--- In harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au, Rick Willoughby <rickwill@...> wrote:
> We finally took a day off from sailing the proa to have another go
> at the electric thruster;

If you want to cut down on development time, you can have a look at http://www.torqeedo.com/ (the company is German, so check the US or UK sites for an English version) for a high-end electric outboard. At http://www.ozmarine.se/OZecoDrive/Eng/IndexOZecoDriveEng.html you find electric inboards.