Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/231507
MARKET FOCUS SECTION { IT'S ELECTRIC! } Apex Marine's Paddle Qwest offers an optional electric motor that can be powered in part by the sun. It's electric! Quiet, zero-emissions electric boats and motors growing in popularity BY LIZ KEENER There's no doubt that electric transportation is permeating the country. Electric trains and hybrid buses now serve as alternatives to their gas- and diesel-driven mass transit counterparts, and it's hard to take a road trip without seeing quite a few electric and hybrid cars on the way, so it's no wonder that the technology has seeped into the boating market. Electric boating serves two primary 40 | Boating Industry | January 2014 P40x43-BI14JAN-MarketFocus.indd 40 segments — the niche electric boat market consisting of boats that travel around 5 mph and the growing electric outboard market that has evolved to propel a variety of boats. ELECTRIC BOATS Though currently small, the electric boat market is built on a foundation of delivering a boating experience void of engine noise and air pollution. As a means to that end, manufacturers have delivered a variety of ways for boaters to propel their vessels, from plug-in or solar-powered electric motors to pedal-run paddles. The Loon, a pontoon offered by Tamarack Lake Electric Boats, draws most of the power for its electric motor from its rooftop solar panel, though it can also be plugged in to power longer journeys, such as the 12-day 250-mile Erie Canal trip Tamarack Lake president Montgomery Gisborne took in 2007. "Going across New York state on the Erie Canal, half of the energy came from the sun and half of the energy came from the electrical grid, from shore power," he said. www.BoatingIndustry.com 12/18/13 10:07 AM