Just so you know, Chris-Craft is working on an electric boat

[jmowreader]

https://www.chriscraft.com/electric/

They have a video of it in the water. It floats fine. They claim that when it's finished and ready to sell they'll want $458,000 for it...which is not out of line for that brand. (We have a 35-foot Chris-Craft on our marina's salesfloor we're asking over $700,000 for, and it's a 2022. This boat's problem at our dealership is that no one in our area wants an open-bow runabout - we sell a few big cabin cruisers and so many wakeboats and pontoons we've been known to have entire truckloads of boats sold before they get here.)

[Think. Again.]

1. The quietness on the water must be a great experience.

[KPN]

2. Lol. Thanks for this. Cracked me up after

seeing Earl’s “We need a bigger picture” just beforehand.

[Grins]

3. General-Dynamics has had them for decades.

It's not new at all.

[Girard442]

4. They even have an Electric Boat division, for readers with poor comprehension.

[Wonder Why]

10. They are called nuclear submarines.

[Girard442]

19. Well, they don't (always) float.

[JanMichael]

34. Just like those electric USPS trucks. Decades.

Started in 1899....

[0rganism]

5. TSF says he's going to end it for boats and trucks

Chris-Craft better watch out or Day 1 Dictator's gonna send his goons to end that profligate use of electricity. It's all about feeding the sharks, can't have them swimming around hangry doncha know?

[et tu]

15. mtg will be the goon leader lol nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. Yeah, I follow a few yacht channels on YouTube and they have highlighted some hybrid yachts that are on the market.

Gas is insanely expensive on the water and people would rather have quiet motors on luxury yachts. Also, big batteries mean not running noisy/smelly generators while at anchor.

Imagine a world where marinas don’t have a permanent oil slick floating around all the docks.

My buddy has a Chris craft open bow down in Marco island. I think it is a 29 footer. I think he paid like $250 grand used. I was thinking a used boat like that would go for 30-50k. I almost fell out of my chair. For an open bow? I guess if that’s what you want. It does cut through the waves though. He had it up to 50 mph plus - I’m not a fan of going that fast.

[Ocelot II]

7. But what about the sharks?

[BoRaGard]

9. Yes, won't anyone speak up for the sharks?

[Wonder Why]

11. Like Trump lawyers?

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. I thought Trump's lawyers are flounders (nt)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

14. The sharks will loan you the money for the boat.

The interest will be an arm and a leg.

[getagrip_already]

8. For the distances i travel, all electric isnt practical

I will go 120 NM each way on some trips and troll another 60 or more NM. Batteries on a boat my size just aren't going to have that range.

Diesel electric would be interesting, but again, not practical for smaller boats.

Maybe for dock queens or picnic boats, even for trips to sand bar, maybe. But they are going to have to be low maintenance. Most boat owners are idiots. Just saying.

Another consideration is weight for tailored boats. Add a couple of tons in batteries and suddenly you aren't pulling it with a standard pickup.

[jmowreader]

12. You're fishing offshore, correct?

I kinda doubt that the offshore powerboat manufacturers are going to put up with an edict they have to go electric. Can you just imagine what a 70-foot Hatteras would weigh if it had enough batteries aboard to run all day in the ocean? Those boats ALREADY weigh 120,000 pounds! (Of course 30,000 pounds of that is engines, gearboxes and fuel but still...)

[Traurigkeit]

13. Should investigate the newer design batteries, weight has been the target in their design last decade.

So boats coming online in next few years will have a greater power duration to weight ratio

[getagrip_already]

20. Yes, offshore, but only 35 feet....

And not enough space for enough batteries to make it that far. Small cars can barely claim that range, and they are lighter and don't run through wind and waves the size of mountains trying to throw you backwards.

Maybe tech will catch up some day, and a hybrid solution will pop up. Diesel electric is much more efficient than direct drive transmissions. Add batteries for hybrid power on shorter trips and it might make sense on that big hatt. They have space for something like that, and electric drives offer enough torque to easily drive them if you have generators and batteries.

[jmowreader]

22. Very possible...

It would sure be nice for everyone else in the marina if you were able to wait until you got past the breakwater before starting your diesels.

[getagrip_already]

28. There are a few big hatts in my marina...

One of the things that makes them a pita is they idle at close to 10 knots. That's just the slowest they can go and make way under control.

Don't know if electric motors would let them slow the props and still maintain control or if it's strictly a gearing issue.

[jmowreader]

30. You'd need azipods or bow thrusters to get them to maneuver at slow speed

Those boats have rudders, and rudders don't work if there's not enough water going past them. Your boat probably has outboards, so steering is no problem on them.

[getagrip_already]

32. Outboards? Hell no, single diesel. Downeaster.....

Just a 15 knot boat, but she will do 15 knots through anything (almost). They say they ride in the water, not on the water.

I have a full keel and a rudder the size of a barn door. Doesn't help a damn in reverse. . Makes docking interesting in cross current to wind.

[Ray Bruns]

16. What are you saying? That Trump was talking out of his ass?

https://m.

[twodogsbarking]

17. Anything electric is a threat to, well, oil. That is all tfg needs to know.

[bullimiami]

27. I just don't get why the extremely wealthy and well equipped oil companies

Didn’t jump into every new form of energy production with enthusiasm.

They have just continually fought anything but more oil.
They should have considered themselves to be in the energy business, not just the oil business.
Stupid.

[BadgerMom]

18. We've lived on a wind-, human- and electric-powered only private lake.

It’s been that way for years. With that rule residents around the lake have a calm, quiet, peaceful atmosphere. That man is a blithering idiot.

[ZonkerHarris]

23. They have solar powered boats in Europe.

[Volaris]

24. In your opinion, would an electric motor be easily adapted to a pumpjet?

I'm just curious...

[jmowreader]

25. You mean something like a Berkeley Jet?

I can see no reason why you COULDN'T use one of those. As long as your electric motor will turn at least 3000 rpm - that's what the Berkeley Jet drive needs to pump at full volume - it should just connect to the drive the same way a gasoline engine does.

[Volaris]

35. Ok thanks!

[bullimiami]

26. I don't know how they are dealing with the shark- battery problem.

It’s apparently stumped MIT.

[Sneederbunk]

29. Just so you know, I am working on an electric shark.

[herding cats]

31. Here's a story from out local news today about another EB

This one is a wake boat and it seems pretty neat.

https://www.kxan.com/news/science/mysterious-boat-signals-new-age-of-watersports-on-lake-austin/

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Clad in space grey, a quiet boat quickly stalked its way across Lake Austin this month. Nearly silent when compared to its gas powered brethren, the Arc Sport is a fully electric wake boarding boat built by former Space-X engineers. Its arrival could be an early sign that the next age of boating will soon arrive in Central Texas.

“It’s the first time you’re getting into an EV car and you plant your foot. That feeling, that rush that you get? It’s the same thing as driving this boat,” said Francis Pickworth, sales lead with Arc Boats.

Pickworth spent the last few weeks zipping across Lake Austin, showing the boat off to possible customers. Other boaters pulled up alongside it with frequency, asking questions and getting excited.



According to MarketsandMarkets.com, the electric boating industry is expected to double within the decade. Currently, it is worth around $3.3 billion. By 2030, industry experts expect electric boating to generate $7.7 billion around the world.

[keithbvadu2]

33. How far out will it go, including the return trip? Any charging stations out there?

It says 2 hours for battery but doubtful if that includes the 50 mph.