Plugboats: Nine winners of the 4th Gussies electric boat awards
Nov 9, 2023
After tallying the votes from a panel of 25 international electric boat experts and 5,000+ electric boat enthusiasts all over the world, the fourth annual Gustave Trouvé Awards for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating – ‘The Gussies’ – has announced the 2023 winners.
These international awards are given out for leisure boats, workboats, commercial passenger vessels, sailboats that can be purchased with electric propulsion, and retrofitted or customized boats that have been done commercially or as DIY projects.
In leisure boats, the winner in the Up To 8 m/26 ft Category for Boats in Production is the Axopar 25e, an electric version of the performance boat with a 220 kiloWatt (300 horsepower) electric outboard.
The In Development award for that length was given to Nero Yachts for the NERO777 Evolution, a length with hull sides that hydraulically open to create a wide sundeck/swim platform.
In the Over 8m/26 ft category the winners are both big solar electric yachts. The ZEN50 (In Production) is the first series production catamaran equipped with solar panels and a wingsail – a rigid, automated two-part sail that was initially developed for Team Oracle in the 2010 America’s Cup. The Soel Senses 62 is a luxury solar electric catamaran with 42 solar panels on its roofs that generate 120 kWh per day.
The Electric Workboat Gussie goes to Tideman boats of the Netherlands for its rugged 24 footer with a ‘near indestructible hull’ made of 100% recyclable materials.
The winning Commercial Passenger Vessels are the ‘Bryggen’, an electric commuter ferry operating in Copenhagen and the Artemis 24-F from Belfast in the ‘In Development’ Category. It’s a 24 passenger high speed electric hydrofoiling with a ‘lift off’ speed of 18 knots and 25 knots cruising speed.
The Electric Sailboat was won by the Fareast 42C, a catamaran from Fareast boats in Shanghai that was designed by Simonis Voogd of the Netherlands and South Africa.
The Lockheed 1937, a beautiful and beautifully restored launch of mahogany over oak carvel construction, took the honours in the Retrofitted / Customized DIY category. She was found in a field as a bare hull and restored and converted to electric by her owner.
About the Gussies
Over 160 boats were nominated for the awards with the finalist list narrowed down by an International Judging Panel and eventual winners chosen through a combination of public voting and weighted ballots from the Panel.
The panel is comprised of representatives from international electric boat associations (including Canada’s) and events along with all past Gussies winners. This year’s winners will join the panel for the 2024 awards.
Jeff Butler, the founder of the awards, Editor/Publisher of Plugboats.com and special contributor to OnBoard, said “The sheer number of nominees shows just how quickly the world of electric boats is growing, and they show that however you would like to travel across the water, or just enjoy your time on it, electric can do it. It is happening all over the world. Gussies winners this year came from seven countries to make a total of 20 countries that have had a boat builder awarded since 2020.”
You can see the Gussies winners at the link here, with links on that page to see all nominees.
Jeff Butler is based in Toronto and is the Editor/Publisher of plugboats.com, the international website covering everything electric boats and boating. He is also President of the Electric Boat Association of Canada and is busy preparing to bring electric motor boat racing and exhibitions to Toronto Harbour in 2023 for the first Toronto Solar Boat Races.
