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Financially, 2009 was a tough year for the boating industry as the economic recession led to a significant downturn in boat sales. Hopefully, 2010 will be the start of an economic recovery and also a recovery for the boating industry. In the meantime let us take a look as some of the boating improvements and innovations the industry came up with in 2009.
The Miami International Boat Show kicked off the year with the NMMA (National Marine Manufacturer’s Association) and Boating Writers International (BWI) innovation awards. These new products can improve the pleasure of boating right now. Here are several of the more interesting award winners:
Consumer Installed Non-Electronic Hardware: Vetus Easy Tank.The “Easy Tank” is a replacement water tank that starts out as an easy to install anywhere bladder tank and then goes through an ultraviolet conversion process to become a rigid tank that will not shift while boating.
Inboard & Outboard Power Cruisers (Co-Winner): Aspen Power Catamarans L80 Launch: Asymetric catamaran hull allows single engine power in a 28 ft. catamaran to cruise at over 20 kts. on 110hp. and get double to fuel economy of comparable boats.
PWC, Jet Boats & Pontoon Boats: Sea Doo GTX iS PWC: Active suspension and first-in-class on water braking make this personal water craft innovative, easier to ride and safer.
Environmental Award: Island Pilot DSE 12m Hybrid. Alternative energy meets recreational boating with this hybrid yacht with solar-diesel-electric power.
Boating Innovations
Electric and solar propulsion may be the wave of the future for both commercial and recreational boating. Innovative vessels are starting to appear showing the current technological possibilities.
Solar Sailor is an Austrailian company that is current providing solar powered ferry boats to Hong Kong and plans to expand their technology into private power cruisers.
The Serpentine Solar Shuttle from Solar Labs has been working as a Thames River ferry for several years now, but this first solar powered boat in the United Kingdom is able to function in London’s foggy climate and store enough power to carry 37 passengers 20 miles in the dark. Too bad the company’s website is so totally unhelpful and uninteresting.
Finally, on the completely recreational boating side, the Epic 23E hybrid wakeboarding boat makes all day wakeboarding environmentally friendly. The Epic 23E’s onboard electric propulsion system allows for an hour of full on wakeboarding and the system can be recharged with 110 or 220 volt power. For all day boating, this boat also has an onboard gas engine that can recharge the batteries, similar to the system in the forth coming Chevrolet Volt. With an initial price tag of up to $150,000 the 23E is expensive, but the company has taken orders for several boats this year.
The boating industry continued to innovate in 2009 providing both currently helpful and energy saving products and also developing technology that will change the face of boating in the future.
Sources: Marlin Magazine, ecoble.com,
Tags: boating, boating innovation, dse hybrid, epic 23e hybrid, island pilot, solar
