In Our Wake: Old News?

Whether you like it or not, nowadays, electric propulsion is all the rage. It’s about as hot as Chia Pets and the Macarena, the only difference being … when’s the last time you saw someone doing that dance? No, the difference here is that the actual shelf life of electric marine motors greatly predates even the oldest fads. We know this because electric boat propulsion started way back in 1839.

Back then, at a time when Czar Nicholas ruled Russia, German inventor Moritz von Jacobi built a 24-foot boat that carried 14 passengers at just under 3 knots. Fast forward over 50 years and an American company called Elco decides to build a line of electric boats as an alternative to external combustion steam engines.

The year 1893 would mark Elco’s electric debut. Their boats, not all that different looking from Jacobi’s, would ferry passengers across the waterways of Chicago to visit the World’s Fair. Elco went on to build bigger and better boats not only for leisure but even for use by our Navy in both World Wars, including their high-speed Motor Torpedo and Patrol Torpedo boats that aided in the country’s naval-based defense.

So, before you go calling electric boats a passing fad, or the latest and greatest, keep in mind that this tech is actually old news. And judging by Elco’s 130-year-old example, it’s here to stay.

This article originally appeared in the June 2023 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.

Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/column/in-our-wake-old-news