Mercury Marine has just announced the launch of its two newest electric outboard motors, the Avator 20e and Avator 35e.
The news follows the launch of Mercury’s first entry in the lineup, the Avator 7.5e, which splashed down earlier this year. And the company isn’t even finished yet, teasing another two electric products to be unveiled in the next few months.
According to Mercury, both the Avator 20e and 35e include many of the same innovative features that we first saw launched in the Avator 7.5e, including that motor’s industry-first transverse flux motor technology, as well as a full-color intuitive display and an ambidextrous tiller handle.
The new larger outboard models provide more power and the ability to connect multiple Avator batteries to extend range and run time, plus full access to the Mercury Marine app with the integrated SmartCraft Connect module. For larger boats, the motors feature remote steering as well.
On the spec side, the Avator 20e provides 2.2 kW of power and the 35e generates 3.7 kW of power, both measured at the propellor shaft.
As we’ve previously discussed, electric outboards generally provide similar performance to combustion engine outboards of significantly higher power output. That’s largely thanks to the impressive torque of electric motors and their higher efficiency operation.
For example, the 20e puts out less than 3hp but is said to produce similar acceleration to a 5hp FourStroke outboard, while the 35e generates acceleration that is comparable to a Mercury 9.9hp FourStroke outboard that technically offers twice the 35e’s rated power.
In addition to being more power dense, the company says the electric outboard motors are also 63% quieter than comparable combustion engine outboards.
Both models can come with either tiller or remote steering. Mercury says they are ideal for powering small vessels such as aluminum fishing boats, micro skiffs, rigid inflatables, tenders, and small pontoon boats.
Top comment by BluePopsicle
When comparing ICE to electric, one has to look at the cost of operation, maintenance, and battery replacement. I have a 5 year old electric riding mower and it has shown to be 17 times less expensive to run than a comparable ICE powered mower. No one seems to record the cost of fuel and maintenance they put in their ICE devices and have no idea what the cost savings might be. The other idea is that batteries are wear out items and will likely need replacement during the life of the device. What do the batteries cost and how long will they last before they have to be replaced? The batteries in my mower cost $660 to replace and saved more than that in gas and maintenance before they needed replacement.
As Mercury Marine VP of Product Development and Engineer Tim Reid explained:
Avator outboards are intelligent, electric propulsion systems engineered to deliver a superior boating experience with flexibility to easily extend range and runtime. Up to four of Mercury’s new 2300Wh batteries can be connected and managed through our exclusive Power Center which safely merges power, enables communication between the batteries and outboard, and allows single point charging.
A revolution in small electric boats
The last several years have seen a wave (yep) of new electric boats enabled by the influx of small electric outboard motors and marine batteries.
Mercury’s sister company Veer recently launched with an interesting 13 foot (4 meter) electric boat, and many other competing products are also joining the market.
While high-end electric boats are still reserved for those with deep pockets, these smaller format electric outboards are making electric boats more accessible to average boaters than ever before.
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