I will tell you this. A friend took some girls out last weekend from our local Tiki Bar. They were from Gualludet and deaf. When that boat started up they new from vibration and feel. When they cam back from ride it was smiles as wide as you could ever believe.

how else would i piss my neighbors off....

LOL, yeah mine too. Plus the 12 foot engine hoist I built, I'm sure they love that.

It's all about the sound for me. That exhaust gives me a chubby every time I fire that sucker up.

I agree, The sound and sensation is were it's at, But, what about the fuel bill. does the economy and the price of gas limit your boating? Would you use it more if the fuel bill was only pennies on the dollar? Or how about just having an electic boat as a second boat?

You know, when you need to blow off some steam, take the big block out and rip it up! :evilb:
But when just in the mood for a cheap ride, take the hybrid boat.

Performance boating w/o sound??? Man, I hope it never gets so expensive or unaffordable that we are forced to go to silent performance boating!! The rumble and vibration is half the fun!!

It's going to be a really long time before a boat can be pushed by battery power. Decades actually.

Anyways, I don't think a hybrid option would be that bad? Slip it into electric mode for maneuvering through noise sensitive areas, gas mode for normal operation. Don't see anything terribly wrong with that.

You wouldn't need to run mufflers with that system . . .

Hybrid would be cool around the docks. I would not mind an electric boat, say around a 16 footer to have some fun in. Nothing like the rumble of our offshore boat though.

As fandango mentioned, the deaf really love the feel of sound. I bounced in many bars through my 20's and we had a good group of deaf patrons that came in because of the feel that the loud music gave them. Some actually heard or percieved some sound as they sat in front of the speakers.

I'd love an electric boat.........as long as there was a BBC running the motor:lolhit:

[QUOTE=freshwaterfiend;3451570]It's going to be a really long time before a boat can be pushed by battery power. Decades actually.

Decades ? NO! How about now......

how about 1000 ft lbs of torque on batteries, with a little hybrid system to charge it while you drive? I could add a big block just for sound effects at the dock.:drink: