pro10is wrote:
Now that the boating season is finally underway where I live, I've asked Torqeedo for access to a
3HP Ultralight 1103 AC motor so that I can devise a mount for it that will properly work on the Hobie AI/TI.
Please watch this thread or
my other Torqeedo thread for the results. If Torqeedo allows me access to this motor I will devise a mounting interface that others will be able to replicate and then test the motor's operation on the Hobie TI as I did with the 1HP 403 series.
Many of you have requested both a mounting interface for the 1103 AC motor as well as a comprehensive review before you consider buying one. I hope to be able to provide this shortly if I can get Torqeedo to help with access to one of them. Normally I would just buy the motor myself, but I already own a 403 and these units are costly, so this time around I need to ask for help.
I think this 3HP motor will be ideal for the TI once a proper mount interface is designed and tested. This is vital since Torqeedo has now gone exclusively to their new mount for
all of their Ultralight series motors, not just the 3HP model. You can still buy the original-style mount for the 1HP model but at a considerable extra cost. So, if the Torqeedo Ultralight series of motors are to be used going forward, a new mount interface for the AI/TI is critical.
I'll let everyone here know the results, whatever happens.
Update:A couple of weeks ago, Torqeedo finally replied to my request for access to a
3HP Ultralight 1103 AC motor so that I can devise a mount for it that will properly work on the Hobie AI/TI. They apologized for the delay as my request had to be routed from the service team to the sales team. However, I am very impressed that they cared to reply.
I was contacted by the Director of OEM & Retail Sales. She expressed an interest in this, stating that it is important for Torqeedo customers to see product versatility and how a specific installation will work with their model boat.
To facilitate this, I was offered a significant discount on an 1103AC motor. While this was an admittedly decent offer, my out-of-pocket cost for it would still be nearly $2,000. If I didn't already own a Torqeedo 403 motor that I paid around $1,500 for as well as a Suzuki outboard motor which cost me around $800, I might have purchased the 1103AC. But I simply could not justify paying nearly $2,000 for yet another motor for my TI when I already own two.
I explained this to Torqeedo and offered to pay $1,000 for an 1103AC, even if it was a used, returned, cosmetically damaged, or second-hand one which they could not sell as new. I was hoping that they would see the clear benefit in this since expertly developing, testing, and documenting online a properly working and replicable mounting solution for a TI/AI and other rudder-equipped kayaks could probably significantly increase sales of their entire line of Ultralight motors which now all use the new mounting system.
Unfortunately, this did not go over well with them. They felt that I was out to get a "free motor" and abruptly ended the discussion. This was simply not the case. I offered to pay over half of their cost for the motor. Additionally, I was willing to offer my valuable time and professional engineering expertise. I am a retired Senior Advisory IBM electromechanical engineer with over 40 years of experience designing, building, and testing highly complex semiconductor production tooling. I was willing to design and document a fully tested and easily replicable working mount for their newer Ultralight mounting system that is incompatible with rudder-equipped kayaks as currently sold. This should have been easily worth the shared cost of a new or used 1103AC motor which I calculate would have been only a few hundred dollars of their corporate out-of-pocket costs after I paid them $1,000. Corporations pay millions for advertising and subcontracting, this should have been nothing more than petty cash to them. My professional engineering time as a consultant is worth over $300/hour and I estimate it would take at least 100 hours to design, build, test, and document a mounting solution. If Torqeedo subcontracted this to an engineer of my skills, it would easily cost them $30,000 or more. I offered this for free as well as to pay them over half of their cost of the motor. For a mere few hundred dollars, they would have been able to open up sales of the 1103AC and all of their other newer Ultralight motors to all Hobie owners as well as many other rudder-equipped kayaks.
Nevertheless, they refused. I apologize to all the interested Hobie owners looking for a working mounting solution for the 1103AC. I tried my best but I didn't have the success with Torqeedo that I was hoping for. In all fairness, they did offer to take a look at my battery which suddenly and inexplicably stopped working, although I don't yet know what will become of that since I haven't yet heard back from them after shipping it. So at least there is some hope for me on that.
I again urge anyone interested to contact Torqeedo and ask them for a solution to mount the 1103AC to a Hobie. This motor would probably be a superb way to power a TI/AI. With 3HP and a remote throttle, it appears to be an excellent motor option if only there was a way to mount it. I'm certain I could resolve this if I could just get my hands on one. Perhaps I'll try to sell my 403 to fund purchasing one, but for now, I simply can't justify the cost of owning three motors for one boat.