Tesla Boats/Watercraft?

[JJ_Tex]

We took out the boat and jetski this weekend and it struck me that those would be perfect candidates for EVs. They do not get used more than a few hours at a time, you have plenty of time in between uses to recharge, you generally store them in locations with electricity already, the power/quickness would be very helpful when towing skiers/tubers, an EV boat would be so much quieter making it easier to talk rather than yelling over the engine, and filling a boat with gas on the water is not very convenient.

It seems like boats and watercraft would be a good market for Telsa or other manufacturers.

 

[Luke42]

There are already other electric boat makers out there.



Tesla doesn't have to break down this particular barrier. The industry is already doing it on their own.

How could Tesla apply their secret sauce to do it better?

 

[JJ_Tex]

I googled and while there are some makers, they either fall into the category of severely under powered (like the 5 hp small boat posted above) or they are way too expensive ($200k) for the normal recreational boater. Seems like Tesla or another EV maker could seize the opportunity to do it better and develop a jetski and/or a boat powerful enough to pull a skier without it being over $100k.

 

[ajdelange]

The problem with boats is that water is much thicker than air. Cruising along in an X you may be consuming 17 - 18 HP. There is more power available for sure but that is only needed when accelerating and going up hill. Cruising along in your 20' deck boat you may be using more than 100 HP. A one hour cruise in my X will use about 17 kWh. A one hour cruise in the boat is probably using more than 48 kWh. This immediately tells us that we'd need a relatively huge battery in the boat unless we didn't want to use if for anything more than trolling. Note that I do have an electric motor on my boat for that purpose.

 

[Crissa]

Other problems with boats:

• Tiny market. Not many are sold, overall.
• Long intervals between use. Batteries don't like sitting around.
• Batteries and solar don't float. So requires more displacement.
• Conservative marketplace. Style often trumps function.

 

[kev12345]

super air nautique gs22e. 124kWh battery. lasts for 2 hours on the water. only $300,000.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Heck, might as well shell out a cool $600k so you can enjoy your boat for 4 total hours.

I'm still rooting for someone to figure it out. Saving $ on maintenance would be another huge benefit since there is no such thing as a cheap maintenance item on a boat.

 

[akcoyote]

Other problems with boats:

• Tiny market. Not many are sold, overall.

I will take exception to the above statement. Currently boats are selling faster than manufacturers can make them. It seems the pandemic has inspired a lot of people to seek recreation on the water. Even used boats are selling for more than the asking price.

While true that the road vehicle market is considerably larger than the boat market, currently boats are a hot commodity.

 

[Crissa]

Boat production is a massive boom-bust industry and very labor-intensive.

-Crissa

 

[CoyoteJim]

I googled and while there are some makers, they either fall into the category of severely under powered (like the 5 hp small boat posted above) or they are way too expensive ($200k) for the normal recreational boater. Seems like Tesla or another EV maker could seize the opportunity to do it better and develop a jetski and/or a boat powerful enough to pull a skier without it being over $100k.

It seems that the solution here is to reduce drag by developing electric hydrofoils rather than traditional hulls. There are a couple of companies making multi passenger electric hydrofoils but at a price above $200k as you mentioned. However, Quadrofoil makes cool two seater hydrofoils that will go 20 knots for 2 hours or 80km. Still between $20-30k though.

https://quadrofoil.com/q2s.htmll

 

[Crissa]

Hydrofoils require clear water, to operate, too. You couldn't use them on any of my home ports or rivers because of that.

They are quite magical when they work, tho,

-Crissa

 

[CoyoteJim]

Hydrofoils require clear water, to operate, too. You couldn't use them on any of my home ports or rivers because of that.

They are quite magical when they work, tho,

-Crissa

From their website:
“in general, due to electric propulsion, the Q2 can be driven on lakes, rivers, seas and marine protected areas, whereas the minimum water depth must be above 1m (3.3ft)…as long as the height of the waves does not exceed 0.5 m (1.76ft).”
I suppose you would want to keep a look out for otters and logs…

 

[Crissa]

I suppose you would want to keep a look out for otters and logs…

...And reeds and kelp forests and rapids and sand/gravel bars and...

I loved jet boats as a kid on the Rogue River.

But like I said, when they do work, they're magical.

-Crissa

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Other problems with boats:

• Tiny market. Not many are sold, overall.
• Long intervals between use. Batteries don't like sitting around.
• Batteries and solar don't float. So requires more displacement.
• Conservative marketplace. Style often trumps function.

Not to mention all the reservoirs are drying up (thank you drought/global warming - Texas got all our rain this year) soo there are fewer places to take a boat, electric or otherwise.