San Diego Firm Builds Oceangoing Electric Vessel

By: Ambrosia Sarabia | Thursday, February 04, 2010 12:00:00 AM

SAN DIEGO – Visitors to the San Diego Sunroad Boat Show may have caught a glimpse of the future when they saw Electro-Mariner’s newest prototype, Charge-It — an environmentally friendly, electrically powered boat that allows mariners to boat clean and green, in the open ocean.

 

Unlike many other electric vessels that are designed for harbor cruises and puttering around in protected waters, Charge-It was created for oceangoing boaters. The prototype is the first design by the company, which plans to release its new line later this year.

 

Locals may have witnessed the vessel make its maiden voyage last September, when it made a 20-mile run from Mission Bay to San Diego Bay. The 25-foot prototype was featured at both the inaugural San Diego Sunroad Boat Show and the San Diego International Auto Show, where attendees praised the boat for its advanced design.

 

“That was a positive experience for us,” said Alan Leff, director of business development for Electro-Mariner. “The overwhelming feedback we got was it is about time someone was doing this in the marine industry.”

 

Charge-It, a 25-foot express-style boat, can be recharged in 10 hours, once plugged into onshore power outlets. It takes one week to be fully charged by the sun’s rays, using solar panels. Solar panels also provide emergency power, along with electricity for the boat’s microwave oven and other onboard gear that tends to drain boat batteries.

 

The prototype has “opened up” the way people think about electric boats, since Electro-Mariner’s vessel is not simply limited to protected waterways. “That’s not the way we boat,” Leff explained. “We wanted to create an electric boat that can be used in any way.”

 

Leff and a group of partners have worked for several years to master the technology and design of the silent-running boat that uses no fossil fuels. The concept of an all-electric boat was hatched by Electro-Mariner’s president and founder, Bob Ferran, who approached Leff with the idea during a fishing trip in 2003.

 

“It took him a year to convince me that it was a viable idea,” explained Leff, director of business development for Electro-Mariner.

 

In 2004, the group began to work on the idea, eventually refurbishing an older boat hull and developing technology to produce a 100 percent solar-electric oceangoing powerboat. Aside from mastering the boat’s technology, which keeps track of all electrical use aboard and continually informs the captain of remaining power, designers worked on strategies to keep the boat safe for boaters while addressing maintenance issues in variable weather conditions. The team installed a 48v system on Charge-It, with two 10 hp inline motors with a single propeller. The prototype can cruise 40 to 90 miles on a charge.

 

With the technology perfected, the company said it will produce a larger line of boats that will cover longer range at faster speeds. The new prototype will be between 32 and 40 feet in length and will be powered by twin 150 hp electric engines — providing a cruising range of 200 miles.

 

As an added benefit of boating with zero emissions, and leaving behind a minimal carbon footprint, boaters will notice a change in their pocketbook: The design team estimates an 80-percent savings in maintenance and fueling costs over conventional boats.

 

“Customers can enjoy the serenity of the ocean and enjoy the aspect of not polluting — and not forking over the money that they would with a traditional boat,” Leff said. “Our goal has been to produce a boat that can be used like any other boat, but the difference is that it is 100 percent green.”
For more information, visit www.electromariner.com.