Electric boats are slowly making their way into the marine industry, which might soon become a trend. It’s something you may want to consider if you’re a boat enthusiast. So, why might using electric boats be a brilliant idea?
Electric boats are extremely environment-friendly, super quiet, Safer, easier to use and maintain, and relatively fast. That makes them an excellent choice for the fishermen, boat speed riders and anyone looking to enjoy some fun in the water.
However, the topic is broad and deserve a discussion, something this post has covered in detail. So, if you want to know more about why using electric boats might be an excellent idea for you, continue reading to the end.
What Makes Using Electric Boats Might Be an Excellent Idea
An electric boat is a vessel equipped with an electric motor for propulsion. The source of power for an electric boat is usually a battery or fuel cell, but it could also be wind-powered generators. The electricity from these sources powers electric motors specific to the type of boat.
The invention of the electric boat is as revolutionary as it gets. Before this, we used gasoline-powered boats to cross oceans and transport materials across the globe. However, these were far from efficient. They bushed a lot of fuel and emitted vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, which polluted the environment and disturbed marine life. But now everything is different thanks to the electric boat.
The electric boat is the way to go now. It has turned out to be more sustainable and eco-friendly than its predecessors. The best part about this is that it does not pollute the environment, and therefore there are no side effects. Moreover, it also saves up on a lot of gasoline, reducing costs for both the consumer and the company making these boats. However, we will come to all of this later as we first examine how an electric boat works.
How Does An Electric Boat Work?
When most people think of electricity, they think of cables, wires, meters, etcetera, but in an electric boat, this is not true. You can forget everything you know about electricity since most people do not know the exact mechanism behind the working of an electric boat.
However, an electric boat works: an electric engine runs on a battery and propels water through a nozzle to move boats forward through the water. That’s it, but before we go in-depth and learn more about how these engines work, we should first understand what they are made up of and how they function in construction and design.
The main parts that compose an electric mini-boat include propeller motor, controller assembly, batteries, etcetera. Now let us look at each component individually to get a better idea of how they work together to form something as unique as this engine does.
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Reasons Why Using Electric Boats is a Brilliant Idea
Among the many boat types to choose from, electric boats are ideal for various uses and operations. The following reasons explain why using them is a superb idea:
1. They Are Environment-Friendly
Electric boats are one of the best ways to appreciate the beauty of nature. They do not cause pollution, which is often a significant concern among many boaters around the world. Electric boat motors can run on renewable energy sources like solar or wind power; furthermore, they use recyclable batteries and hydrogen fuel cells instead of gas tanks (standard in gasoline-powered vessels).
2. The Engine Is Extremely Quiet
Electric motors are among the most silent types of engines that exist. To compare, if you were standing onshore near an electric boat that was charging its batteries but not using any power for propulsion, you might hear only a few decibels worth of humming noise from hundreds of meters away. Gasoline engines are much louder, with most producing noise in the 80-90 decibel range. Electric boat motors also require less maintenance than gasoline vessels, which need to have their engines tuned up at various time intervals.
3. Electric Boats are Safer
Electric boat motors generally use batteries or fuel cells instead of gas tanks. These power sources do not explode on impact like gasoline tanks often do (e.g., on ships that catch on fire). Furthermore, electric boats offer more control over the vessel through throttle input because electric motor shafts rotate at nearly 0 rpm when disengaged. Conversely, internal combustion engines require some time to stop running once the ignition is off (this happens after you move the key from `ON` to `RUN`).
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4. Electric Boats Are Much Easier To Maintain
Gasoline engines require a lot of maintenance, as you need to have them tuned up at varying intervals. In contrast, electric boat motors usually have only one moving part, which is the propeller shaft. There is no need for manual, labor-intensive tasks like changing oil or spark plugs with electric boat motors.
5. They Are Easy To Use
Electric motorboats are extremely easy to operate and do not require any complicated control systems – put, they work just like an everyday car engine works. Electric boats also offer more power than their gasoline counterparts despite having smaller battery packs because there is virtually no need for a startup (unlike internal combustion engines). Motors can be started by simply turning a switch to `ON`.
6. Electric Boats Are Ideal For Sport Fishermen
Many fish swim at low speeds or stop completely when they hear motorboat noise (the rumbling produced by internal combustion engines). Electric boats can motor very quietly along with coastal areas and still catch fish because the batteries only need to be charged every few hours instead of filling up with gasoline.
7. They’re Fast
While electric boat motors may produce less torque than their gas counterparts, it is fair to say that they make up for this deficiency by offering better acceleration – which makes them able to achieve higher top speeds more easily. Moreover, they accelerate faster because of reduced internal friction and a longer ratio between motor speed and prop shaft output speed.
8. They Are Easy To Repair
Electric boats do not have complex engine systems like internal combustion vessels do. In most cases, there is only one moving part involved – the prop shaft. Furthermore, electric boat engines can be repaired through regular maintenance checks or even simple replacement of broken components (e.g., propeller blades). Gasoline boats also require regular tune-ups and changes to spark plugs.
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What Are The Limitations Of Electric Boats?
1. The most significant limitation of electric boat motors is battery capacity
The biggest weakness of electric boats is that they require regular charging. Electric motors are less efficient at converting electrical energy into kinetic energy, which means that electric boat motors need to be recharged more often than gasoline vessels do. This drawback can be addressed by using larger batteries, but this would increase the initial cost of an electric vessel.
2. Electric boats are not able to travel long distances at high rates of speed
This drawback is common in electric cars, too. Electric boat motors can achieve high speeds when running at low rpm, but they struggle to do so when the prop shaft is turning quickly under load. This means that it might be difficult for an electric motorboat to travel long distances (e.g., from New York City to Miami) and cross large bodies of water (e.g., across the English Channel).
It also needs to be noted that boats cannot travel fast enough to use tidal forces or currents; instead, these vessels rely entirely on their internal batteries and fuel cells (and human power). The good news is that battery density improvements allow electric boats to travel longer distances on a single charge.
3. The batteries might not be able to handle very large or heavy loads
Electric boat motors are less efficient than internal combustion engines in terms of the rate at which they convert electrical energy into kinetic energy; this means that they require more power to achieve their peak speed when compared with gasoline-powered motors.
This drawback may hold electric motorboats back when carrying large payloads (e.g., shipping cargo). This is why most Japanese ferries run on diesel; carrying more oversized cargo would be difficult using solely battery power without significant improvements in energy density and cost reduction. Since Japan is an archipelago, ferry service is essential for intra- and inter-island transportation.
4. They need to be charged before use
While electric motors are lighter and require less maintenance, they cannot provide energy without recharging. On the other hand, internal combustion engines are autonomous machines that can function even when there is no fuel left. This means that gas vessels can travel long distances without needing to stop for fueling. The good news is that improvements in battery density allow electric boats to have longer operating ranges on a single charge – which eases the limitations of this technology.
5. Extremely High Initial Cost
Electric boats are still costly for the average consumer. This means that they are only available to the wealthy, which limits their overall utility. However, this drawback is slowly being addressed as battery density increases and cost decreases.
Conclusion
Electric boats could be the future wave because they do not rely on fossil fuels or produce emissions while in operation. Furthermore, electric motors are easy to maintain and require less time to tune up than gasoline motors. In addition, boat engines can be repaired through a simple replacement of broken components (e.g., propeller blades). The main drawback of electric motorboats is their low range compared to internal combustion vessels; however, battery technology is evolving rapidly and will likely improve by 2022.
