Water Witch switches workboats to Torqeedo drives
The Liverpool-based boat builder Water Witch has announced that it will replace its existing outboard motors with electric drives from Torqeedo. The company has been building specialized cleaning boats for over 50 years and uses around 200 workboats to remove waste and refuse in harbours and waterways around the world.
Now the boatbuilder has announced that it will offer Torqeedo’s electric drives in future as a replacement for the standard four-stroke outboards on all its Versi-Cat waste collection boats and pontoon workboats. Specifically, this will be the ‘Cruise 10.0’ outboard and two ‘Power 48’ Li-Ion batteries. The latter is to weigh 36 kilograms each. The system should be able to be used “six to eight hours” between charges and Water Witch considers the retrofit a “straight swap”.
According to the Torqeedo announcement, Water Witch is also planning a larger boat of the Versi-Cat series for this year, which is eight meters long and will only be offered with an electric drive from the start. In contrast to the pontoon-like boats for harbour use, the new model will have a “more traditional hull shape”. This is designed “to increase the cruising speed to 10-11 knots with the same propulsion and to ensure better seaworthiness for operation in coastal waters”. This should enable the boat to take on additional tasks, such as combating oil pollution off the coast.
Jackie Caddick, head of Water Witch, describes the electric drives as such: “This is a clean, green, safe, zero-emission solution with long life, low maintenance and minimal operating costs”. He adds that “many of our owners are also enquiring about converting their existing vessels to an all-electric drive”. Caddick further considers the Torqueedo system “a very cost-efficient option, and backed by the support of Torqeedo’s extensive worldwide warranty and after-sales support”. The current press release does not mention prices however so owners may inquire straight at Water Witch.
0 Comments