Feature
Update 2017/8/9
E Boats
LTS MARINE CONVERTING WATER SPORTS BOATS TO ELECTRIC POWERTRAINS
By Cori Marshall
This story is brought to you in part by SunWind Solar
Electric powertrains are not just for cars, they can be found in many types of vehicles. As we have seen with the SoleCat 12 solar-powered catamaran, cleaner technology is beginning to make waves. To find out more about what is on the market for the water skier or wakeboarder, we spoke with Bruno Tellier from LTS Marine, a company on the southshore of Montréal, that specializes in converting water sports boats to electric powertrains.
Tellier explained that the company works exclusively with a company called "Malibu [Boats]," who produce a wide range of boats for the water sports enthusiast.
When converting boats LTS Marine uses their "own batteries, because boats require [much] more constant power than a car." The extra battery output means that "the batteries need a very efficient cooling [system]," therefore, they build their own. Tellier said that a "Tesla on the highway will require 25 horsepower, and a boat at slalom speed will require 160 horsepower."
He added that the company "designed a gearbox that can couple two motors together," and has them work in tandem. This enables the boat motors to reach "a total of 300 horsepower, which gives the electric motor the same performance as a gas powered boat."
The battery autonomy is dependent on what activity you are engaged in. Tellier explained that "in a water skiing context you will get an hour to an hour and a half of slalom time. "Wakeboard boats are generally bigger Tellier said that they "are able to put more batteries inside which allows for up to four hours of autonomy."
A boat for water skiing goes for $180 thousand Canadian, while a wakeboard boat, for $275 thousand. For the water sports enthusiast who is in the market to convert their Malibu to an electric powertrain take a look at LTS Marine. The innovations that companies like this make now may become the industry standard in the years to come.
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