I keep thinking that there must be a way to reverse engineer an electric outboard to generate power instead of using it. It would be easy to attach it to the transom of the boat and just lower it when you need it.

I've played around with the prop on one and it appears that if you're going about 5 knots, the pressure of the water will make it turn so,,, why couldn't it generate some amps? A motor and a generator isn't that much different.

That would be nice,,, a dual purpose electric outboard. Hell, if it's a small boat you might even get some forward movement in an emergency when the main engine dies as you're motoring through the harbor.