Electric boats provide views of Boston Harbor while avoiding fuel costs
BOSTON -- It's a way to explore the city from a different perspective: Boston Electric Boats is a boat rental and charter company operating out of India Wharf Marina.
"My personal favorite route is inside the harbor heading towards Seaport all the way around," said employee Alli Cavallo.
The boats in the fleet, with names like Watts Up and Unplugged, are all electric and max out at 6mph.
"We have batteries that operate the motor. Those batteries can last up to 8 to 10 hours on a single charge. We then plug in the boat at the marina and it will recharge overnight," said owner Patrick Rourke, a Watertown man who founded the company last year.
"I would say in this area in terms of electric boating we're definitely the first ones doing it here in Boston," said Rourke. "Electric boating is definitely a trend. We see the industry moving very quickly toward an alternative to gas motors."
He notes some of the perks of the eco-friendly method of travel, including a quiet motor and avoiding rising fuel costs.
"That's definitely an expense we never had to build into our business plan so that's a nice feeling to have when these gas prices are increasing over and over," said Rourke.
There are two rental options: one is a captain-provided charter, and the other is a 'be your own captain' rental, where you can have up to 12 guests, and no prior boating experience is required.
"We've done a tour before but we were not our own captain so looking forward to that as well," said Bastien Grelaud, who was renting a boat with five friends.
"We might be a bit biased but we think the best view of the city is out here from the Harbor," said Rourke.