Page 32: of Marine News Magazine (September 2014)

BOAT OF THE MONTH Elco: Then and NowAnything but a newcomer to the green propulsion game, Elco Motor Yachts is a pioneer in electric propulsion with a history that includes introducing the Þ rst marine electric motor at the Chicago WorldÕs Fair in 1893, where electric boats shuttled more than one million passengers to and from the Fair. The company was later acquired as a subsidiary of the Electric Boat Company and produced submarine chasers during World War I and PT boats for the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Elco merged with the Electric Boat Company, which decided to focus its operations on government contracts for subma- rines. In 1987, Elco once again became a privately owned company, and today it provides environmentally friendly electric propulsion systems for recreational and commer- cial vessels of up to 85 feet. Today & Tomorrow: Future of Electric Motors The electric motor concept is not a Ôone horseÕ concept. Beyond being involved in this niche business for the last 121 years, Elco is advancing any number of other applica- tions. These include:  passenger vessel applications, including one of their larger vessels, a 66 foot passenger cruise boat in Canada;  10 water taxis with another 54 orders that the  rm hopes to close on before the end of the year;  Two dinner boat (repower jobs); and  a 40? boat in England running on a serial hybrid- electric system (108 vdc battery bank, powered by an EP-7000). To date, the largest all-electric boat that Elco has re- powered is the 66Õ launch in Canada, and the largest by power is the New York State Canal Corporation tug boat (two tandem EP-10000 systems with a bollard pull of ap- proximately 3,500 lbs). ElcoÕs Joe Fleming adds, ÒWe are quoting vessels in the 100Õ range at the present time and ?Elco developed the system that tightly adapts two electric motors into a robust powertrain conÞ guration that could be applied to the dredge tender. The electric powertrain is particularly impressive with its modular design. This design allows it to be easily conÞ gured for other dredge tender boats with more or less electric motor power and more or less battery capacity, as needed.? September 201432 MNMN Sept14 Layout 32-49.indd 32MN Sept14 Layout 32-49.indd 328/20/2014 11:35:15 AM8/20/2014 11:35:15 AM