The Great Recession nearly sank Nancy Frainetti’s dream of producing family-sized electric boats. But she’s back on the water again.
A partnership with Largo’s Island Packet Yachts has now resulted in the L24e, a 24-foot “family launch” powered by batteries, driven by an all-magnetic motor, and augmented by solar panels on a hard shell canopy.
The vessel runs with essentially no sound at roughly the speed of a boat under sail. Frainetti claimed the batteries, plugged into a standard 110-volt outlet will recharge overnight at a cost of about $1.50. That charge will last about 10 hours.
Solar panels built into a hard-shell canopy will charge the batteries if the boat is not used for three or four days, but are always at work.
“A lot of people will go somewhere and anchor a boat, and then while they’re playing in the water, it’s charging,” Frainetti told Fox 13 News.
In round numbers, prices range from $70,000 to $120,000, depending on options.
