I have looked through the forum and not seen many posts re: boat conversions. I'm not surprised, electricity and water usually don't mix well. The electric outboard motors on the market may be more cost effective than what I'm considering; if that's the case, I'll call it quits on the DIY.
Here's the facts, I have a 25Hp Evinrude from 1973 on a 14' flat boat. These are not meant to go fast or travel for days at a time. It's just a hobby boat. The longest run I've made yet is 2.5hrs with the existing set up.
From what I can find, the existing 2 stroke motor operates between 4k to 5k RPM. I am not trying to break speed records with a conversion, but I do want to at least get the boat up out of the water (aka on step). So, based on gear ratio and some voodoo math, I figure I need 2500RPM of a 25hp equivalent to get on step... Unless there is 300# of batteries in the boat.
Now I'd like to hear the voice of experience chime in... Am I taking on a $7000 project to meet the goals above? Is it realistic to think I can find motors and batteries at local auto salvage yards to meet my needs?
There are several videos on teh interwebs showing some outboard conversions. Many of them targeting a much different objective. I do not want to build a diy trolling motor... I can buy one of those for a few hundred bucks. The video done by Myth Buster's for their our board is what I am aiming for (minus the jet drive.)
https://youtu.be/_EV2qq2-Lck
I look forward to your responses (even non-boat folks).