Now in its third generation, Torqeedo has fundamentally revised the Travel series. In addition to a new motor design, the electrical and mechanical connection of the battery in particular has changed. As before, the energy storage unit is hooked in from above, but locks onto the motor, making the annoying safety pin a thing of the past. In addition, the motor and battery have a solid, sealed plug-in connection that automatically connects the battery when it is hooked in, eliminating the need for a connecting cable. The tiller has also been modified; it is now permanently connected to the electric outboard motor and can be folded down for stowing. The highlight: when the motor is operated with a remote throttle, the tiller can be removed by loosening a bolt.
Solid bracket
The motor mount is just as robust as on the previous Travel models, but it is easier to operate. An easily accessible lever can be used to switch between the "360 degree swivelling", "+/- 60 degree" and "fixed ahead" positions, and two shallow water positions can also be selected and the motor can be swivelled completely out of the water. If you want to use the electric outboard motor with a remote control at the stern, you can install a Teleflex steering system.
Update via app
The display has also been redesigned. The display is now in colour and the background is illuminated. As before, it provides information on the charge level, power, speed and range, as well as remaining journey time and distance. The Travel XP can be paired with a smartphone via WLAN or Bluetooth. The associated app not only displays the motor data, but can also conveniently install software updates and work as a logbook and maintenance log. In future, it is to be expanded into a fully-fledged navigation programme with nautical charts. At present, only charts from Google Maps are available.
Packages for every requirement
There are two basic motors with 1100 and 1600 watts of power and different shaft lengths as well as two battery capacities, from which three packages have been put together for marketing purposes. The Travel Essential Package costs 2799 euros. It contains the 1100 watt motor and a battery with 1080 watt hours. According to the manufacturer, this should enable a 3.8 metre long inflatable boat to travel around 11 nautical miles at three knots.
If you need more range, you can combine the electric outboard motor with the XP battery. This is called the Range Package and costs 3099 euros. The XP battery has a capacity of 1425 watt hours and pushes the inflatable almost 16 miles. Finally, the top model, the Travel XP Power Package, comes with a 1600 watt motor and a large energy storage unit. This offers no advantage on an inflatable boat, but it should also be able to adequately motorise sports boats with a displacement of up to two tonnes. It costs 3649 euros.
The cheaper predecessor model is still on sale, the test can be found here:
