Spirit Plus and Spirit Evo differences

The differences are not obvious to see, in fact unless you’re particularly eagle-eyed you’d say they look the same. The two models run alongside each other, they are the same dimensions, and they have the same (class leading) 1276Wh capacity battery. However there are some important differences, the main ones being:
– the Spirit EVO adds regenerative charging. This may be completely irrelevant and meaningless to you! But, if you have a sailing yacht, and hang your EVO off the back on a suitable bracket, it means you can charge your Spirit battery whilst sailing. And if you buy the optional 12V charging box (coming later this year), you can charge up your yacht’s 12V system from the Spirit battery. Yes that’s correct, your electric outboard also doubles up as a battery charging device, which makes it an absolute bargain if you were looking at buying a hydro-generator – eg Duogen or Watt & Sea – as well as an electric outboard.
– the Spirit EVO tiller is removable. And interchangeable with a remote throttle (which can be wired or wireless). In fact you can choose whether you want a tiller or remote version. (Spirit PLUS tiller is wired in and folds down.)

REGENERATIVE CHARGING

As mentioned above, the new Spirit EVO can be fitted to the back of your yacht (on a suitable bracket, not supplied), and used to recharge either the Spirit battery or (once the optional 12V charging box is available) your yacht’s 12V battery system. It is not quite as efficient as a good dedicated hydro-generator, nor does it operate from quite as low a speed, but one might also point out this is a £325 option for your electric outboard, rather than a stand-alone device that costs £3000 plus!

The output is rated:
– below 4 knots, non-operational
– 50W at 4.3 knots
– 140W at 6 knots
– 260W at 8 knots
– 360W at 10 knots, above which it cuts out