Photo courtesy of Lake Shots Photography
In the quest for electric-powered speed on the water, a group of college students thinks they may have discovered the secret formula.
by Janet Dabbs
A collegiate team is attempting to design and engineer the fastest electric boat the world has ever seen.
The University of Michigan Electric Boat (UMEB) student-led team, though not ready to compete at the 2024 Shootout boat races, still brought their project to Lake of the Ozarks the week of the event, giving boaters, race fans, and industry watchers a peek at what’s on the horizon. The electric-powered closed-cockpit catamaran is dubbed TiDE. The team talks about the project with youthful enthusiasm… and data to back it up.
The Boat
Photo courtesy of UMEB Electric Boat Team
When designing the hull, the team needed something that was fast and could take the weight that comes part and parcel with battery power. But they found no options in the racing industry: race boats aren’t typically designed to support that kind of heft.
The solution was the innovative 22-foot Liberator. The team purchased the hull, and blended it with a Skater closed cockpit, effectively creating a new boat, designed and built specifically with an electric powertrain in mind.
There is no other boat in the world like it.
The boat features a twin-tunnel trimaran hull powered by a high-performance electric motor setup, delivering 1,200 horsepower and 1,400 pounds of torque. It utilizes a Mercury Racing 5-blade cleaver propeller and a modified Arneson surface drive. Custom systems include hydraulics, cooling, and both low and high voltage battery packs.
At 860 pounds, the hull weighs less than the batteries it’s carrying.
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