There's a lot of talk about the electric vehicle revolution, but land-based automobiles get most of the chatter. One company wants to change that with the release of a new electric wake boat.
Arc, an American electric boat company founded in 2021, has announced a new electric wake boat called the Arc Sport. According to the specs published by CleanTechnica, Arc Sport's lithium-ion battery can support about four to five hours of active usage per charge, and the boat can reach speeds of 40 miles per hour.
When it comes time to juice it up, you can do so from a standard wall outlet, a power station similar to what you'd use for an electric car, or even a DC fast charger.
The Arc Sport starts at $258,000, as CleanTechnica reported while pointing out that the price range of new gas-powered wake boats is $70,000-$300,000.
Transportation — whether for necessity or pleasure — is a leading driver of planet-warming pollution, and the adoption of EVs is one way to tackle the problem.
It's not just land-based transportation that contributes to our overheating planet, however. According to Sierra, the use of jet skis and pleasure boats in the United States burns 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline annually. Combined with snowmobiles, dirt bikes, and ATVs, these "toys" account for 1.6% of annual gasoline consumption, the publication says.
The Arc Sport isn't the first all-electric watercraft. The company previously released a limited-edition pleasure craft called the Arc One. Plus, BMW recently revealed its design for an electric boat that reduces energy use by 80% and appears to float above the water. Meanwhile, India has introduced electric ferries in one populous city.
Some commenters at CleanTechnica were apprehensive about Arc's claims, with one saying, "No it won't charge overnight even with an L2, much less an L1 [Level 2 or Level 1 charger]. These boats are designed to be inefficient using a lot of energy to make wakes/waves."
It appears that time will tell, but Arc CEO Mitch Lee told the publication, "The $3.7B wake sports industry is booming, but outdated. We wanted to accelerate the industry's adoption of more exciting and sustainable options to enjoy our water, and our team of aerospace engineers did just that."
He added that the boat "unleashes unprecedented performance for the mass-market."
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