Quiet cruising on the Chain

WAUPACA – Water and electricity don’t mix but one man on the Chain was able to bring the two together safely to make a low maintenance, solid, quiet ride for his family.
Matthew Towne, originally from Waupaca but now a Florida resident, was inspired to build an electric boat when he saw gas prices continuing to soar.
He was also sick of the constant maintenance on his boat. If mechanical work is needed, a person could be on a waiting list and be without a boat for a long time.
Towne owns an electric car and said he loves the savings on fuel and the smooth performance.
With all of these things taken into consideration, Towne decided he would build the electric capabilities into a boat and get the same fuel economy and ride as his own electric car.

He started his journey to convert a gas-powered motor into an electric one and he was confident as he has a background in engineering.
Towne started by doing as much research as he could to ensure that all the pieces would fit together and work properly.
In 2022, he purchased a 1995 Princecraft with a 2013 drive train and a blown motor to start work on this futuristic watercraft.
The motor and drive train are almost entirely made up of Nissan Leaf components, as well as a couple pieces from Tesla, he said.
Towne said he wanted to use the Nissan Leaf system due to its safety features, including batteries that can be submersible, system shut down if there is a voltage leak as well as the flexibility and durability.
Instead of filling up a tank to take his boat out, all he does is plug it in with a cord that he ran out to the dock. He said the charger is a little slow but he did not want to invest large amounts of money until he had the boat up and running.
“For a thousand hours, the cost of operating an electric boat compared to operating a gas boat is about two thirds the cost,” Towne said.
On a full charge the boat has a range of 150 miles if you are driving slowly and 30 miles if you are going faster the entire time, with the top speed being 35 miles-per-hour.
The battery is also smaller and he plans to upgrade the battery now that the boat is running.
Towne said the battery he has in the boat currently weighs 600 pounds and it can be found beneath the seats in the back of the boat. The larger battery is the same weight but it is just more powerful.
Towne took his boat off the Chain for the season, and with zero maintenance all he has to do is store it until next season.
Towne can rest easy knowing that next summer when he makes his way to the family cottage on McCrossen Lake in Waupaca from his Florida residence, all he has to do is get his boat on the lake and charge up the battery.
“Here’s the bottom line, if you decide you’re going to do something and you just set out to do it, it’s really that simple,” Towne said. “It’s been an interesting ride, now I know everything about my boat and I can fix anything on my boat.”
As of right now, Towne said he is considering starting a business converting gas boats into electric, more information can be found by emailing Towne directly at mltowne11@gmail.com.