Lots of thumbs-ups on Thunderstruck J. I may be their first customer to apply their products to a boat. In Spring 2003 when I converted my outboard, I was using a surplus ex-Tropica EV Advanced DC nom. 6HP series-wound 60# brush motor.? I quickly was sold on the EV conversion being all I had expected. ?Summer came and I went to watch EV drag races at the drag strip in Woodburn, Oregon.? Among the most impressive racers to me that day were the converted motorcycles being run by a couple guys from a relatively new company called Thunderstruck.? So I talked to them and quickly got sold on getting an ETEK 8HP permanent magnet brush motor from them---only 20#, smaller and much more efficient than the motor I had been using.? The coup-de-gras was when the Thunderstruck owner said “and, both the mounting bolt pattern and shaft diameter of the ETEK motor matches your ADC motor!”? So I didn’t have to machine any new parts---not totally the case as the shaft was longer (I had it shortened). ? No regrets…only issue I now have is that there doesn’t seem to be any New-old-stock ETEK brushes out there anywhere---and I’m on my last brush set now… ? Anyway- ? -Myles Twete, Portland, Or. ? ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of fred4936 via groups.io
Sent: Friday, May 22, 2020 7:43 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [electricboats] Time to re-power? I will also recommend Thunderstruck. Our kit came from them, and customer support has been very good over the past 9 years. If I had it to do over again, I would of gone with the 10KW kit. Ours was the old 8.5kw kit, which is no longer offered. But it has been adequate for us over the years, but a little more would of been nice on a couple of occasions.
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I’m also interested - is it possible to use a 120 vAC to 48v DC converter to power the thunderstruck motor/controller? ?Could I use my existing yeti 1000 lithium generator (which outputs 120vAC as a temp stand-in for a lifepo4 battery bank while waiting on shipping/working out the details? ?Could that be a suitable backup strategy
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On May 22, 2020, at 7:47 AM, Ryan Sweet via < ryan@...> wrote:
Certainly interested to learn more. ?This list doesn’t seem to allow direct reply.?
I have a 32’ Rawson ketch, hull speed ~6 and 3/4, am also looking at the thunderstruck 10kw kit. ? Rarely want to go over 5kt anyway. Located in San Juan Islands/Puget Sound. ?I already have a PV + battery bank/inverter system in place for the on board power and plan to leave it in place, adding 48v ?lifepo4 for the EV drive. ?I would like to find a way to switch the PV to be able to also charge the lifepo4 bank.?
The (way oversized) 40hp westerbeke diesel is a workhorse and works fine if someone is interested in that. :-)? ?
I have an extra 500 ? ?3.2 v 90 ah?cylinders with??bms devices and chargers. We are using big prismatic cells ?for our next??high voltage battery project ? I could duplicate my 48 v lifepo4?set up and charge only material cost if you are interested ?I will get you some pictures. We are in San Diego? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Friday, May 22, 2020, 5:21 AM, Larry Brown <elcapitanbrown@...> wrote: Mine is Thunderstruck too. ?For your size boat you can go with air cooled but need to make sure to get and engine compartment fan to circulate air. ?No more water intake to get clogged with sea grass or some idiot’s shopping bag floating by as you motor. ?One of the beauties of the system. ?It should push you just fine. ?I use a couple eu2000 generators as backup for long distance trips but for day trips where you need a couple hours at most you can get by on batteries.
Anyway, good luck. ?
Larry On May 21, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
?
Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).? ?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via <rjtrane@...> wrote: Go to and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Certainly interested to learn more. ?This list doesn’t seem to allow direct reply.?
I have a 32’ Rawson ketch, hull speed ~6 and 3/4, am also looking at the thunderstruck 10kw kit. ? Rarely want to go over 5kt anyway. Located in San Juan Islands/Puget Sound. ?I already have a PV + battery bank/inverter system in place for the on board power and plan to leave it in place, adding 48v ?lifepo4 for the EV drive. ?I would like to find a way to switch the PV to be able to also charge the lifepo4 bank.?
The (way oversized) 40hp westerbeke diesel is a workhorse and works fine if someone is interested in that. :-)?
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On May 22, 2020, at 06:42, L Schmitz via groups.io <terminalift@...> wrote:
?
I have an extra 500 ? ?3.2 v 90 ah?cylinders with??bms devices and chargers. We are using big prismatic cells ?for our next??high voltage battery project ? I could duplicate my 48 v lifepo4?set up and charge only material cost if you are interested ?I will get you some pictures. We are in San Diego? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Friday, May 22, 2020, 5:21 AM, Larry Brown <elcapitanbrown@...> wrote: Mine is Thunderstruck too. ?For your size boat you can go with air cooled but need to make sure to get and engine compartment fan to circulate air. ?No more water intake to get clogged with sea grass or some idiot’s shopping bag floating by as you motor. ?One of the beauties of the system. ?It should push you just fine. ?I use a couple eu2000 generators as backup for long distance trips but for day trips where you need a couple hours at most you can get by on batteries.
Anyway, good luck. ?
Larry On May 21, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
?
Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).? On May 21, 2020, at 18:14, L Schmitz via groups.io <terminalift@...> wrote:
?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote: Go to thunderstruck-ev.com and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Hi guys, We have a 42’ catamaran with one motor converted to a Thunderstruck AC34 kit which is connected to the original Volvo Penta sail drive. We have a small 48 volt battery bank and mainly use the electric for short term maneuvering. I’m very pleased with the conversion but have yet to make any modifications to increase efficiency which I’m sure could be improved. But for now my main question is how do you guys get power for longer ranges from your generators to the battery bank. What type and size battery chargers do you use. Cheers, Ric
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I will also recommend Thunderstruck. Our kit came from them, and customer support has been very good over the past 9 years. If I had it to do over again, I would of gone with the 10KW kit. Ours was the old 8.5kw kit, which is no longer offered. But it has been adequate for us over the years, but a little more would of been nice on a couple of occasions.
Fred Liesegang Tartan 27-2
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I'd also recommend the folks at Thunderstruck ?
Mine is Thunderstruck too.? For your size boat you can go with air cooled but need to make sure to get and engine compartment fan to circulate air.? No more water intake to get clogged with sea grass or some idiot’s shopping bag floating by as you motor.? One of the beauties of the system.? It should push you just fine.? I use a couple eu2000 generators as backup for long distance trips but for day trips where you need a couple hours at most you can get by on batteries.
Anyway, good luck. ?
Larry On May 21, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
? Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).? ?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via <rjtrane=[email protected]> wrote: Go to and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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I would be interested to know how much you want if he doesn't take you up on it? :-)
I have an extra 500 ? ?3.2 v 90 ah?cylinders with??bms devices and chargers. We are using big prismatic cells ?for our next??high voltage battery project ? I could duplicate my 48 v lifepo4?set up and charge only material cost if you are interested ?I will get you some pictures. We are in San Diego? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Friday, May 22, 2020, 5:21 AM, Larry Brown <elcapitanbrown@...> wrote: Mine is Thunderstruck too.? For your size boat you can go with air cooled but need to make sure to get and engine compartment fan to circulate air.? No more water intake to get clogged with sea grass or some idiot’s shopping bag floating by as you motor.? One of the beauties of the system.? It should push you just fine.? I use a couple eu2000 generators as backup for long distance trips but for day trips where you need a couple hours at most you can get by on batteries.
Anyway, good luck. ?
Larry On May 21, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
?
Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).? ?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via <rjtrane=[email protected]> wrote: Go to and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
-- Larry Brown S/V Trident Palm Harbor, FL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~ ? ? ~ ? ? ~ ? ? ? ? ?~~ ? ? ? ? ? ~ ~ ? ? ? ? ? ~~_/) ? ?~ ? ? ?~ ~ ? ? ? ?~ ? ? ?~ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?_/) ? ? ? ? ?~
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I have an extra 500 ? ?3.2 v 90 ah?cylinders with??bms devices and chargers. We are using big prismatic cells ?for our next??high voltage battery project ? I could duplicate my 48 v lifepo4?set up and charge only material cost if you are interested ?I will get you some pictures. We are in San Diego? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Friday, May 22, 2020, 5:21 AM, Larry Brown <elcapitanbrown@...> wrote: Mine is Thunderstruck too. ?For your size boat you can go with air cooled but need to make sure to get and engine compartment fan to circulate air. ?No more water intake to get clogged with sea grass or some idiot’s shopping bag floating by as you motor. ?One of the beauties of the system. ?It should push you just fine. ?I use a couple eu2000 generators as backup for long distance trips but for day trips where you need a couple hours at most you can get by on batteries.
Anyway, good luck. ?
Larry On May 21, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
?
Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).? On May 21, 2020, at 18:14, L Schmitz via groups.io <terminalift@...> wrote:
?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote: Go to thunderstruck-ev.com and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
|
Mine is Thunderstruck too. ?For your size boat you can go with air cooled but need to make sure to get and engine compartment fan to circulate air. ?No more water intake to get clogged with sea grass or some idiot’s shopping bag floating by as you motor. ?One of the beauties of the system. ?It should push you just fine. ?I use a couple eu2000 generators as backup for long distance trips but for day trips where you need a couple hours at most you can get by on batteries.
Anyway, good luck. ?
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On May 21, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Ryan Sweet <ryan@...> wrote:
? Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).? On May 21, 2020, at 18:14, L Schmitz via groups.io <terminalift@...> wrote:
?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote: Go to thunderstruck-ev.com and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Hey Darin,?
I talked to the folks at Thunderstruck and he recommended we go with a 72V bank.? We are 18k lbs so the extra power makes sense.? I think we may start with a bank thats about 10kw (8kw at 80% dod) @ 72V, and leave room to double it if we feel like we need to.? We are going to go with the water cooled 18kw motor ME1616, which is on backorder right now, unfortunately.
We are over in the Poulsbo area and are thinking of doing the project up in PT, hopefully in July.? Did you haul out to do the entire project?? How long did it take you starting from removing the old engine to confidently leaving the dock???
Do you offer tours of your setup?
I've got a good friend with a Buchan 37 and I love getting out it when I get the chance.? A great classic PNW boat.??
Matt
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Do you have a link for the batteries you had success with? There are so many on offer and it seems quite hard to find much info about each company except for the us based ones and those are all twice as expensive (I recognize that this is possibly for good reasons).?
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On May 21, 2020, at 18:14, L Schmitz via groups.io <terminalift@...> wrote:
?
I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote: Go to thunderstruck-ev.com and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Re: Electric boat for sale in Puget Sound
Hi Dale,
Is this boat still available?
Thanks,
Davo
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I have had good luck with my 10kw?thunderstruck kit too. First installed 4??agm?batteries ? 12v 220 ah.?Then after 2 years replaced with lifepo4. An excellent upgrade?I assembled 4 battery boxes with 3.2v 90ah cylinders. Each box 4P4S?Then installed an?ant bms for balancing. The monitor is very good??for checking your system. If you decide to assemble your own battery system invest in a Flir Heat sensor. The Flir connects to your I?phone. You aim it at your wiring assembly under load. It detects hot spot?areas of concern in your connections. Battery, contactor ,controller and motor connections. 48 v 360 ah gives plenty of run time at 40 to 90 amp load.? Best regards, Larry Schmitz
On Thursday, May 21, 2020, 4:16 PM, Reuben Trane via groups.io <rjtrane@...> wrote: Go to thunderstruck-ev.com and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Sorry? I meant Thunderstruck. Thanks Rueben for correcting. I think the 5kw would be sufficient
Go to and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Go to Thundercraft website. They have the best prices that I have found
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Re: Looking to Purchase an Electric Boat
I've got one for sale, 28' cabin cruiser with electric outboard, does 4.5 knots for ~30 miles. Salt water bottom paint, lives on a lake. LiFePo4 batteries, trailer included, $12k.
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Go to thunderstruck-ev.com and look at their kits. I purchased 2 ea for my 12m Power cat. For your needs a 5kW to 10kW motor should do the job. Hard part is figuring out the reduction. I chose 3:1 to get a max prop RPM of 800.
48Vdc woks best. If it’s in your budget assemble a battery from LiFePo4 cells
Feel free to ask me about my installation.
Reuben
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Couple companies offer packages ready to go. If your electrically handy ,your familiar with DC controllers and? speed control you can put one together on your own. Buy the motor and mounting from a company and go from there. Low end motor would be brushed high end would be brushless with water cooling. If it's just day sailing, getting in and out of harbor you won't need much for amp hours. That'll save a few bucks battery wise.
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Long time Lurker... but I always promised myself when it came time to re-power my 27’ Ericsson I would go electric. ? ?The Yanmar is totally seized ( LOOONG SAD STORY). ?
Looking for the solution to doing an electric re-power once we get out of the Covid Funk and I have some income again... best recommendations ??
Richard ?
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Re: Looking to Purchase an Electric Boat
Hello,
I have an electric Tartan 27-2 sailboat that is ready to go. We are on Long Island, New York. Asking price is $7500.00
Fred Liesegang
On Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 09:34:17 PM EDT, abners@... <abners@...> wrote:
Hi, does anyone have any suggestions on where I can buy a used GOOD QUALITY electric boat for a good price?
Also open to hearing offers.
Thanks
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Ric Sanders
Reuben Trane