// MARKET TRENDS
Arc Boats offers the Arc Sport, a 100 % electric wake boat featuring a 226 kWh battery and top speed of 40 mph.
Yamaha’ s Burnett also commented on the interest in electric boating.“ General interest in electric boats among consumers seems to have increased slightly,” he said.“ Electric sales have slowed down a bit over the last 12-18 months, but long term, we expect to see continued growth in the segment.”
On the other hand, Roxana Haghayegh, CMO at marine electric enterprise E-Force Marine, has noticed that Southern Florida consumers are more interested in seeking information rather than just buying an electric boat outright.
“ It’ s still too early and the choices available to them are close to none,” she said.
Concerns about electric boats
While there is undoubtedly interest in the electric boating segment, consumers still have a few concerns that leave them hesitant.
“ In Southern Florida, consumers want to be able to sail to the Bahamas on their electric boats or be able to charge their boat fast,” Haghayegh explained.“ While both of those are possible, the fast charging is something that we are currently seeking help with from our local government. We want to add one fast charging station to each public marina to help with the transition.”
There is also a high level of concern about engine longevity, according to Marine Futures founder and director Ollie Taylor.
“ If an electric car breaks down or runs out of energy, you can simply call roadside assistance and someone will come to help,” he said.“ On the sea, it’ s a very different position. You generally need a much higher level of built-in redundancy to have that safety margin.”
According to Taylor, the two biggest concerns that consumers have are energy density and battery life.“ We’ re still one million miles away from where we need to be, but that may be resolved with technology in the long term,” he said.
There is also the challenge of infrastructure and ensuring that there are enough charging stations on docks.
“ Having stable shore power is quite challenging in Europe and Mediterranean locations,” Taylor noted.“ I’ m not sure the infrastructure change will happen unless there’ s significant customer demand for electric boats, but that’ s not necessarily happening at the moment. Right now, they don’ t want to take the risk.”
Yamaha’ s Burnett mentioned that electric propulsion solutions on the water remain a challenge in the higher-horsepower categories due to the weight of the batteries and placement on the boat.
“ We believe these electric solutions will continue to evolve, but today the lower horsepower electric outboard options tend to have better application on the water,” he said.“ There is also an increased cost associated with electric propulsion versus traditional internal combustion engines. Charging infrastructure and the capacity of the grid will also continue to be an issue as more electric products enter the market.”
Leading OEMs driving momentum
Even though Taylor and Haghayegh address fundamental concerns over electric boating, OEMs are working to overcome these challenges with the right technology and innovation.
Innovation in the market is being spearheaded by a diverse group of OEMs, each carving out distinct niches based on performance, luxury and use case.
Candela Technology AB in Sweden, for example, is currently working on hydrofoiling electric boats, which is a technology that significantly reduces drag and boosts efficiency by lifting the hull above the water. The company’ s C-8 day cruiser exemplifies this, featuring a 69 kWh Polestar
www. boatingindustry. com july / august 2025
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