FAQ’s: Momentum U2 Motor

Because the GPS receiver determines your speed over ground, it will accurately track and display your speed, distance and range regardless of whether you’re sailing or motoring – or both!

The U2 motor and battery are both fully water proof and completely safe to use in the marine environment. Even if one or the other have been fully submerged in water – fresh or salt, you can pop the battery onto the motor, switch it on, attach the kill cord and head off.

The reason for this is that the team at Momentum designed both the motor and battery with self-cleaning connectors. When they marry up, they clean each other. A little rubber grommet cleans them, making sure there’s no water on the two connecting surfaces and then it sends a signal to the system saying everything is ok.

Yes – the both the battery and motor are waterproof and IP67 rated.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video by the Momentum team shows how safe it is to install the battery to the motor and switch on even after the battery has been submerged in salt water.

You’ll be able to travel greater distance and run the battery for longer by keeping your speed to around 3 knots.

On a super light tender such as the EZraft Q360, the Momentum team got just over 18 hours of run time and travelled 55 nautical miles in a test with one person on board motoring at a steady 3 knots in calm coastal waters. Increasing the speed by just one knot, endurance dropped to 3 hours and distance to 13 nautical miles. Gunning the motor at full speed (an incredible 9 knots!), they recorded 0.6 hours and 6 nautical miles.

Carrying out the same tests on a Takacat T300LX and a Highfield Classic 310 delivered a similar picture.

3 knots appears to be the most economical speed on all these different tenders and our own experience using the U2 to date reflects this.

There’s data from Momentum that shows the U2 lasted just over 18 hours and travelled 55 nautical miles (102km!) on one charge when travelling at 3 knots with one person on board an EZraft Q360 in calm coastal waters.

That’s pretty impressive – but the EZraft is an exceptionally light tender and, of course, how far you can go and how long a battery lasts will always depend on how fast you’re travelling on average, the type of boat you’re driving and how many people or how much kit you’re carrying.

In general, if you stick to around 3 knots, you should be able to get a full day’s motoring out of your U2 but as soon as you start increasing your speed – even by one knot – the battery endurance will rapidly decrease.

The U2 got up to 9 knots on the EZraft Q360 with one person on board in calm coastal conditions.

We’ll soon be uploading some tables showing more performance data on the EZraft as well as a Takacat T300LX and a Highfield Classic 310.

However speed clearly depends on the type of boat, the overall load – ie how many people on board and weight of kit being carried – and water/weather conditions.

You can absolutely get on the plane using the U2 on small lightweight boats such as the EZraft Q360, the Takacat T300LX and the Highfield Classic 310.

We’ll soon be uploading some tables showing performance with one person on board all of these boats.

The U2 has an anti-grounding feature built into it.

This essentially allows you to run into an obstruction in the water – say a log – or run up on to a beach without damaging your propeller or scratching the motor.

The way to engage the anti-ground feature is to go to the back of the transom mount and locate the blue tab that allows you to raise and lower the motor. Depress that and on the side, you’ll see a little wing. If you turn that 90^o into place, that will allow the motor to tip up on its own if you do run aground.

If you want to return the motor to a more rigid tilt position, simply repeat the process – so turn the wing back 90^o and press the blue tab forward and the motor is locked back in position.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=3″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video from Momentum explains what it does and how to use it.

It’s easy to tweak or tune the U2 to just the way you like it.

At the bottom of the motor bracket that attaches the motor to the transom mount, there is an Allen key screw. Using the Allen key provided in the box that your U2 came in, you can tighten up or loosen the steering resistance to where you want it to be.

The team at Momentum have put together &list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=4″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>a short video demonstrating just how simple it is to adjust the steering to be as loose or as stiff as you prefer it – or conditions demand!

Once the motor is switched on, you can cycle through the display modes on the display by simply pressing the white circle touch sensitive button on the motor display.

You can choose from km, knots or miles per hour.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=8″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video from the Momentum team demonstrates how easy it is to change the units of measurement to your preferred setting.

The U2 has 4 trim positions that do not require removing any pin – the simple built in lever makes finding the best angle of tilt for your boat a breeze.

Position 0 is the lowest and Position 4 is the highest and it’s also possible to tilt the motor to be fully horizontal.

For most boats we suggest the trim position 2 or 3 with a single person on board and position 1 or 2 with two or more people on board – but do have a play as the best angle of tilt can often depend on the type of boat and water conditions as well as load.

The U2 has 4 trim positions that do not require removing any pin – the simple built in lever makes this a breeze.

Make sure the tiller is fully extended and apply a little weight to this with one hand while rotating the little blue tab on the transom mount with the other. This allows you to raise and lower the U2 to the desired position.

If you want to take the motor to 90⁰ -so fully horizontal – it’s the same process but we suggest you raise the tiller to its vertical position to do this.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=7″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video from the team at Momentum

Position 0 is the lowest and Position 4 is the highest before the motor is fully horizontal. For most boats we suggest the trim position 2 or 3 with a single person on board and position 1 or 2 with two or more people on board – but you’ll get a feel for the best trim for your boat the more you use the U2.

The large propeller on the U2 provides a lot of drag if it is not moving, so if you are coming to a halt from high speed, always try to reduce your speed gradually and try to take note of the wash build-up behind you to prevent a large wash coming straight into your boat over the transom.

To reset the throttle, simply release the clutch on the tiller and that will return the throttle to its original fully free setting.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=6″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video from the team at Momentum demonstrates how to use the throttle clutch so it might be useful to watch.

We’ll provide a more detailed response shortly but in the meantime why not &list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=6″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>check out this short video from the Momentum team demonstrating how to use the clutch mechanism on the tiller.

The U2 has been designed to only get to get to half power – so eco mode – when you first set off and twist the throttle as far as it will go.

To get full power, you need to press the red button at the end of the tiller and then continue to twist the throttle to achieve full speed.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=5″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video from the team at Momentum shows you how to use this feature.

Simply press the red button on the end of the tiller and twist the throttle towards you – so in the opposite direction to using the throttle when going forward.

&list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=5″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>This short video from the Momentum team showing you how to do this might be useful to watch.

No – the U2 is designed to be super portable. Remove the battery from the motor and then remove the motor from the transom mount giving you two components weighing roughly the same and easy to take back to your vehicle or stow in your main boat.

You can choose to leave the transom mount permanently attached to your boat if you want.

We’ll provide a detailed response shortly.

We’ll provide a detailed response shortly but in the meantime &list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=9″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>this video from the Momentum team should help.

We’ll be answering this soon.

We’ll be answering in more detail soon but in the meantime &list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=11″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>check out this short video from the Momentum team.

We’ll be answering more fully soon but in the meantime &list=PLpdhKTyL-WcLAw4eFfWYOToYcPP1Q5O6O&index=2″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>check out this short video created by the Momentum team.