I'm just wrapping up my trip to Holland, and wanted to give a quick recap of the week and a half spent here working on electric boat related content. It’s been a wild ride, and I have done a lot and met so many interesting people here in the Netherlands.
Days one and two were spent at the Hybrid Electric Marine Expo in Amsterdam, and I spent two days walking the show. I spent a good amount of time interviewing people working the show about their products, and actually only was able to visit about half of the exhibitors. I focused my time on the companies producing products for smaller vessels as that is what I am used to working on, and that is my primary focus, instead of the large shipping industry.
One of the stand out companies is Evoy, a Norwegian inboard and outboard power and propulsion company. They have been producing electric outboards for the last couple of years for their clients, many of whom are Norwegian fish farmers operating in the rough seas off the coast of Norway. They need a reliable and powerful motor, and Evoy has been able to provide that and get valuable feedback from those customers. They have also produced a lightening fast RHIB with company Goldfish, which I’ll be testing tomorrow in Oslo.
Another rising star in my opinion is NT Systems. This company is based in Slovenia, and manufactures modular inboard motor systems. One of the founders used to work for the company Greenline Yachts which has given him a lot of insight and experience into electric propulsion on boats, and it shows in many ways. One of which is the focus on customer support, and maintenance schedules which is built right in to their own proprietary helm interface. A lot of companies are claiming that electric propulsion is maintenance free, and that simply isn’t true. Anyone who has spent any time around boats knows that boats and their components break frequently, and electrical components are no exception.
Another company that piqued my interest is Helix, which designs powerful radial flux motors derived from the motorsport industry. They are currently supplying motors to a number of Formula E teams, and are now making their entry into the marine world. They are claiming very close relationship between their continuous and peak power, and I am curious to experience one of their motors on an outboard or inboard motor.
After the show on the first day, Craftsmanship, one of the local Dutch electric boat companies I had contacted reached out because the weather was perfect for a shoot. The boat was actually located in Amsterdam on the Amstel River just a few minutes from the show, and I happened to have the drone with me and headed over to do the shoot. We had a great late summer evening cruising the canals and experiencing driving an electric boat through the Amsterdam canals. The boat itself was a pleasure to drive. It had smooth and quiet propulsion from Green Marine, and a powerful variable bow thruster from Vetus which made it
quite easy to maneuver through the tight turns of the canals.
Yesterday I also had the pleasure of meeting up and filming with the boat builder of Brutus Boten, which makes a steel hulled electric sloop. I was extremely impressed with the fit and finish of this boat. It has this very fun theme of using chalks, and cleats in the style of large tug boats. The forward hatch has a brass clasp and steel door like you might find on a large sea going ship. At only 7.5 meters, it feels like a much bigger boat. Because it is steel the weight is far more than a fiberglass boat of this size, and it barely rocks at all when you step on board. The gunnels are about waist high, and you feel quite secure inside. My cousin came along for the ride, and the four of us were able to move around the boat quite easily.
There are a couple of other boats that I didn’t have the opportunity to film this time around but will likely return to Holland in the near future to do so.
That wraps up the Netherlands, and follow along as we head over to Oslo tomorrow to film the Goldfish X9 powered by Evoy, and a boat developed by Pascal Technologies that has a highly efficient hull design alternative to foiling. Thanks for coming along with me and be sure to check out the videos in the coming weeks.
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