Flotsam & Jetsam
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Radio Winners!
Congratulations to Dave Jenkins and John Nakagawa for being the randomly selected winners (from our comments section) of the FRS radios from Radioddity. More giveaways soon! —Eds
Tool Batteries, Bailing and Bilge Water - Wiring Diagram Correction.
I want to extend a warning to all my fellow sailors who have started their battery power box. I unwittedly let a vampire out amongst us. (click on link title link above to see original article). The dreaded power vampire that on dark and stormy nights sucks energy slowly while you are sleeping. This was discovered by one of our villagers who left his box down on his boat, with the battery plugged in, on a rainy weekend, so he could use it to pump the water off his boat cover after it pooled. When the storm let up, he went to the water and found his battery was dead.
After we brought the victim back and put it on the mortuary table, we found that the Down Converters, for these tool batteries, are the undead. When the battery is connected, they suck a small amount of power from their victims.
To prevent further battery deaths in our villages, the switch needs to be put on the positive line between the battery holder and the converter, not after the converter like my original diagram showed.
Here is the new corrected wiring diagram.
Thank you. —Paul Stovner
About our article Around Alone in an Open Boat, contributor David Peebles writes:
Reminds me of the book Once Is Enough by Miles Smeeton. He and his wife (and I think one extra crew by this time) were pitchpoled in the "roaring forties" and dismasted. After limping in to one of the Chilean ports under jury rig, they set off again, and were once more dismasted by being pitchpoled (hence the title). Takes a pretty monumental sea to pitchpole a 46' deep draft sailboat, I would think.
Here’s a press release from our friends at EP Carry—eds
Did EP Carry just solve electric outboard range anxiety?
EP Carry’s updated electric outboard motor, paired with an off-the-shelf bluetooth-monitored battery, offers up to 23 miles of range for only $1,699. (Preorder special ends Jan 1st)
NORTH BEND, WA — EP Carry, who manufactures the world’s lightest and most efficient electric outboards in Washington State, is proud to announce its 2026 model. This latest evolution delivers increased power and enhanced customizability, survivability and reliability. But the biggest news is a breakthrough in range affordability that finally positions electric propulsion as a viable competitor to gasoline motors.
EP Carry’s battery cost-per-mile is 90% less than other electric outboards.
The original EP Carry made a splash in the small boat community when it arrived on the scene in 2017, offering an impressively lightweight platform with easy-to-use design that emphasized efficiency and portability. With a 2x propulsion efficiency advantage over competing electric brands, owners can achieve greater speed and range from smaller, lighter batteries.
Crucially, EP founder and lead engineer Joe Grez chose to take a battery-agnostic approach to the EP Carry’s design. Without being locked in to a proprietary battery platform, he could take advantage of future improvements in battery technology as they became more powerful and less expensive.
That decision is now paying off. As of mid 2025, the cost of off the shelf high-performance LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries has plummeted, and now remains stable at around 1/5 the cost per kWh vs a normal electric outboard battery. An EP Carry high-efficiency motor, paired with one of these new high-performance batteries, offers game-changing range and affordability. Plus, with wireless Bluetooth-monitoring, you can view your battery’s power levels right from your smartphone, eliminating range anxiety.
With the new 2026 EP Carry, electric range is finally competitive with gasoline.
By pairing EP Carry’s high-efficiency motor with one of these new batteries, the cost per mile of range has plummeted to 1/5th to 1/10th vs the cost per mile using any competitor’s battery. For example, An EP Carry motor paired with a 24V 50Ah LFP battery (RedOdo brand currently retailing around $250) can drive a 9-foot rowboat for 23 miles at 4.9 mph. And the total weight is no more than other electrics or gas motors.
If you’ve been yearning to ditch your messy gas-guzzling outboard, now is the time.
EP Carry’s Preorder Special is available until Jan 1st, 2026.
This full-featured electric system is now available to preorder for spring delivery. The preorder special includes the EP Carry electric outboard motor, smart battery with wireless monitoring, and a 10 hr charger at a package price of $1,699. Those who follow the electric outboard motor market will know there are expensive all-in-one systems, and cheap trolling motors out there, but there’s no other electric propulsion device that can come close to this package for speed, range and cost at the same time.
To take advantage of this offer, go to epcarry.com or call (425) 502-5232 by Jan 1st. Direct link to the package special: https://www.electricpaddle.com/shop.html#!/Motor-Only-Package/p/91661015
EP Carry: Built to Fix and built to upgrade—not built to throw away.
New Features for 2026:
The 2026 model introduces a modular design philosophy intended to keep boats on the water and out of the repair shop:
With the launch of their swappable tiller arm, EP Carry motors are now 100% rebuildable at home using nothing more than two wrenches, and a set of screwdrivers and Torx bits. If you can build simple flat-pack furniture, you can perform your own upgrades and repairs.
Spare and replacement parts are available online at reasonable prices along with a troubleshooting guide with repair instructions, and EP Carry has begin releasing how to videos on Youtube.
EP Carry has successfully re-engineered its throttle system, resolving the minor reliability issues of the past to achieve a near-zero defect rate.
ABOUT EP CARRY
Based in North Bend, Washington, EP Carry specializes in lightweight, high-efficiency electric propulsion. By combining world-class engineering with a commitment to sustainability, EP Carry is making the transition from gas to electric seamless for the modern boater.
“Our design team brings over 400 years of combined experience in high-volume consumer products, like the Sonicare toothbrush,” says founder Joe Grez. “That background in precision engineering is why our motors go twice as far on every watt of power. It makes solar-powered boating not just possible, but practical.” Grez puts the technology to the test personally; his original 2017 motor has clocked over 800 nautical miles on Salish 100 cruises and solar-powered micro-cruiser expeditions.
Columnist Joshua Wheeler sends this image of a clever use of an old sail. Happy Holidays to all of you and thanks for reading Small Craft Advisor. —Eds
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From some angles Sailrocket eerily resembles Bernard Smith's original 40 knot conceptual design which I greatly admired.
I've no good idea of what the Rocket is other than it must be some sort of sailing craft that carries one person in a tiny cockpit. But is it a catamaran, a tri, or some sort of hybrid? So I guess my vote would be maybe or, more likely, no.