Hobie Cat Forums

Am considering to look into an evolve motor for my TI... (guess I am getting an old fart and become to lazy to seriously peddle for a long time when the wind dies...).

Intend to use it mainly for trolling the reefs in the very early morning when there is no wind yet. I know it costs a bomb but other options like custom made motor mounts are not for me (I am totally not a handyman) and I want a plug and play solution.

Strangely they are hardly any reliable reviews about the evolve so I have the feeling it did not really "click" in the hobie kayak scene...

Usually on the weekends I prepare my TI on Friday night, anker it at our beach and have it in the water (ankered or under sail) until Sunday afternoon. I usually sail from the TI front seat so I would mount the evolve on the back mirage drive slot.

Questions:

- with the evolve installed and not being used under sail, does it create some drag or in any way alter the sailing performance of the TI?

- leaving the evolve on he boat in saltwater (not being used) for two days, is there any chance of corrosion or will the long exposure to saltwater damage the motor?

- if no wind and no currents, how long would the battery last when going at a steady 3 knots?

- how service / maintenance intensive is the evolve? Is it a plug and play thing where you just need to rinse it with freshwater after usage or is there any additional maintenance requiered?

Would be great to get some feedback or first hand experience from evolve users....

Peace
Serbi

I have an Ultralight 403 not an eVolve, but I can give you some information you want...

Drag: None when you remove the eVolve from the drive well (you cannot mount the eVolve on the rudder of a TI). None with an Ultralight (see pic below) as it raises out of water, takes no storage space when not in use and you can peddle with it in use if you want.

Corrosion: All plastic and stainless - Out of water when not in use.

Range: ULRALIGHT RANGE INFO This should be about the same for an eVolve. You can also purchase a 520 battery made for the Torqeedo Travel 1003 and greatly extend the range for either the Ultralight or eVolve. I only used mine once, but am pretty sure I saw the range reading 20 miles + at something less than full throttle. It would run at around 4 mph if I held my hand in front of the shaft acting as a foil. It may do better in smoother water.

Maintenance: Other than the rinse you mention, dielectric grease for the electrical connections occasionally.

Here is a pic of the Ultralight mount I fabricated for my TI. I replaced the UL with a Travel 1003 so this setup will be for sale when I get around to posting it.

I have been using the Evolve 2 on my TI for about 2 years and have mostly favorable things to say about it. With my experience I think I can say, with some authority, that depending on your individual needs, some will love it and other will think its a waist of money. For me I spend a lot of time solo fishing off the southeast coast of Florida. The fishing grounds are about 5 miles off shore and the current typically runs 3-5 knots to the north. With good wind to power the sail this is not a problem, but in a no wind or bad wind situation, it has becomes problematic. Especially when recovering and having to fight both the current and a head wind. There have been times after fishing all day long and having to pedal in 5-7 miles in 100 degree temperature, that I have been close to heat exhaustion. The evolve motor has been worth every penny in these situations. My normal game plan is to leave the motor stored in the boat until I launch and evaluate the wind and current. There are some trip I never use the motor, others where I may use it to recover, and still others where it is used the entire day. The synergistic effect of using the sail, pedal and motor cannot be overstated, even on no wind days.

My overall impression is the build on the evolve is first rate. And it is by far the smallest and lightest motor that you can get for the TI. The ability to store the motor in the front hatch and then when needed, pull it out and quickly get it ready, really is handy. Having said that I did have an internal gear failure about 15 months into life of my motor. I had to send it in, under warrantee, to a repair facility in New York for repairs. The company was very easy to work with and fixed it fast. Another problem is the caps supplied with the motor for covering the the canon plugs. They are made by Hobie and are worthless. I talked to Torqeedo and they sent me some old cut off female and male plugs that work great. This is really important with the canon plug you mount inside the boat and plugs into the motor. If it gets filled with water before you plug the motor into it, the motor won't work.

My biggest complaint with the Evolve 2 is the run time. You are going to pay about 2k for a motor that runs about 3-3.5 hours. The TI will run around 3 knots at about 125 w/h. But when you throw in a little wind and a little pedal it works out to real average of about 100 w/h. For the 320 watt battery that comes with the motor than equates to around 3- 3.5hrs or about 10 miles. For my no wind days that is not enough for me. My solution was to invest another $550 into the Torqeeto 1145 battery. It is a 520 watt battery and cost less than Hobie's 320 watt battery. For a 30% increase in overall cost my usable range increased by 162%. Using both batteries my range goes for 10 miles to about 26 miles.

As a side note, I would not recommend the solar panels. It cost about the same as the 1145 battery and the max charge rate is 45 w/h. Obviously, if you are drawing 100 w/h this would result, in a best case scenario, at 65w/h. This would give your 320 watt battery 5 hours instead of 3.5. Your money is better spent on the 1145 Torqeeto battery that extends your time to 8.4 hours (using both batteries).

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Steve

Steve,

do you feel any difference in sailing performance with the evolve in the mirage drive slot when under sail and the motor is not running?

Is there any maintenance required for the evolve (or the battery) appart from rinsing it with freshwater after using in the ocean?

Peace
Serbi

I use dielectric grease on the connectors and other than rinsing it, there is no other maintenance.

Running the boat with the motor in place but not on, would increase your drag a lot. Since you are paying big money for a small motor that is easily stored in the front hatch, I think that is the best plan.

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Steve

Thanks for sharing your experience Steve - appreciated.

What is the total weight of the motor + 520 battery?

I can tell you this: The 520 battery weighs 3.5 lbs more than the 320, so if you find the eVolve weight listed somewhere just add the 3.5 lbs.

Also be advised, the 320 battery will fit thru an 8" hatch - the 520 will NOT.

I carry both the Torqeedo Hobie battery and the Torqeedo 1145 battery in the front compartment with no problems at all.

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Steve

Is it possible to install the evolve into either the front or rear seat of the TI ?

Or are there adverse effects with one or the other ?

I normally sit in the front seat of my TI (wife in the back) hence if I were to get one
I imagine I would want control over it myself, and therefore need it in the front seat.

Thanks

The evolve motor can be mounted in either the front or rear mirage drive wells. If you sit in the front then you would want to run the motor in the rear. You would install the cables for the motor in the rear and the cables for the control head in the front. That would allow you to run the motor in the rear drive well, control it from the from the front and augment the motor with your front mirage drive.

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Steve

great, thanks for the explanation

Yesterday I was out sailing with a friend (yakaholic) who had an Evolve drive. He wasn't going to bring it but told his wife at the last minute he was taking it in case the wind died. We planned to sail out to Egmont Key from Ft. Desoto campground. He couldn't have been more wrong about wind dying that day.

The trip was pretty uneventful until we departed Egmont Key. Then the wind significantly increased (at least 25mph) as a cold front moved into the area. And darn ... that wind was directly in our nose. As the wind kept increasing, it was one of those crazy days where you tacked but barely made any headway ... even while pedaling. Yak had his evolve motor and used that and was able to make pretty good headway despite the conditions. He had no problem getting back sailing with his motor. On the other hand I struggled for hours trying to make a few feet at a time. The waves and breakers were huge so you had to really stay alert. All the while I kept wishing I had one of those motors too. They're expensive but are quite convenient in dicey situations. Yak has had his for years and he said it's been very helpful in a couple situations he's been in. Once he pulled 2 kayakers 7 miles with the motor.

They're expensive but it's sure tempting to consider purchasing one after yesterday.

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Jim

Thanks for posting.
I'm interested to hear you say your friend sailed with the Evolve, in what was presumably
troubling conditions.

Did he choose to motor sail, or was motoring directly into wind to get home,
with the sail furled in, even more difficult ?

I would expect to need an evolve if conditions had worsened to the point where I no longer
felt comfortable sailing, in that case I would be solely relying on it to get home (along with the mirage drives)

He motor sailed. As he said to me, the difference between motor sailing and sailing while pedaling is there is more of a constant motion provided by the motor. When pedaling, your pedaling is not constant as you rest or are distracted with other sailing chores. The motor keeps humming so you can point upwind more efficiently under power.

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Jim