7 minute read
Are you ready? by Craig Ritchie
Torqeedo Deep Blue twin electric outboard engines
The
Future is Electric
It’s hard to believe that more than a dozen years have passed since Tesla introduced its ground-breaking, all-electric Roadster way back in 2009.
Although it wasn’t perfect — “Top Gear” television host Jeremy Clarkson gushed about the car being “biblically quick” only minutes before the production crew were shown pushing it off the test track after its batteries ran flat — Tesla’s first production electric car laid the foundation for what today is clearly the future of automobiles.
And, it turns out, the future of boats, as well.
While the first generation of electric boats were small shells focused on putting along at walking speed — reflecting the limitations of early motors and battery technology — that’s now beginning to change. Today, we’re seeing electric motors powering everything from watersports towboats to luxury yachts and high-performance personal watercraft (PWC).
In Canada, Taiga Motors unveiled its first electric PWC in 2018, and the production version of that early prototype is now coming to market. The fully electric Taiga Orca is said to run for about two hours between charges, and can fully reload a depleted battery in three hours with its standard charger. Or if you’re in a hurry, it can use an optional DC quick-charger to bring the battery up to 80% in just 20 minutes. Three trim levels are offered, with retail prices starting at around $17,500. Not to be outdone, Sea-Doo announced its intention to go all-electric last March. The world’s largest PWC builder plans to have its first fully electric Sea-Doo on the market as part of its 2023 model year lineup, and to be fully electric by 2026. But the instantaneous torque of an electric motor hasn’t just caught the attention of the PWC community. Manufacturers of watersports towboats Ingenity E23 also see enormous potential in electric power, and have been quietly
Vision Marine’s E-Motion 180E electric outboard
Sunreef 60 Solar Electric Yacht
IT'S NOT JUST CARS AND TRUCKS THAT ARE GOING ELECTRIC
Evoy’s Gale Evoy’s Gale Force electric Force electric outboard outboard engine engine
— boats are too. From personal watercraft to ocean-going yachts, electric propulsion is here and it's already making a splash. Are you ready? by Craig Ritchie
developing it for waterskiing, wakesurfing and wakeboarding for over a decade.
Florida-based Correct Craft introduced its initial Ski Nautique E prototype — the world’s first electric watersports Super Air boat — at the Miami International Boat Nautique GS22E Show way back in 2011. With a pair of 103-hp-equivalent electric motors manufactured by LTS Marine and a pair of 77 kW batteries, the boat spent more time plugged into the charger than it did pulling skiers. But at full charge it hauled like a donkey on steroids, and clearly showed electric’s potential. That first effort has since evolved into Correct Craft’s current Super Air Nautique GS22E, with run times of up to three hours pulling wakeboarders thanks in part to its next-generation 124 kWh battery. Silent, emissions-free, fumes-free and still pulling like a juiced-up donkey, the GS22E might just be the ultimate watersports towboat.
Correct Craft has since spread its wings into other categories, and won an Innovation Award at the recent Miami International Boat Show for its groundbreaking Ingenity 23E electric deckboat. Outboard power While towboats and PWCs focus on inboard electric propulsion systems, electric outboards are also beginning to make their mark.
Torqeedo broke the trail for electric outboards years ago with its 80-hp-equivalent Deep Blue outboard, targeting the commercial market with the promise of long-term fuel savings for boats that are out on the water day after
day. But more recently the company has found growing demand from recreational boaters as well, who value Deep Blue’s lack of emissions and virtually silent operation.
More recently, Quebec-based Vision Marine Technologies has raised the horsepower ante with its E-Motion electric outboard — a beast that generates the equivalent of 180 hp.
“We come in about $5,000 higher than an equivalent gasoline engine,” says CEO Alexandre Mongeon. “That’s not much of a premium, especially since the end-user never needs to buy fuel again. And, they enjoy all the advantages of electric power right from the start, including zero emissions, zero noise and 320 Nm of torque, which is simply huge.”
That price doesn’t include the battery, says Mongeon. But he says that the savings in fuel costs and annual maintenance soon offset the higher up-front expense.
“Our 60 kW battery is about the same size as a 20-gallon fuel tank,” he notes. “That battery will deliver the same range as a 20-gallon tank driving a gas outboard of comparable power. The difference is you don’t have to keep buying gas over and over again.”
Norwegian manufacturer Evoy also unveiled some big electric outboard power recently, introducing its own 150-hp-equivalent outboard called the Gale Force, and a 120-hp-equivalent model known as the Breeze. It plans to have both motors on sale in the U.S. this year.
Of course, it was only a matter of time till the big boys got involved, with Yamaha and Mercury both showing their own electric outboards at the 2022 Miami Boat Show. Yamaha showed its 9.9-hp Harmo outboard, which is currently on sale in Europe, while Mercury presented a prototype of its first 8-hp electric outboard, the Avator. Mercury president Chris Drees says that the company will introduce five electric outboard models by 2023. Thinking big - really big So electric power seems ready to take its share of the small boat market. But what about luxury yachts?
With its full line of fully electric cruising catamarans that are charged by solar panels,
Mercury Avator outboard engine
Silent 60 Solar Electric Yacht
Spanish builder Silent Yachts claims to have created the first fully sustainable, ocean-going production yachts in the world. The company was greeted with skepticism when it claimed its solar-electric yachts could cruise for up to 100 miles a day indefinitely, but proved its point in 2018 by completing the first-ever trans-Atlantic crossing by a solar-powered electric yacht. Today the company offers seven electric catamaran yachts from 60 to 120 feet in length. Its largest model — the Silent 120 — has four decks, two tender garages and a swimming pool. Cruising speed is in the range of 15 knots, with unlimited range thanks to those banks of solar chargers. Also competing in the big boat market is Polish boatbuilder Sunreef Yachts. The company already built a full line of both power and sailing yachts before developing its solar-powered “Eco Yacht” series, with models from 40 to 100 feet in length. In a comparatively short time, Sunreef has racked up a number of technology awards for its Eco line, including being named the 2020 winner of the UIM Technology Award and overall winner of the prestigious Oceanway China Yachts Award. The company’s popular 60 Sunreef Power Eco model features a proprietary solar power system that covers the vessel’s entire outer surface — the hull sides, the superstructure, everywhere — for maximum sun exposure. With additional Yamaha Harmo electric outboard green features, including wind generators and eco-responsible finishing materials, the 60 Sunreef Power Eco is said to offer “a 360-degree sustainable cruising experience” — proving that electric power on the water has come a long way from small tenders pushed around on calm ponds at barely walking speed. As automakers and governments continue to invest heavily in electric propulsion, batteries and fuel cells, it’s clear that the age of sustainable, silent boating has arrived. With no fumes, no emissions and no need for fuel stops, the future of boating has never looked brighter. ★
