DANIEL S. NATCHEZ and ASSOCIATES, Inc.

Natchez on the Waterfront

Electric Boats – To Be or Not to Be? Or When or What to Be?  Those are the Questions Facing the Industry!  

“Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…”  But I digress.

Jumping ahead a few centuries from Elizabethan England, some say that electric boats are on a bullet train trajectory.  Others are saying it will be derailed.  Others are advocating alternative sources of energy, whether biofuels, hydrogen, diesel or a few that could make one boggle-eyed, or at least give one a headache.  It’s impossible to pick up trade magazines, journals or similar literature without information about going electric.  The articles are rife with supporters, opponents, and questioners. There is an overwhelming amount of information available.

So, what does a marina operator do?

Advice

My advice is to sit down and take a deep breath (or a couple of them) before jumping onboard with going electric. Take time to weigh the pros and cons and then come up with an approach that makes sense for your specific facility and market. 

There is no question that the popularity of electric boats for recreation, particularly for boats under 45 feet, is on the rise.  More and more companies are announcing that they are making models with electric motors vs. combustion engines, mimicking the automobile industry, which is pushing, or being pushed, hard in this direction worldwide, the current US administration’s potential hostility towards electric cars aside.  For the marina industry, though, there are multiple things to give real thought to when thinking about the shift to charging electric boats. What follows are some of them.

Perspective

In the current recreational boating market most of the boats have combustion engines.  Even if 100% of the boat sales in the next five years were to be all electric, which will not be the case, they would only comprise a small fraction of the existing inventory.  The overall turnover rate for boat replacement is also much, much lower than in the automobile world.  This means that for the foreseeable future, in most places, boats with combustion engines will continue to dominate, with a slowly growing number of hybrid or all electric craft working their way into the fleet. 

Batteries

There are some real issues with batteries.  For boaters used to virtually unlimited time or distance constraints, the thought of battery life limitations can be frustrating.  While battery manufacturers are working to expand the possible range of travel between charges, boaters, like drivers, are justifiably concerned about where and how often they will need to charge.  Are there convenient charging stations in your area? What about waiting time?  You can refill a fuel tank in minutes, while charging a battery can take hours.  At some point in the future battery range will expand, and chargers will be omnipresent. But right now this can be a formidable barrier. Most electric car owners to date use their vehicles for short commutes, local shopping and entertainment, and short trips. For longer trips, most still rely on gas or hybrids. Boaters don’t usually have a second boat the way electric car owners often have a second or a rental car available for long trips. And unlike one’s electric lawn mower, power tool or leaf blower, one cannot just carry a spare battery and slip it in if needed.  And like deciding on a hotel, there is a customer mindset of wanting to have all of the amenity options available, like the fitness room, pool, and others, even though they are hardly ever used.  So, the question becomes for the boat owner:  Do I or do I not want to limit my enjoyment time on the boat due to battery life? 

Other battery concerns include potential environmental impacts as well as the current problems associated with disposing of spent lithium-ion batteries.  These can be significant considerations, though perhaps not quite as big as what comes next.

Fire

There is the issue of fires.  Lithium-ion batteries are a great concern to many in terms of potential safety issues, in relation to the battery being scratched or otherwise damaged or becoming loose and being bounced around in the hull of a boat.  If one catches fire, then the ability to put it out is significantly more challenging than that of a gasoline or diesel fire.  The media continues to relate multiple reports of lithium batteries exploding in phones, e-bikes and other appliances.  This may be that these exploding batteries are not manufactured by a reliable source.  Whatever the reason, a lithium battery fire at a marina is significantly more problematic than gasoline or other fires, not that any are desirable.  Some insurance companies have or have announced that they are considering excluding coverage from fires caused by lithium batteries for houses, apartments and other covered/indoor areas.  And concerns about such exclusions seem to be spreading industry not unlike the growing exclusions from fires.

Infrastructure

There are some manufacturing companies that say that there are units that simply can be exchanged in the current power pedestal plugs to allow for electric boat charging.  And then there are other industry electric code experts that say … well, there are units out there but their usage by simply changing one connection within an existing power pedestal to another is often not code compliant.  If such changes are undertaken in a non-code compliant manner, that raises a whole new spectrum and level of concerns for the marina operator.  It is suggested that one go beyond the seller of such units and seek out an opinion from someone who knows the electrical codes for what you are specifically looking at for guidance. 

There are also real concerns relative to the electrical infrastructure supply to handle a changeover.  Electric charging requirements vary greatly depending upon whether one is looking for a quick charge, a medium term charge or an overnight charge.

Beware of the Unexpected

It is estimated there are between 10,000 and 12,000 marinas in the US.  It is also guesstimated that over 75% of those marinas have not had any major repowering to their facilities in numerous years, while continuing to increase electrical load needs for both the upland and in-water activities.  It is also believed that over 80% of those facilities are currently underpowered for their current total site operational needs, even if at the time the facilities were last powered or repowered they were in compliance with the then applicable electrical and other codes.  But, like everything else over time, there have been many changes and updates with the electrical and building codes, and the facilities may not be in compliance with the current requirements.  That may not be that much of an issue if you are not making any changes, but if you start making changes for electric boat charging, then there are likely code compliance issues that have to be addressed, which potentially translate to significant unanticipated costs. As Hamlet put it, “Ay, there’s the rub.”   

A recent true case is that of a small upscale marina with less than 75 boats up to 60 feet in length (though most much shorter) that wanted to reconfigure part of their facility, and in doing so wanted to be pro-active to accommodate a few electric boat charging stations with fast charging and allow for overnight charging to meet their customers’ anticipated future usage needs.  What started out as a relatively simple desire and budget of roughly $30,000, quickly turned into ever-growing costs of well over three-quarter of a million dollars.  The issues that were encountered included that the overall electrical usage at the facility for the upland and in-water uses was already over capacity.  The existing system and feed from the public utility could not handle any more electrical needs, which the electric charging would require.  Upgrading to meet current electrical and building codes, including flood zone requirements, were other formidable issues, along with working out required electrical wiring and unit issues to meet the desired future needs. 

The Future

Electric boat charging stations, like electric boats, are still in their early stages.  Eventually many of these problems will be worked out in more meaningful, user-friendly and, hopefully, financially cost-beneficial, implementable approaches.  

To be clear, I am not against electric boats or charging, but I do believe that there are lots of issues that are just rising to the surface that most are not aware of or have not been given enough thought.

And I am old enough to remember when having an all-electric house was being pushed by the public utilities and government agencies as the way to go, but that turned out to be a major debacle thanks to the inefficient electric heating systems and relative electricity costs of the day.  It’s taken decades and the development of advanced heat pumps and similar technologies to make the all-electric house viable in climates with cold weather winters.

The utility infrastructure in many places also is not yet geared-up to handle a major switchover from the combustion engine to the electric motor, and it will take years to get there.  In fact, the utility companies in many areas are struggling just to keep up with current demands, particularly when the weather gets hot , which just so happens to coincide with some of the most desirable boating weather.

In the interim, I would recommend taking a hard look at what your current usages are and anticipated needs. 

Some facilities have taken the path to being the first in their area to have electric charging so that, as boaters change to electric boats, they would stay or come to their facility. Others have decided to wait and see, and still others are trying to come up with a plan for when technology advances to overcome some of the current obstacles.

In some case facilities are turning to companies that are promoting electric charging stations by having the company put them in, continue to own them, and retain the revenue from their use to get a return on their investment.  However, that approach may not fit many business models or facility infrastructure perspectives, and these ventures are typically limited to areas where there is high boater-concentration and boater-interest to have electric boats.   

If you are planning a new facility, major reconfiguration or new addition to an existing facility, it’s smart to consider electric charging needs and make provisions for implementation at perceived desired timetables.  Today, it is much easier to create electric charging stations, whether for boats or cars, associated with new construction since the incremental costs beyond those required for all that new code compliant electrical work will be far more reasonable. 

And if you are going to install electric charging, whether for  boats or upland vehicles, make sure that the installs are undertaken in a manner that is handicap accessible/ADA compliant. While we are not aware of any specific accessibility rules yet regarding electric charging stations for boats, in the US and many other countries the accessibility requirements for electric charging stations for cars are extensive.  It can easily be inferred that these fundamental charging station requirements also apply to charging stations for boats, leaving out those rules, such as parking space dimensions, specific to cars.  

For all, I recommend taking a hard look at your current usages and anticipated needs. Then brush up on your Shakespear and make a plan that takes all these issues into full consideration, and, in so doing, “take arms against a (potential) sea of troubles.” For while ‘tis questionable at the moment as to whether electric boats will take over the entire recreational boating market, it does look pretty certain that they are, “to be.”

Have an electrifying day!