100% recycled materials, 100% electric – Elco and Whaly partner on eco-friendly coach boat

November 25, 2024 Jeff Butler 0 Comments Elco, Whaly

Difficult to imagine a better environmental marriage than an eco-friendly coach boat with a zero emission electric motor powering a boat made of 100% recycled materials. So that’s exactly what Florida non-profit SAIL LAST asked two pioneers of the small boat industry to deliver.

Elco is America’s historic electric boat and motor manufacturer, with a pedigree that can be traced back more than 130 years to the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893.

The Fair requested bids for supplying fifty 34-foot boats to be “propelled by power of any description, and to be able to carry thirty people”. Kevin Desmond, in his excellent book, “Electric Ships and Boats, A Brief History”, chronicles how the Electric Launch & Navigation Company went on to win the contract and made 66,975 trips during the six and a half months of the exposition, carrying 1,026,346 passengers 200,925 miles (323,357 km).

Read the fascinating history of Elco motors and the Chicago World’s Fair

During the first World War the renamed Electric Launch Company built boats for both the British and U.S. navies and throughout WWII supplied more of the 80 foot PT (patrol torpedo) boats than any other manufacturer, including the famed PT-109 of future US President John F. Kennedy.

In 1952 the company got out of consumer boats and merged with several other navy and air force contractors under the General Dynamics corporation. The dormant Electric Launch Company (Elco) name was acquired from Dynamic in 1987 to re-manufacture the company’s classic boat designs and in 2009 Elco started to focus exclusively on electric boat motors.

Whaly Boats was founded by two Dutch sailing brothers – experienced in the plastics industry – who decided to create an affordable, durable small boat that could handle the rough waters of the North Sea. Twenty years later, the company has a range of 9 recreational boats and 10 workboats, with more than 30,000 of their polyethylene hulls now cruising waters worldwide.

Polyethylene has always given Whaly boats the advantage of being tough, durable, low maintenance and 100% recyclable at the end of their long life. In a vivid demonstration of the circular economy, some of their hulls are now made of polyethylene that is 100% recycled itself.

Eco-friendly coach boat attracted non-profit

That is one of the things that caught the attention of SAIL LAST. The organization was founded by alumni of the University of Connecticut (UCONN) Sailing team and continues to be operated by sailors dedicated to creating sailing opportunities for juniors.

These are not just any sailing opportunities, though. SAIL LAST purposefully drives youth development through sailboat racing instruction in a way that is environmentally responsible and has 50% of their invested effort going into teaching STEM skills – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

The Whaly hulls of 100% recycled hull material coupled with the battery electric Elco motors fulfill the mandate of the program to a tee. In addition, the batteries are charged via solar panels to reduce the organization’s carbon footprint further.

The electric coach boat platform is based on the Whaly 455R, a 14′ 9″ center console style boat designed as a multipurpose work and rescue vessel. Matched up with Elco’s EP-50 electric outboard and lithium batteries the 455R can run for up to eight hours as a coach boat, with bursts of up to 8 knots to keep pace with the sailboats.

“We selected the Elco outboard for its simplicity of operation, ease of maintenance and zero emissions,” said Tom Hansen, SAIL LAST executive director. Dean Heinemann, Elco General Manager, said the partnership with Whaly was smooth sailing, pun intended. “We’ve partnered with them on numerous projects,” he said, “But SAIL LAST is unique in its benefits of introducing young people to sailing and investing the efforts into teaching STEM skills.”.