Photo: Saietta Group
A short while ago, I was talking with my colleague, good buddy, and sailing enthusiast Tim McKenzie. As an old-school kind of gent, he said he doesn't quite jive with two modern paradigms more than any other. Electric cars and motorized boats. Well, I wonder what he'd think if the two were to combine.
That's exactly what the Propel S1 electric outboard boat motor is setting out to do. It plans to revolutionize the world of private motorboat ownership as quietly as an oversized electric toothbrush and with as little pollution as if the boat was powered by the wind. The Propel S1 comes from an Anglo-Dutch company with a self-professed focus on simplicity over blatant overengineering.
According to the literature on the company web page, a single five-ish horsepower outboard gasoline motor can pollute as much as 39 separate cars driving at highway speeds. As part of the larger English Saietta Group that builds AC electric motors for things like cars, trucks, and motorcycles, Propel appears to have the personnel, production capacity, and wherewithal to make leisure boating a lot less stinky and noisy.
Alongside the Propel D1 inboard boat motor, production of a new generation of marine electric drivetrains is set to commence as soon as the first quarter of 2023, with deliveries in the European domestic market. Just in time for European city mandates for vessels in their native waters to be all-electric by the time this decade is out. In some places like Amsterdam, these mandates will go into effect as early as 2025.
"Leisure boat owners and operators will soon have no option but to switch to electric motors as cities implement new rules to clean up their waterways," said Sander van Dijk, Managing Director and CTO of Propel.
"Adding the S1 outboard electric motor to our D1 inboard solution means we are in a prime position to offer customers robust and efficient zero-emissions propulsion for a broad range of leisure craft. As such, we are accelerating our manufacturing and sales strategies, so we are ready to lead the transition to electrified marine propulsion." Still waiting to hear word on whether Propel plans to start sales in North America.
According to the literature on the company web page, a single five-ish horsepower outboard gasoline motor can pollute as much as 39 separate cars driving at highway speeds. As part of the larger English Saietta Group that builds AC electric motors for things like cars, trucks, and motorcycles, Propel appears to have the personnel, production capacity, and wherewithal to make leisure boating a lot less stinky and noisy.
Alongside the Propel D1 inboard boat motor, production of a new generation of marine electric drivetrains is set to commence as soon as the first quarter of 2023, with deliveries in the European domestic market. Just in time for European city mandates for vessels in their native waters to be all-electric by the time this decade is out. In some places like Amsterdam, these mandates will go into effect as early as 2025.
"Leisure boat owners and operators will soon have no option but to switch to electric motors as cities implement new rules to clean up their waterways," said Sander van Dijk, Managing Director and CTO of Propel.
"Adding the S1 outboard electric motor to our D1 inboard solution means we are in a prime position to offer customers robust and efficient zero-emissions propulsion for a broad range of leisure craft. As such, we are accelerating our manufacturing and sales strategies, so we are ready to lead the transition to electrified marine propulsion." Still waiting to hear word on whether Propel plans to start sales in North America.
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