2-4 footers on Lake Erie yesterday, and a washing machine chop outside the harbor. I lower my Torqeedo motor, bring down the sails, and crank up the motor just as a 4-5 foot wake hits the bow. The motor drops down at an angle, now completely submerged with the tiller sticking out like a snorkel, but the darn thing keeps on chugging. The mount holds together but there's obviously something different. The motor takes me 3/4 mile back upriver to the boat ramp. I get the boat out and look at the Cheata mount. The 304 stainless bolts are bent at about a 30 degree angle where the come out of the crossbar. Bent, not fractured. Good, careful choice on the bolts, Peter Carras (Cheata designer)! Amazing that the power of the lake and the motor combined went up against the Cheata, and the Cheata survived with two bent bolts and no damage to the boat or motor.
I have owned Torqeedos since the Travel 801 first came out, and used the 801 on my old Wayfarer and now the 1003 on my Hobie Getaway. Some problems with the 801, but the 1003 has been a great upgrade, with a credit for the trade-in on the 801. Despite my removing the tiller and battery immediately after getting the sail up, the motor tilt lever on the 1003 broke twice. The second time, Torqeedo now has a new affordable design change for the tilt lever and side frame that looks much more likely to last. Nonetheless, I don't trust that little lever in the Lake Erie chop. A 10" length of 2 X 4 lumber now gets bungeed to the motor shaft immediately below the motor, so the shaft rests on the wood instead of being propped up by the tilt lever. So far, this arrangement has worked great, the wood is cheap to replace, and it provides a softer landing for the shaft when it bounces in the Lake Erie chop. I used to completely remove the motor off the motor mount, but I was constantly catching sheets and body parts on the shaft no matter where I tied it down, and I worried about falling on the sharp edges of the propellor.
The Cheata mount has been a good solution for the most part, and is especially easy to use when the water is smooth. The pop rivets don't last long in chop, and I try to remember to replace them, but they're only good for one rough sail and I come off the lake and they're gone. I have contemplated a second set of bolts, but the engineer in me warns of failure due to an overconstrained design. I don't want to put a twist in the rear crossbar, and I'd rather keep replacing cheap pop rivets, and (hopefully never again) a pair of gracefully bendable stainless bolts, than replace the crossbar. I would be reluctant to try a stiffer design on Lake Erie, mainly because there is no place for the power of the lake to get relieved except the clamp to the crossbar.
I'm curious if others have tried different solutions to using the Torqeedo Travel with their Getaway and the Cheata mount in rough seas?
_________________ Don Strongsville (near Cleveland) OH Lake Erie sailor, mostly 2011 Getaway "Happy Couple"
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