2023 looks innovative
As the new calendar flips and the Year of the Rabbit arrives, it already appears that this will be a landmark year for boat technology. Yes, electric boats have been around for 100 years, but this year, they are stealing all the headlines already. Torqeedo, for example, has been manufacturing electric outboards for decades but for 2023 everyone seems to want plug in power and in ’23, the big boys, like Merc and many others, are joining in on the action. Boat manufacturers, many Canadian, are showing of brave new models to the applause of crowds.
Why? Green thinking likely. Boaters, even more than the rest of the population, have a front row seat to water and air pollution. Climate change is already affecting their lives with crazy weather and unpredictable water levels. Now that manufacturers are bring viable products to the table, we can make choices and satisfy our own sense of what is appropriate without giving away performance or fun.
Technology is also delivering on foiling. Again, this mechanism has been around for years but now it is adding a whole new dimension to powerboats and sailboats big and small. The first foiling America’s Cup was not that long ago – 2013. Now Sail GP is all foil, all the time and there are all sorts of small foilers, foiling kiteboards, foiling runabouts, foiling cruisers. Suddenly foiling, like electric engines, is a thing.
So, congratulations – boat people are opening their eyes and hearts to all sorts of new tech. Let us know when the first electric powered foiling some-thing-or-other zips by you out there. It will happen sometime this year, I bet.
John Morris
Online Editor
Canadian Yachting Magazine
CYonboard@kerrwil.com
