Earth Day is April 22nd. So what does that mean to you as a boater? Besides getting out on the water and enjoying a great day with all that nature offers you might not think much else. But behind the scenes, manufacturers and boat builders are working on making the effects of boating more in tune with nature and this small water-covered rock we all live on. This year's Earth Day theme is 'Invest In Our Planet,' and that is precisely what is happening within the marine industry.
A trip to a boat show such as the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show this past February would reveal the extent to which manufacturers are moving towards greener boating. For the first time, an all-electric pavilion displayed electric outboards, motors, and the battery systems that drive them. The press releases for the show were filled with new electric boats and engines, and there was a special presentation on new emissions-cutting biofuels. Even new large high-performance gasoline engine introductions touted their increased fuel efficiency over previous models. There was also the largest amount of electric motors entered for innovations awards than ever before.
Companies such as Brunswick are also taking strides to be better corporate stewards with extensive research and development in electric power and recycling boat building materials.
Brunswick's recent work perfectly exemplifies the marine industry's move and commitment toward greener boating. They recently introduced their first line of outboard motors with the Avator 7.5e and two other models to follow later this year. This compact and lightweight portable outboard is the first in a series of outboards that run on lithium batteries, also developed by Brunswick. The Avator 7.5e outboard produces the equivalent power of a 3.5hp four-stroke gasoline engine, and future models 20e and 35e represent higher equivalent HP offerings. They are not stopping there, however. Aqua Lifestyle got a sneak peek at an electric power system under development at their test facility in central Florida that was powering a ski boat both silently and efficiently with no loss in performance (more on that in a future article and video). While at Lake X we also had Engineers at Boston Whaler, one of Brunswick's boat manufacturers, show how they took boat-building materials that would otherwise be discarded and chopped them up into fine particulate that could later be made into a durable material. That material is now being used for the manufacture of other parts needed aboard their builds.
While it is clear that the marine industry has a long way to go to become more earth-friendly, there is a concerted effort to do so, and it is just in the beginning stages. Stay tuned for more articles on how spending time on the water is developing into ways to protect the environment.