Recently, I was riding in a full-size pickup with a crew of old friends when we spotted Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning. To the untrained eye, it was just an ordinary work truck, with muddy haunches from a jobsite and the tools of the trade filling the bed. But when a truck full of truck guys spots what is arguably the most exciting vehicle to come out of Dearborn, Mich., in decades, a lively debate ensues.
Bill, who was riding shotgun, had just picked up a standard F-150 weeks before. He was a fan of the Lightning but said its cost (about $20,000 more than its gas-powered brethren at the time of this writing) was a reason he didn’t consider it. Another friend, who works in the heavy-construction trade for a firm that buys trucks a hundred at a time, also saw the high sticker price as cost-prohibitive, but added that most trucks rarely exceed 100 miles in a day, well within the Lightning’s 300-mile range.
We then deliberated about electric-powered vehicles in general. Does charging from a grid powered by fossil fuels negate the environmental impact? What about the precious metals needed for the batteries? Risk of fires? Are electric-powered vehicles cheaper to own over the long haul?
The marine industry, unlike its on-road counterparts, is many nautical miles away from the mass adoption of electric-powered vehicles. But builders and DIYers are moving toward reducing the use of fossil fuels via robust solar power arrays, powerful lithium battery banks, and hybrid and electric propulsion.
The epitome of this quest is the Steeler 61S Electric (see “Proof of Concept,” page 64). It’s a collaboration between the Dutch firms Steeler Yachts and Vripack. The liveaboard owner, a Norwegian man named Ivar Presttun, wanted a steel-hull, electric-power boat prepared for any type of sea. Solar panels and windmills on the roof help to feed the 184-kilowatt-hour battery. At 5 knots, this boat can run on batteries alone for eight hours, with normal energy consumption on board. At 6 knots, the boat has a 2,000-nautical-mile range. A diesel-powered genset charges the batteries when needed.
I posted a photo of this vessel on our Instagram page (@passagemakermag, please give us a follow) and the comments filled up fast, both supporting and questioning the power choices the owner made. A few days after the post went up, I noticed that Presttun had replied to clarify some things about his vessel.
One commenter wrote, “After 8 [hours] at 5 [knots], you haven’t gotten anywhere and still have to stop for 10 [plus hours] to recharge.”
Presttun’s reply not only embraces the ethos of the build, but also what many of us are chasing when passagemaking: “After 8 [hours] I am exactly where I want to be: at sea.”
Well said, Mr. Presttun.
This article was originally published in the May/June 2023 issue.
