Sept 23, 2021
Can you take your Tesla on the water? No, but not long ago, electric cars were a rarity on the roads; now they are abundant.
CY Editor, Andy Adams, tested this Swedish-built 26-foot X-Shore Eelex 8000 for an upcoming review
Today, electric boats are a rarity on the water. We’ve all heard the line about long extension cords. But in reality, they are (silently) sneaking up on us and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see electric powered water vehicles blossom in the very near future like electric vehicles are doing right now.
Just last weekend, I saw a Greenline Hybrid cruiser out there. It uses an electric drive supplemented with a diesel generator. I also saw what appeared to be an electric surfboard flying by (don’t try this: these very cute boards are illegal in Canada because of their exposed prop). The board is the equivalent of those battery driven scooters that are taking over the streets around the planet.
Just recently Canadian Yachting’s Andy Adams tested n X-Shore Eelex 8000 for an upcoming review in the magazine and liked it a lot. He notes in his current Boating Industry Canada column that he is also planning a test of the Quebec-made Vision Marine E-Motion 180 outboard. This is no longer a fad; it’s happening.
And it should. Electric power eliminates on the water emissions. Idling, particularly obvious with boats at the dock goes away. There’s no engine until you need it. And then, it is silently mollifying the anti-noise brigade’s concerns.
Bonus! More than electric road vehicles, water vehicles are handy to alternate fuel sources; sun and wind for solar and wind power are abundant in the boating milieu. Panels on a cruiser can recharge as can prop regeneration or wind turbines on cruising sailboats. Battery technology is evolving and boaters’ green thinking is expanding.
To quote Andy Adams, “I think this winter will usher in a whole new boating reality. I’m betting the big boys will soon enter the forum and we will see a major transition.” Very soon you won’t be seen as an experimental early adopter if you go for an electric boat engine as a primary or auxiliary source of drive.
John Morris
Online Editor
Canadian Yachting Magazine
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