Arc One electric boat to add space-age tech to the water

Arc Boats wants to kick off its new business building the Arc One, a $US300,000 ($A406,000), 7.3-metre inboard-engined aluminium launch with a 475hp electric motor turning a shaft drive propeller.

The company reckons the boat’s performance will be enough to push it along at a top speed of around 35 knots, with the onboard batteries providing anywhere between three and five hours of cruising before electron-based top-ups.

Arc Boats has even tapped into its SpaceX roots to create what it claims is an aerospace-inspired hull made up of a mix of stringers, laterals and battens looking not too unlike a traditional alloy boat’s gubbins, although with a much lighter-duty transom.

A compact electric motor is located amidships, with a specialised dual 100kWh battery pack – each battery has about the same storage capacity as a Tesla Model S – providing “tight control over the boat’s centre of gravity, yielding optimal range and performance”.

The Arc One features a traditional-look bow – no anchor well is shown – and a three-piece wrap-around windscreen protecting a dash with a central multifunction screen to display information to both the skipper and the co-pilot.

Behind the front jump seats is a U-shaped lounge, with enough seating onboard to fit around 10 people comfortably, Arc Boats says. Down the back is a large swim platform integrated into the boat’s transom.

Just like a Tesla, Arc One’s designers say the boat’s software can update wirelessly as engineers work out ways to extract more performance from the battery and electric motor, meaning it “only gets better with age”.

According to Arc Boats, battery technology is finally “finally good enough to pull this off” if the boat on which it is based has a strong, lightweight hull to accommodate the large battery”. 

“With years of experience in aerospace manufacturing, we believe we can disrupt the gasoline boating industry through first principle engineering, innovative production techniques, and a scrappy start-up approach to problem-solving,” Arc Boats said.

The first boat is expected to be completed early next year.