Italian start-up Sealence is promising dramatic gains in the speed and range of electric boats thanks to a radical new pod-shaped waterjet, reports Hugo Andreae

Building an electric boat isn’t difficult but creating one with the speed and range to rival a petrol or diesel powered one is a whole lot harder. That is the quandary that set Italian engineer William Gobbo on the path to developing a completely new kind of electric propulsion system.

Rather than simply swapping a boat’s combustion engine for an electric motor and leaving the rest of the drivetrain untouched, Gobbo realised that a holistic approach, which played to an electric motor’s strengths, would reap far bigger rewards. The solution he came up with is an electric waterjet that combines both the motor and the propulsion system in a single unit.


https://www.mby.com/gear/water-jet-e...nFjiN8cYeb4rUU

Interesting to watch this as is it develops

I didn't know jests were more effcent at higher speeds. I see they are talking fuel cell in the large cruiser as well.

Wow. Going green quickly and Biden hasn't even stepped in the White House yet. Lol.. Big step from trolling motors! I do like the innovation. I just can't get past the distance between charge when you consider the efficiency between that of an automobile and a boat even if they both weighed the same. Although electric semis are being introduced as well so...

Cool article but let's please go back old school already.

No outdrive gears to break, sign me up!

The boat in the article had both a fuel cell, and a generator. I assume for when you run out of battery, to me in a large cruiser cool,,,, and the more electric power the less demand for oil,,,, less demand=cheaper prices.

It won’t mean you will be getting a fuel savings by not buying as much fuel. The cost/gallon will just go up even more. No different than people going to solar in their homes its just raising the costs to buy energy. Basic supply & demand the energy & fuel companies will make their margins either way and that will never change.

Sorry didn’t catch the sarcasm but before I replied. Carry on

I like the thought process, with companies like this developing new systems it forces big companies like Mercury to compete for their share as well. Although Mercury currently owns the boating propulsion market, this will force them to continue to develop more efficient engines. If they choose to ignore innovation they could become the next Kodak or Sears. We all know what happened to them when they made that choice.

We need to have a sarcasm emoji.