manuever on sail
alone. In some circumstances we can sail right up to our mooring, or into
our slip. Engines are used when we NEED them only. Not like in a motor
boat when someone might turn on the engine just for the heck of it, just to
cruise around. My point being, there is a safety factor directly related to
reliability of the auxilary on a sailboat.

And of course there is the two big factors of number and weight of batteries
required, as well as how long will it take to recharge them? I can refuel a
6 gallon gas tank in 2 minutes. Am I willing to wait for 6 hours to charge
up batteries?

Hope that helps.

Lonny B

"Andrew" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thank you to everyone that has provided comments thus far. Just to
clarify, the intent of my questions is to determine what the customer
values when they decide to purchase a small outboard engine. I realize
that battery technology has a way to go and may not be significantly
improved for a number of years. But there are some advances in electric
motors that can more efficiently utilize the battery power and
therefore provide either more power (up to 10HP or possible greater) or
greater lifespan utilizing the existing battery technology. I also
realize there are a number of smaller companies that do offer electric
outboard motors as a primary drive, however I am looking at different
markets to see if there is enough demand for for a major marine
producer to step in and provide a product on a larger scale. Any help
that you can provide will help me in providing good recommendations. As
a follow-up to my first question I would like to know what attributes
you primarily look for in a small outboard (either gas or electric) for
an auxiliary drive on a sailboat. Additionally, how much more money
would you be willing to pay over the cost of a small gas engine of
similar HP for those additional benefits (quietness, low vibration, no
emissions, etc.)?