Big News from Yeargin?

[ClemsonDave]

So, ya'll didn't believe me about Mr. Y getting a new puppy????

[SkiTower]

So, ya'll didn't believe me about Mr. Y getting a new puppy????

And to celebrate they are giving away a free puppy (color coded to match your boat) with every boat purchase!

[Erik]

http://www.nautique.com/blog/

[ClemsonDave]

I've got some pictures. Asking permission to post them. Incredible is a good word to describe it!

[Plave]

Well I for one am totally stoked by this news, the move to electric propulsion is one that is inevitable and a move I think us over here in Europe are waiting for more than the US. I know I keep saying it but a lake fill for me is $10.00 a gallon.

As with any major innovation it takes one of the big boys to do it to really get it across to the public, Toyota are doing it with cars of course.

[Chattwake]

Hmmmmmm

[NigelC]

That is a really great concept but would be limited to a small private market. It would need to work in the ski school environment to be successful in Europe as this is where the majority of ski boats start their working lives.
Would be interesting if this evolved into some kind of hybrid power plant until the operating range could be increased.

[wake_fun]

http://nautique.com/videos/index/100...Ski%20Nautique

[NautiqueJeff]

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/co...-ELECTRIC-BOAT

[jharris]

I'm not sure I can total justify the concept of an electric ski boat. The big electric/hybrid benefit in a car is to recapture (regen) braking energy which is not very practical in a boat.

Additionally, looking at total CO2 emissions, in a country like the US that relies heavily on coal to produce electricity there is very little to no benefit. However, in a country like France that is very dependent upon nuclear power there is a clear CO2 benefit.

In the US where we still get to enjoy gas in the $3.00 range, this will be a marketing challange.

I think the people who would appreciate the electric boat the most are the people on the lake I wake up with my 6:00am ski sets with a loud ski boat. Nautiques were never as loud as the BU or MC's.

[wake_fun]

3 to 4 skier sets then you have to recharge for 4 1/2 hours.............yeah, good luck trying to sell that boat

[ClemsonDave]

Think of it like a concept car; or like a technology exercise. This one is too expensive for release, but the fact that Bill, Nautique and this other company are committed to heading in this direction is big news!

If you could see how far they have come in the past year, you would be astounded! I saw the prototype last year. It was an old Mastercraft with car batteries. It worked, but was heavy and would only last about 6-8 passes.

Fast forward one year and look at this beauty!!! Not only is it well engineered, the batteries (Lithium Ion now) last MUCH longer. Still a ways from being ready for the public, but a HUGE step.

I'll be skiing behind it in a few weeks and will give a full report back here.

[SkiTower]

In the US where we still get to enjoy gas in the $3.00 range, this will be a marketing challange.

Worried this won't be the case by the time this boat is ready...

[swc5150]

Hmm, I was expecting something that I hadn't already heard about in some form or fashion, but ok. I LOVE that boat they used though! Maybe they can put an internal combustion engine in it until the E is ready to go public;-)

Does anyone know if the production versions will be 196's, or haven't they gotten that far yet? The 200 isn't notably heavier than a 196, but doesn't have a little extra drag that may be harder on an electric motor?

Some of us got our wish - the 196 is back, only now it's $100k+:-)

[east tx skier]

I think this is the future of the 196 hull. No need to expend extra energy to overcome the extra drag of the 200 hull. I think that is is really cool that they have this working on the water with a 4.5 hour usability life. Really cool concept. Will be interested to see if they ever go to production on any grand scale.