Nautique announced the industry’s first high performance 100% electric boat, the Ski Nautique E. To explore future propulsion technology, Nautique has partnered with LTS Marine, a Canadian company who specializes in electric motors.
LTS Marine began teaming up with Nautique during 2010 to test their electric system in a Ski Nautique. The Ski Nautique E contains two automotive electric motors that provide all the power necessary to meet the every day needs of our customer. The electric motors connect through a transfer case to the propeller shaft of the boat producing tournament worthy performance.
The Ski Nautique E is equipped with state of the art lithium ion batteries that are located to keep the center of gravity according to the boat performance; when fully charged this is equivalent to eight gallons of gas accommodating up to four slalom skiers during a session and achieving speeds of nearly 40mph. This new emissions free technology is extremely eco-friendly and requires minimal maintenance.
Two of the world’s most highly regarded water skiers recently skied behind the Ski Nautique E. Andy Mapple, 6 time Men’s World Champion stated, “In over four decades of water skiing this new boat from Nautique is the most exciting advancement I have seen. Waterski boats are the high end of boating and require tremendous performance; and Nautique, partnering with LTS, has made it work! This is forward thinking; it will be no surprise to anyone that Nautique is the boat company that made this happen.”
Current Women’s World Champion, Whitney McClintock commented, “The Ski Nautique E is powerful and peppy getting up to speed! It was a strong and smooth pull through the slalom course. While I was tricking, the only difference was the silence…It was nice to enjoy the sound of the water… So pure!”
“I am incredibly proud of our team and our partners, LTS, for making this boat a reality!” stated Nautique President/CEO Bill Yeargin. “The best part is that this is just a start, we look forward to working further with this boat and making more exciting announcements related to it in the near future,” Yeargin added.
The Ski Nautique E project will be showcased at the Montreal Boat Show on January 27-31, 2011 at the LTS Marine booth. This boat will make additional appearances at primary Nautique events this season.