Electric Boats have been used for over 120 years

Whether you prefer new or used boats, there are many top quality boats to choose from. Many people enjoy boats for leisurely everyday activities or for special occasions in order to impress their friends and family members. While sail or diesel engines power many boats, a more popular boat option is electric boats. Take a look at the following blog post to learn more about electric boats.



Owning a boat can be a great experience. You will be able to use your boat to sit back and relax during your free time, entertain a variety of guests, and take advantage of new opportunities. Before choosing to buy a boat, you will need to decide what type of boat to buy. Many people choose to purchase electric boats because of their convenience. A sailboat or diesel boat can also be another option, but they take more work to use.

Electric energy has to be obtained for the battery bank from some source.

• A mains charger allows the boat to be charged from shore-side power when available. Shore-based power stations are subject to much stricter environmental controls than the average marine diesel or outboard motor. By purchasing green electricity it is possible to operate electric boats using sustainable or renewable energy.
• Solar panels can be built into the boat in reasonable areas in the deck, cabin roof or as awnings. Some solar panels, or photovoltaic arrays, can be flexible enough to fit to slightly curved surfaces and can be ordered in unusual shapes and sizes. Nonetheless, the heavier, rigid mono-crystalline types are more efficient in terms of energy output per square meter. The efficiency of solar panels rapidly decreases when they are not pointed directly at the sun, so some way of tilting the arrays while under way is very advantageous.
• Towed generators are common on long-distance cruising yachts and can generate a lot of power when travelling under sail. If an electric boat has sails as well, and will be used in deep water, then a towed generator can help build up battery charge while sailing. Some electric power systems use the free-wheeling drive propeller to generate charge through the drive motor when sailing, but this system, including the design of the propeller and any gearing, cannot be optimized for both functions. It may be better locked off or feathered while the towed generator's more efficient turbine gathers energy.
• Wind turbines are common on cruising yachts and can be very well suited to electric boats. There are safety considerations regarding the spinning blades, especially in a strong wind. It is important that the boat is big enough that the turbine can be mounted out of the way of all passengers and crew under all circumstances, including when alongside a dock, a bank or a pier. It is also important that the boat is big enough and stable enough that the top hamper created by the turbine on its pole or mast does not compromise its stability in a strong wind or gale. Large enough wind generators could produce a completely wind-powered electric boat. No such boats are yet known although a few mechanical wind turbine powered boats exist.
• In hybrid electric boats, if a boat has an internal combustion engine anyway, then its alternator will provide significant charge when it is running. Two schemes are in use: the combustion engine and the electric motor are both coupled to the drive, or the combustion engine drives a generator only for charging the storage batteries.

You will need to make some other decisions as well. Do you want to purchase a brand new boat or would you like to save money and consider buying a used boat? There are many top-quality sellers of used boats.



This gives you the opportunity to get a great boat that has been taken care of at a more affordable price. Make sure that you carefully research the seller as well as the boat itself before jumping into a purchase situation.

What are the benefits of buying electric boats? There are many! For one, you won’t have to worry about constantly having to fill up with diesel gas! This can also be an expensive cost; so can save money over time. Another benefit is the ability to charge your boat’s electric batter from many areas. Depending on where you boat, there may be shore stations set up for individuals to power up a boat.
There are as many types of electric boat as there are boats with any other method of propulsion, but some types are significant for various reasons.

Historical and restored electric boats, such as the Mary Gordon Electric Boat, exist and are often important projects for those involved.

Canal, River and Lake Electric Boats

Electric boats, with their limited range and performance, have tended to be used mostly on inland waterways, where their complete lack of local pollution is a significant advantage.



Electric drives are also available as auxiliary propulsion for sailing yachts on inland waters.

Electric Outboards

Electric outboards and trolling motors have been available for some years at prices from about $100 (US) up to several thousand. These require external batteries in the bottom of the boat, but are otherwise practical one-piece items. Most available electric outboards are not as efficient as custom drives, but are optimised for their intended use, e.g. for inland waterway fishermen. They are quiet and they do not pollute the water or the air, so they do not scare away or harm fish, birds and other wildlife. Combined with modern waterproof battery packs, electric outboards are also ideal for yacht tenders and other inshore pleasure boats.

Electric Cruising Yachts

Cruising yachts usually have an auxiliary engine, and there are two main uses for it: One is to power ahead or motor-sail at sea when the wind is light or from the wrong direction. The other is to provide the last 10 minutes or so of propulsion when the boat is in port and needs to be manoeuvred into a tight berth in a crowded and confined marina or harbour. Electric propulsion is not suitable for prolonged cruising at full power although the power required to motor slowly in light airs and calm seas is small. Regarding the second case, electric drives are ideally suited as they can be finely controlled and can provide substantial power for short periods of time.

Commercial Ferries

Norway's first battery-electric ferry is the Ampere, with capacity for 120 cars and 12 trucks. As of November 2016, it has operated for 106,000 km. Its battery holds 1 MWh of energy, but the 9 minute charge time is sometimes not enough, and more battery capacity is to be installed. Norway has scheduled several other electric and hybrid ferry projects. Based on operational data, Siemens concludes in a life cycle analysis that 61 of Norway's 112 diesel ferry routes could be replaced by electric ferries with a payback time of 5 years. The analysis includes auxiliary costs such as chargers, grid, and so on.

Diesel-Electric Hybrid Boats

There is a third potential use for a diesel auxiliary and that is to charge the batteries, when they suddenly start to wane far from shore in the middle of the night, or at anchor after some days of living aboard. In this case, where this kind of use is to be expected, perhaps on a larger cruising yacht, then a combined diesel-electric solution may be designed from the start. The diesel engine is installed with the prime purpose of charging the battery banks, and the electric motor with that of propulsion. There is some reduction in efficiency if motoring for long distances as the diesel's power is converted first to electricity and then to motion, but there is a balancing saving every time the wind-, sail- and solar-charged batteries are used for manoeuvring and for short journeys without starting the diesel.



There is the flexibility of being able to start the diesel as a pure generator whenever required. The main losses are in weight and installation cost, but on the bigger cruising boats that may sit at anchor running large diesels for hours every day, these are not too big an issue, compared to the savings that can be made at other times. An example is the fishing boat Selfa El-Max 1099, with 135 kWh battery and 80 kW diesel generator. An LNG-powered supply vessel started operation in 2016 with a 653 kWh/1600 kW battery acting as spinning reserve during dynamic positioning, saving 15-30% fuel.

Solar Powered Electric Boats

A boat propelled by direct solar energy is a marine solar vehicle. The available sunlight is almost always converted to electricity by solar cells, temporarily stored in accumulator batteries, and used to drive a propeller through an electric motor.



Power levels are usually on the order of a few hundred watts to a few kilowatts. Solar powered boats started to become known around 1985 and in 1995 the first commercial solar passenger boats appeared. Solar powered boats have been used successfully at sea. The first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was achieved in the winter of 2006/2007 by the solar catamaran Sun21.