Are electric engines cost effective?

Typical cost for an electric engine on your pontoon boat will be about the same as that for a 10-30 horsepower outboard engine.

Cost will include the propulsion unit itself, batteries and some sort of on board charger and or solar panels. Continuing costs may include battery replacement after several years and infrequent repairs to the propulsion unit. Significant savings can be realized over an outboard engine in that there is no cost for fuel and other than battery removal winterization is not required.

Costs can be as low as $300 to $500 for a simple fishing style trolling motor. $1,200 to $1,800 for a cavitation plate mounted system to upward of $5,000 for a state of the art twin drive system with on-board charger and solar panels.

Electric outboards with batteries typically run in the $3,500 to $4,500 range.