When a company builds lightweight, eco-conscious electric boats, it’s easy to pigeonhole it as a one-dimensional regatta specialist, capable of nothing but gentlemanly inland launches for the wealthy and the well-heeled. Having first become acquainted with Rand through its rental-friendly Picnic 18 model, I have to confess I was guilty of exactly that. But Rand has come a long way in the last five years. It’s gone from building 250 boats in 2021 to 450 boats in 2022. It expects to increase that again to around 1,500 boats by 2026 and it also now operates its own manufacturing plant in Croatia, where its eight-strong fleet spans everything from the modestly evolved Picnic 18 to the new flagship Escape 30.
Each model is
