Limestone Boat Co. and Vision Marine Technologies partnered for an electric center-console boat with the Seventeen Fifty-Two 2.1 Center Console EV making its debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
The center console is Limestone’s first venture into the electric boat realm, and the first in a series of 21- to 23-foot electric boats the company plans to bring to market in the next 18 months. The Canadian company builds Aquasport Boats, Limestone Boats and Boca Bay Boats.
CEO Scott Hanson laid out his vision two years ago and was introduced to the Alexandre Mongeon-led Vision Marine and the company’s E-Motion 180E electric outboard. Hanson wanted to prove that a deep-V hull can perform with electric power.
“I was excited because it looks like an engine, it looks like a boat and I can plug it in dockside because I’ve got power at my marina or at my home,” Hanson said. “And it looks like I expect it to look, so that trepidation doesn’t exist (anymore).”
Hanson said the 2.1 Center Console EV had an operating time of greater than 2 hours running an average speed of 22 mph. The boat planes between 18 and 22 mph with a top speed of 38 mph. A full recharge takes eight hours but can be cut in half with two chargers.
“I wanted to make sure that with this power plant we could deliver,” Hanson said. “Not just on plane, but we could deliver 23 to 25 mph cruise speed and I wanted to deliver a minimum at that speed of 2-1/2 hours of operating time.”
From the exterior, the 2.1 Center Console EV looks like a traditional center console. Inside the hull the Octillion Power Systems battery packs replace the fuel tank between the longitudinal stringers. The charger connection is easily accessible at the transom.
Seventeen Fifty-Two, which is named after the year electricity was discovered, has committed to purchasing at least 25 of the E-Motion 180E outboards. At the Fort Lauderdale show, the company was accepting $2,000 deposits and reportedly had strong interest.
The first 2.1 Center Console EV model is expected to be delivered in late 2023 and will start at $179,900 (as of October 2022).
“We need to be on the curve or ahead of the curve in terms of electrification,” Hanson said. “But we shouldn’t invest our own time and capital in it. We needed to partner and it’s a good fit.”
