| By Todd Woody Maybe you’ve already got a luxe electric pickup truck and hitch it to a high-tech electric travel trailer. Now there’s another big-ticket toy to covet — the emissions-free powerboat. A handful of startups are starting to electrify the recreational boating industry. They’re following the formula pursued by EV automakers, scaling technology development by initially selling small numbers of high-end models to subsidize the production of more mass market vehicles. Arc Boat Company, a Los Angeles startup staffed by veterans of Rivian, SpaceX and Tesla, manufactured fewer than 20 of its first model, a $300,000 speedboat called the Arc One. That paved the way last year for the Arc Sport, a 23-foot-long wake boat that seats 15. Prices start at $258,000. Last Thursday the company unveiled its latest recreational ride, the Arc Coast, a $168,000, battery-propelled version of a center console boat popular for fishing, water skiing and cruising. Swedish startup X Shore, meanwhile, sells a five-seater electric cruiser that starts at $139,000. A larger, ocean-going model lists for $269,000, seating 10.  Arc Boat Company cofounders Mitch Lee, left, and Ryan Cook. Source: Arc Boat Company “People have been exposed to electric vehicles for the past dozen or more years and understand the benefits,” says Mitch Lee, Arc’s cofounder and chief executive officer. “Those benefits are far more acute in the marine industry.” That’s because fossil-fuel powerboats are loud and polluting with fuel economy in the low single digits. Electric powerboats, on the other hand, are clean, quiet and far cheaper to operate but remain a luxury item. The Maserati Tridente speedboat, for instance, retails for $2.6 million, though most electric powerboats carry six-figure sticker prices on par with premium gas versions. On a sunny morning last summer, I joined Lee aboard a pre-production blue Arc Sport docked in Sausalito, California, a white wakeboard strapped to the boat’s carbon-fiber retractable hard top. Boats like the Sport tow board riders who surf waves generated by the vessel’s backwash. Driver Francis Pickworth, an Arc sales lead, sat behind two screens that display data and control most of the boat’s functions. The boat pulled silently away from the dock, heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge. The absence of engine roar made conversation easy as the Sport picked up speed. Like electric cars, electric boats have instant acceleration. “I won't throw you off the boat but just hold on,” says Pickworth.  A surfer rides the wake of an Arc Sport. Source: Arc Boat Company Punching the accelerator of an electric car will press you into your seat but when Pickworth hits the throttle on the Sport, the torque from the boat’s 226-kilowatt-hour battery pack and 500 horsepower motor is more akin to a rollercoaster drop. (The feeling recalled the glimpse of the future I got back in 2007 from the rocket ride I took in a pre-production Tesla Roadster.) The battery pack’s weight, though, makes high-speed turns smooth and controlled. If boaters keep an even hand on the throttle, they can spend three to five hours of active cruising time on the water before needing to recharge, according to Lee. Jeff Wasil, director of environmental health and safety at industry group the National Marine Manufacturers Association, says electric models accounted for handfuls of the 231,576 powerboats sold in the US in 2024, a $57.7 billion market. Companies like Duffy Electric Boats have long made battery-powered cruisers designed for leisurely low-speed boating and electric outboard motors are gaining in popularity, he says. But it’s startups that are pioneering the design of high-performance electric watercraft as few established manufacturers offer battery-powered versions of their boats, according to Erick Pinzon, Jr., co-founder of Electrified Marina, a Norfolk, Virginia, electric boat dealer. “We are in that innovator, early adopter stage,” says Pinzon, a former Tesla manager, adding that his customers tend to have “a little bit of a sticker shock” when they learn that an electric powerboat can set them back $250,000 or $300,000.  The touchscreen ballast control on the Arc Sport. Source: Arc Boat Company The pricey powerboat market can falter during uncertain economic times and last year sales fell 9% and declined nearly 5% in the first two months of 2025, according to the boat makers’ trade group. Meanwhile, it says the average age of a powerboat owner is 60, with septuagenarians outnumbering forty-somethings. Pinzon says electric powerboats offer an opportunity to attract a new, electric-car driving demographic, noting 40% of Electrified Marina’s sales are to first-time powerboat buyers. “The electric side is a little less daunting as there’s a lot less to learn, there's a lot less maintenance and headache,” he says. Charging infrastructure already exists as many marinas offer dockside power for boats to run onboard systems when they’re berthed. Pinzon says cost and range anxiety are the main concerns of his customers but taking potential buyers on a test ride can help seal the deal when they experience quiet and fume-free electric powerboating. Lee says the Sport is sold out through the summer at the company’s current capacity, but it’s ramping up production. While the Sport is designed for lakes, the new Arc Coast is more of a nearshore ocean cruiser. The 400-hp boat, which is set to go on sale in 2026, uses the same electric drivetrain technology as the Sport but offers fewer luxury flourishes “We really want to modernize the maritime industry,” Lee says. Share this story with your friends and followers here. For unlimited access to climate and energy news, please subscribe. | 
