FORT PIERCE, Fla. — While electric cars are making inroads out on the roads, electric boats have had a much harder time making a splash out on the water.
But a Treasure Coast boat manufacturer is looking to change that narrative.
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Twin Vee has been making boats on the Treasure Coast for 30 years.
They’ve sold 7,000 catamaran powerboats worldwide.
But these days, they’re charged up over something new.
Frank Smith showed off the Forza X1, talking about batteries under the deck with the word "ELECTRIC" on the vessel.
The key word is electric.
Smith said said he recently took the boat out 8 miles off the Florida Keys, and the batteries, that have undergone extensive saltwater testing, returned with charge to spare.
“I can bring the boat back knowing I didn’t expel any toxic chemicals into the environment," Smith said. "I can charge it at home. I can leave it at a marina and charge it up there."
Smith says right now, a day's worth of fuel costs him about $150 and charging is a lot less, though he didn’t have an exact number.
“This is where the marine industry is headed,” Smith said.
The initial pricetag for the X1 is higher than a similarly sized gas gas-powered at $120,000.
Consumers, Smith said, will make up some of the difference in fuel savings and reduced service costs.
Right now, electric boats make up a small percentage of what’s out there, no more than 2%, according to some research.
Max McKinley with Maxed Out Fishing Charters said in his world, he rarely sees an electric boat and wonders whether they’ll catch on.
“Cars are necessities, boats are commodities so when it comes to getting loans and dumping a lot of money into stuff I don’t think the demand will be there like it is for cars,” McKinley said.
The Forza X1 is hoping to prove that theory wrong.
“We believe it will be more successful than the previous boat brands we’ve been involved with,” Smith said.
A mobile app was also developed to allow the user to see real time data.
The Forza X1 will make its official debut this weekend at an event in West Palm Beach.
It goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year.
