Electric Outboard Motors for Your Dinghy: A Survey from the 2026 Seattle Boat Show

Nojan Moshiri · February 2026 · Electric Propulsion, Gear, Technology

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When we bought our Torqeedo Travel 1103 a few years back, it was essentially the only serious option for an electric outboard on a cruising sailboat’s tender. The market was Torqeedo and… well, Torqeedo. Don’t get me wrong, the 1103 has been great. It pushes our inflatable at a solid 4.5 knots, it’s whisper-quiet, and I’ve never missed hauling a gas can to the dinghy dock. But the electric outboard world has changed dramatically, and walking the floor at the 2026 Seattle Boat Show made that abundantly clear.

This year’s show, held January 30 through February 7 at Lumen Field Event Center and Bell Harbor Marina, featured several electric outboard vendors spread across the concourse halls. I spent time at each booth, talked with the people behind the products, and came away genuinely impressed by how far this market has come. If you’re a cruising sailor thinking about going electric on your dinghy — or upgrading from an older electric — the options are better than they’ve ever been.

Here’s what I found.

EP Carry by PropEle Electric Boat Motors — My Favorite

Concourse 2200 · electricpaddle.com · (425) 502-5232

The EP Carry was the highlight of the show for me. I had a chance to meet Joe Grez, the owner and inventor, and it was immediately clear that this motor was designed by someone who actually uses a dinghy. Joe and his wife Linda are sailors themselves, cruising a sharpie ketch in the San Juans, and the EP Carry reflects that experience in every detail.

What sets the EP Carry apart is that it was designed from the ground up specifically for small boats — dinghies, inflatables, prams, and skiffs. Every other electric outboard on the market is essentially a scaled-down version of a motor designed for larger boats. The EP Carry takes the opposite approach, and you can feel it.

The entire system — motor, 24V lithium battery in a buoyant bag, smart charger, and a canvas shoulder carry bag — weighs just 21 pounds. The motor alone is 14.4 pounds. You can sling the whole thing over your shoulder, step down into your dinghy, and mount it from a seated position. That last point matters more than you might think. Anyone who has had to stand up and lean over the transom of a tippy inflatable to wrestle with an outboard knows exactly what I’m talking about.

The tiller design is brilliant. A simple pull raises the motor out of the water, a push lowers it. Throttle and reverse are controlled from the end of the tiller arm. There’s an electronic propeller protection system that replaces the traditional shear pin — if you hit something, the prop stops, and as soon as the obstruction clears, it starts right back up. Joe told me they have over 73,000 hours of real-world customer use logged, and not a single reported broken prop.

At 240 watts, it’s equivalent to roughly a 1 HP gas outboard. On a 9-foot inflatable, expect about 3.5 knots. You’ll get about an hour at full throttle, two hours at half, and three-plus hours at slow speeds. That’s plenty for the typical ship-to-shore commute, checking crab pots, or a leisurely exploration of the anchorage. The battery charges in about five hours, and it can even be solar-charged directly from a 24V panel — a real plus for extended cruising.

The EP Carry is made in North Bend, Washington, right here in our backyard. It’s award-winning, and at around $1,600 for the complete system, it’s the most affordable option in this roundup. If your dinghy use is primarily short hops to shore, exploring anchorages, and the occasional run to the dinghy dock, the EP Carry is hard to beat. It won me over completely.

Remigo — The Electric Rudder

West 1 · remigousa.com · (959) 988-1466

The Remigo One caught my eye immediately because it looks nothing like a traditional outboard. It’s designed in the form of a rudder — the battery is fully integrated into a sleek aluminum unibody housing, and the whole thing clips onto a two-piece transom bracket. There are no external cables, no separate battery to manage. You clip it on, flip down the handle, attach the magnetic kill cord, and go.

This is a Slovenian design that has been winning European design awards, including the prestigious DesignEuropa prize, and Remigo recently expanded into the US market with a dealer network that now reaches across the country, including Alaska and Canada. The RemigoOne delivers 1000 watts — comparable to a 3 HP gas outboard — and weighs just 26 pounds for the motor alone, or 32 pounds with the detachable transom bracket.

The rudder form factor has real advantages. When you cut the power, the motor acts as a passive rudder, giving you steerage control as you coast into a dock or alongside your boat. That’s a feature no other outboard offers, and in practice it makes docking remarkably smooth. The shaft is steplessly adjustable from short to extra-long (15 to 30 inches), so one motor fits virtually any transom height.

The integrated 1,085 Wh battery delivers a reliable range of up to 14 nautical miles at 3 knots, with a maximum speed around 5 knots. Charging takes about six hours on the standard charger, three with the optional fast charger, and there’s a 12/24V DC charger option for charging from your boat’s house bank or solar setup.

The RemigoOne sells for around $3,000, with the newer Neo model — which offers a bit more power and thrust — at $3,500. The build quality is impressive; the marine-grade aluminum housing carries an IP67 rating and requires virtually zero maintenance beyond rinsing after saltwater use and occasionally checking the anodes.

If you want a clean, modern, integrated solution and you value the simplicity of having no separate battery to manage, the Remigo is a compelling choice. The rudder-style design is genuinely innovative.

Zin Boats — Thinking Bigger About Electric

Concourse 2005 · zinboats.com · (206) 280-7864

Zin Boats is a different animal entirely. Founded by Piotr Zin, a designer with roots at BMW, GM, and Brunswick Boat Group, this Seattle-based company builds high-performance electric boats and propulsion systems from carbon fiber. Their Z2R runabout can hit 30+ knots, runs on a Torqeedo Deep Blue system, and starts at $250,000. Their latest Z11 electric tender was built for a Feadship owner and reportedly exceeds 52 knots.

So why include them in a dinghy motor roundup? Because Zin represents where electric marine propulsion is heading. They’re not just building boats — they’re developing universal propulsion systems and what they call the “Magic Box,” a centralized power management system with dozens of temperature sensors, intelligent battery communication, and plug-and-play architecture. Zin has stated publicly that they want to push electrification not just on their own boats, but across the entire industry.

For cruising sailors, Zin Boats isn’t a dinghy motor you’ll buy tomorrow. But their engineering and their presence at the show are a signal that electric propulsion is maturing rapidly. The technology that goes into a $250K carbon fiber runabout today will trickle down into more accessible products in the coming years. It’s worth keeping an eye on them.

The Incumbents: Torqeedo and ePropulsion

No survey of electric dinghy motors would be complete without covering the two biggest names in the space.

Torqeedo Travel 1103

The Torqeedo Travel 1103 is the current top-of-the-line in their portable outboard series and the motor I’ve been using for several years. The 1103 represents a significant upgrade over the older 1003 — the biggest change being a new direct-drive brushless DC motor that eliminated the gearbox. The old 1003’s gearbox was the primary source of noise; the 1103 is genuinely silent. The sound of water against the hull is louder than the motor.

At 1,100 watts with a 915 Wh integrated lithium battery, you get about 5.5 knots at full throttle with roughly 50 minutes of runtime, or 3 knots for six hours at half throttle. The built-in GPS and onboard computer calculate remaining range in real time, which goes a long way toward easing range anxiety. Total weight is about 38 pounds assembled, though it breaks down into manageable pieces — the motor alone is about 25 pounds.

The Torqeedo is IP67 waterproof, solar-chargeable, and comes with a standard AC charger (about 10 hours from flat). The battery floats. It’s a well-proven, well-supported product with a global dealer network.

The downsides? It’s the heaviest option in this comparison. The transom mount and tilt positions can be fiddly, especially on a rocking dinghy. The throttle takes some getting used to — I nearly launched myself out of the dinghy the first time I twisted it too far. And the price has climbed over the years.

ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus

The ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus is the most direct competitor to the Torqeedo 1103. It’s a 1 kW motor (3 HP equivalent) with a 1,276 Wh integrated lithium battery — the largest capacity in this roundup — which translates to about 22 miles of range at cruising speed or a full day of trolling. Motor weight is 24 pounds, battery 19 pounds, for a total of 43 pounds.

The Spirit has earned a strong following, particularly among sailors who appreciate its straightforward operation and the sheer battery capacity. The newer Evo model adds a hydrogeneration function — the propeller recharges the battery while you’re under sail — which is a genuinely useful feature for cruising sailboats. The Evo Remote variant also offers remote helm steering, a first in this class.

At roughly $1,800-2,200 depending on the model and shaft length, the ePropulsion offers strong value relative to its specs. It’s also available through a wide dealer network. The main tradeoff is weight — at 43 pounds assembled, it’s the heaviest option here, and that matters when you’re lifting it on and off a tender multiple times a day.

Comparison at a Glance

	EP Carry	Remigo One	Torqeedo 1103	ePropulsion Spirit 1.0+
Power	240W (~1 HP)	1,000W (~3 HP)	1,100W (~3 HP)	1,000W (~3 HP)
Total Weight	21 lbs	32 lbs (w/bracket)	38 lbs	43 lbs
Battery Capacity	288 Wh (24V)	1,085 Wh	915 Wh	1,276 Wh
Max Speed (typical dinghy)	~3.5 kts	~5 kts	~5.5 kts	~5 kts
Runtime at Full Throttle	~1 hr	~1 hr	~50 min	~1 hr 15 min
Runtime at Half	~2 hrs	~4.5 hrs	~6 hrs	~2.5 hrs
Waterproof Rating	Waterproof connectors	IP67	IP67	IP67
Battery Floats?	Yes	Integrated (sealed)	Yes	Yes
Hydrogeneration	No	No	No	Yes (Evo model)
GPS/Range Display	No	No	Yes	Yes
Approx. Price	~$1,600	~$3,000	~$2,800-3,200	~$1,800-2,200
Made In	North Bend, WA	Slovenia	Germany (Deutz)	China

So Which One Should You Buy?

The honest answer is that it depends on how you use your dinghy.

If your primary use is short hops from the boat to shore and back, exploring quiet anchorages, and you value light weight above all else, the EP Carry is remarkable. At 21 pounds total and $1,600, there’s nothing else like it. Meeting Joe Grez and hearing his design philosophy — which comes straight from real cruising experience — sold me on this motor. The fact that it’s built right here in Washington is a bonus.

If you need more power and range, run a heavier RIB, or regularly motor against current and chop, the Torqeedo 1103, ePropulsion Spirit 1.0 Plus, or Remigo One are all strong choices. The Torqeedo has the longest track record and the best instrumentation. The ePropulsion offers the most battery capacity per dollar and the hydrogeneration feature on the Evo model is compelling for sailors. The Remigo is the most innovative design of the bunch, and the lightest of the three higher-powered options.

What’s most exciting is that we now have genuine competition in this space. When Torqeedo was the only game in town, there was little incentive for innovation on features or pricing. That era is over. Every one of these products brings something unique to the table, and they’re all pushing each other to be better.

The age of the smelly, hard-starting, two-stroke dinghy motor is ending. And frankly, good riddance.

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Captain Nojan Moshiri is a USCG Licensed Captain and ASA Certified Instructor based in the Pacific Northwest. He operates Sail Training LLC, providing sailing instruction, coaching, charter, and marine technical services in the Puget Sound region. Learn more at sailtraining.us.