Achieving a day of slow electric cruising per overnight charge is becoming fairly viable in many inland locations, as a trip on any inland waterway will tell you. However, when boats are required to reach higher speeds and plane in open water for a reasonable length of time, and then also be rechargeable to a high percentage in a reasonable length of time, it creates a whole boatload of additional challenges.
Marine safe high voltage
With these very different demands, there is a split developing in electric boat technologies. The de facto safe working voltage for owner-built (read owner-tinkerable or DIY-built) electric boats is rapidly reaching a general consensus of 48V. It’s about as high a voltage as theindustry dares go with products such as electric outboards with removable batteries, where the lowest common denominator of users could perhaps be expected to plug and unplug battery leads with wet hands while seated in a puddle of seawater. A 48V electric shock in such circumstances would be unpleasant, but unlikely to be life-ending for most.
