One of the beefs against electric outboards is their limited range, but Newport—an electric outboard builder from Stockton, California—is challenging that perception with its lightweight lithium batteries.
We clamped a Newport NT300 3-hp electric outboard with a standard-length shaft to the stern of an 11-foot, 7-inch fiberglass rowboat, added one of Newport’s LiFePO4 (lithium, iron and phosphate) batteries and loaded the boat up with more than 400 pounds of people to see what it could do.
Unlike some other small electric outboard makers, Newport does not mount the battery on top of its motors. Instead, it sells lithium batteries in two voltages and multiple amperages (24V/50Ah, 36V/30Ah and 36V/40Ah) and connects them via a cable, which allows the weight on the stern to be reduced and a larger capacity battery to be used. We tested the 36V/30Ah battery with the NT300 outboard and were impressed by how long it could power the motor on a single charge.
With two adults and a 3-year-old aboard, we took the NT300 for a cruise around TKTKT harbor, where it easily propelled the boat at low rpm while making virtually no noise. We then cranked it up to full power to see how fast we could go. Our handheld GPS showed the motor moved us at just over 5 knots. Judging by our wake we were at maximum hull speed and exceeded the 4.5-knot maximum speed advertised by Newport. Noise levels increased commensurate with speed and rpm, although most of the noise seemed to be coming from the propeller and the rushing water. None of it was ever unpleasant or distracting.
We spent an hour making numerous wide-open runs through the harbor, fully expecting the battery to be at least 30- to 40-percent depleted. Yet when we returned to the dock, the tiller’s display still showed five out of five bars and 39.9 volts remaining on the lithium battery. Apparently, we had barely put a dent in its capacity.
According to Newport’s manual, a 39.9-volt charge indicates the battery is still at 90- to 99-percent capacity. Depending on load, Newport says that its marine batteries can power the NT300 for up to 4 hours at full speed. Clearly, the Newport 36V/30Ah battery can run the NT300 for many hours and the 36V/40Ah extended-range battery should power it even longer.
The NT300 can be powered by a single 36-volt LiFeP04 battery like the 30Ah version we used, three 12-volt LiFeP04 batteries wired in series, or three 12-volt, deep-cycle, lead acid AGM and GEL batteries wired in series. According to the company’s website, the NT300 can also be used with a trolling motor battery, as long as it meets the 24-volt DC system requirements. This means you can choose how much range you want according to how much money you’re willing to spend.
At $1,099 for the standard-length motor and $949 for the 36V/30Ah battery, Newport’s products are competitively priced. If you don’t need a lot of range and want to save money, you can purchase smaller batteries from other makers. However, that would defeat some of the advantages of a Newport 36-volt unit. The company claims the NT300 can deliver a 66-mile-long trip on one of its 36-volt batteries. Obviously, that will depend on the vessel, the speed, the conditions and the load, but that’s a long time to be on the water at 5 knots or less.
Setup, installation and operation of the 22-pound NT300 and the 24.3-pound 36V/30Ah battery was pretty straightforward, although we felt future versions of the motor would benefit from a built-in handle. Each battery is equipped with mobile-enabled Bluetooth monitoring that allows operators to get real-time battery status updates directly from their smartphone or compatible device using the Newport battery app available for both iOS and Android. This is a handy feature, especially since the small digital display on top of the tiller can be tough to read while under way.
Newport sells various accessories, including tiller extensions for those who want to sit farther forward in their boats. We’d purchase the $48 cable extension that allows the battery to be placed farther forward in a boat to help with weight distribution. In future editions of the motor and its batteries, we like to see more robust anode covers or a battery box, and a tiller handle with forward and reverse indicators. Overall, however, we were impressed with both products. With numerous ways of charging the system—including home outlet, solar power and inverter aboard a mother ship—the NT300 would make an excellent dinghy outboard, especially for cruisers who like to go for lengthy explorations once they’ve reached their destination.
This article was originally published in the May 2024 issue.
