Dear Godille,
Since the launch of our communication in October 2019, one question persists within the TEMO team: how to name our portable electric thruster, the TEMO·450 .
An innovative engine , still little known on the nautical market, it is inspired by portable electrical objects such as the electric scooter or the Dyson vacuum cleaner but also by existing and exotic means of propulsion such as the Thai long tail.
With its tubular shape, we wanted to get as close as possible to the lightness and size of a train by combining it with the electric assistance of the motor.
After 9 months of intensive R&D, the TEMO·450 electric motor was born.
As we attended trade shows and met with boaters and fishermen, the somewhat barbaric term "propeller," difficult to visualize without the object beside us, was quickly renamed " electric sculling oar ."
The sculling oar is originally (you know this yourself) - since your birth in 1792 - an oar placed at the rear of a light boat and which allows it to be propelled by a helical movement of the blade.
An ancestral art, practiced by sailors for years and passed down from generation to generation, sculling is an elegant action due to its silence and naturalness, but also due to its use, a beautiful and captivating movement.
You therefore occupy a very special place in the hearts of boaters and more particularly of Breton boaters where your discipline is still commonly practiced, intact and sacred.
So, when the TEMO·450 was renamed the " electric sculling oar ," we were—first and foremost—amused, even honored. Since TEMO was born between the Loire-Atlantique and Brittany regions, it made sense, and we were touched that boaters felt a connection to you, like a distant and benevolent cousin helping people visualize the object.
"So you imagine a long tube, the size of an oar... Okay... And you have a propeller at the end... There you go... You fix the whole thing in its oarlock at the back of the boat and off you go! It's called TEMO·450... Yes, that's it... Indeed, put like that, it can sound like an electric sculling oar."
Blasphemy and treason! That's how it happened, I assure you.
Picked up first in numerous press articles, then in our own communications, the team's primary aim was to send you and all those who had referred to it as such. Without, of course, any intention whatsoever of harming anyone, and especially not you, dear Godille.
We love you very much and respect your sport. And even if the TEMO·450 were to be remotely related to your family, then in that case we would refer to it more as a "motogodille" ( motorized paddle). ( @Antoine, if you're listening...! ).
What do you think, dear little oar? Deal? Shall we make peace? Shall we shake hands?
We would like to take this opportunity to add the following, as it is important to us:
TEMO's aim is not to eradicate sculling, or any form of rowing for that matter. We advocate for physical activity, even into old age. If boaters are able to manually propel their small craft to reach their boats, we encourage them. As regular rowers ourselves, we do the same, whenever possible.
However, it's clear that oars and sculling have their limitations, and experience has shown us that while manual propulsion can sometimes become complicated (wind, current, health problems), we don't necessarily want to invest in a conventional motor. While small, powerful models exist for dinghies, current models remain very restrictive for such short trips: bulky, heavy to carry, and complicated to install—not to mention the polluting and noisy internal combustion engine. In this situation, where oars are no longer sufficient and a motor isn't suitable either, what's left? Outings on the water become less frequent, we wait for someone else to launch the dinghy, we tell ourselves we'll go tomorrow when there's a little less wind... and we become discouraged.
And that's where TEMO wants to make all the difference. The course our compass follows is nothing less than:
To offer a lightweight, extremely simple means of propulsion to promote nautical outings on light boats and to allow boaters and fishermen to reach their boat or fishing spot as often as possible.
For the benefit of all those who practice it and for the pleasure of sailing. And what's more, it's Made in France and environmentally friendly (do it right or don't do it at all, as my grandmother used to say...).
So whether we call it an auxiliary motor, a portable electric propulsion unit, a new generation motor, a motor oar or simply TEMO·450 (that suits us very well), the main thing for us is that this new means of propulsion finds its place among boaters and fishermen, that it is a discreet and reliable companion to extend the practice and offer as many beautiful outings as possible to its owners and their family.
Long live the sculling oar and long live TEMO. A long-term cohabitation.
Ahoy!
The team
