I'll try to answer your questions:
1. Does anyone know a cheaper way than the Torqeedo solar, to achieve a solar charging that can be done whilst out at sea/on expeditions, particularly for the 915watt?You do not need to use Torqeedo's solar accessories, every solar component you can imagine exists elsewhere at less cost. Solar components are used for so many applications that the market is flooded with them. You decide what you want and then source the components from one of many suppliers.
2. Mine often throws error codes, right when I least need them, E03/E04 every now and then, I just tilt and untilt and seems to work again, E30 - this one annoys me, data connection error between battery & motor? E45 - battery overcurrent, I had this a lot early on but now I have discharged my battery a few times completely, and charged it again, it seems to have settled down.That's a lot of error codes. I used to get E04 (tilt) once in a while but I sent my unit back to Torqeedo offseason and they fixed it for free. E30 is probably caused by an intermittent bad connection, clean the connections to the battery and motor, and keep them dry. E45 can happen if the prop gets tangled in weeds or other obstructions but should disappear after the prop is cleared.
3. I have the shock cord to hold the tilt-down so if I hit a hard object it won't snap it off, but it does thrust up on reverse, should I just make the cord a lot tighter?You can use a tighter or stronger shock cord. However, if it thrusts up on reverse, simply use a bit less power. But it won't hurt anything when it thrusts up, and it will still reverse just fine.
4. I removed the prop to clean it and check it, does it need any loctite or just standard tighten the nut? Does the brass look corroded? You can use blue Loctite, but the instructions don't require it. You can polish the brass if it bothers you, but it's fine as is.
5. Steering using the connection to the rudder by a spring and elastic cord, works OK in light conditions but sometimes the motor spins out of control sideways in currents/swell. Is this the motor cavitation? No, it's the sideways force of the currents/swells. I now recommend that the motor simply be fixed in position. There is no need or real advantage to having the motor turn with the rudder.
I'm thinking of securing it straight and not using the motor to steer and instead just relying on the rudder, but not sure how, any advice? Does it go fine having the motor secured straight and steering rudder-only?The motor mount allows it to be fixed in position using the holes which accept a screw or pin to hold it in place. It works fine simply using the rudder to steer the boat.
6. The motor on the pole often twists in the water in rough conditions and ends up sideways, slightly out of the water. I know someone has drilled the tube to install threaded bolts to stop this.I drilled through the top of the mount and the shaft and then tapped the bottom of the mount. Then I inserted a stainless screw to fix the shaft in place. If you don't want to tap it, simply drill all the way through and use a nut on the bottom.
7. Any tips on how to make a fairing similar to the Yakima Windjammer, I can't find one in Australia
I saw someone found a cavitation plate for another torqeedo model, maybe the 503.., can that be used for this one?You don't really need the Yakima Windjammer or any other anti-cavitation plate, this helps slightly, but it's more trouble than what it's worth. I've found that it's best to keep everything as simple as possible.
8. Is it ok to WD-40 all connectors? I am getting some corosion. I am even getting corosion in the port where I plug the charger in to the battery.I would not recommend WD-40 for electrical connections, it won't last. Instead, use
Dielectric Grease which is specifically designed for this purpose.
9. Mine is mounted at the rear similar to pro10is, but it is hard to pull the rudder all the way up, at best I often only get it half up unless I turn the steering really tight so it misses the pole. I'm wondering if it is better mounted to the side of the boat right behind the rear seat? I feel it isn't deep enough at the rear, if I get up from the rear seat and go sit on the tramp, the motor isn't in enough water and can't work. The bit which sits on the ball I think needs tightening, I'm actually worried sometimes the whole thing is going to fall out while I am sailing because I can't tighten the nut a lot to get the shaft to grip in to that connection:
I somehow need to make the mount tighter/more secure.Yes, the rudder needs to be turned a bit to get it all the way up but even if it hits the pole and comes up only halfway, that is enough for when you're on the water or launching/retrieving. When transporting, you can very easily fix the rudder all the way up.
I would not go through all the trouble mounting the motor on the side of the boat. That'll be a lot of work for no real advantage. If you think the prop isn't deep enough, you can make a bracket to adjust the depth. I can show you how to do this. But if the prop isn't cavitating, it's deep enough.
The ball mount works fine, in five years mine has never come loose. Don't be afraid to really tighten the screws and use blue Loctite to keep them tight.
10. Do i need to rinse the motor in freshwater after use?No, not at all.
I definitely think it would be good to have the 915watt, unfortunately its AU$1500 locally compared to AU$1000 overseas...I need to investigate if anyone is willing to ship one from US to get it for cheaper. I feel the 532 is barely enough spare capacity for me.
Try
Defender Marine. They may ship to Australia. You can contact them
here.