Editing Electric boat (section)

==History==
===Early===
An early electric boat was developed by the German inventor [[Moritz von Jacobi]] in 1839 in [[St Petersburg]], [[Russia]]. It was a {{convert|24|ft|m|adj=on}} boat which carried 14 passengers at {{convert|3|mph}}. It was successfully demonstrated to Emperor [[Nicholas I of Russia]] on the [[Neva River]].

===Golden Age===
[[File:Canot électrique.png|thumb|Outboard motorboat of Gustave Trouvé in 1881]]
[[File:Immisch motor.jpg|thumb|Electric motor designed by [[Moritz Immisch|Immisch & Co.]], who established the first fleet of electric launches in London]]
[[File:Early electric launch.jpg|thumb|Early electric launch on the [[River Thames]], built by William Sargeant]]
It took more than 30 years of battery and motor development before the electric boat became a practical proposition. This method of propulsion enjoyed something of a golden age from about 1880 to 1920, when gasoline-powered [[outboard motor]]s became the dominant method. [[Gustave Trouvé]], a French electrical engineer, patented a small electric motor in 1880. He initially suggested that the motor could power a set of paddle wheels to propel boats on the water, and later argued for the use of a [[propeller]].

An Austrian émigré to Britain, [[Anthony Reckenzaun]], was instrumental in the development of the first practical electric boats. While working as an [[engineer]] for the Electrical Power Storage Company, he undertook much original and pioneering work on various forms of electric traction. In 1882 he designed the first significant electric launch driven by [[rechargeable battery|storage batteries]], and named the boat ''Electricity''.<ref>Illustrated with [[wood engravings]] in the ''Electrical Review'', Vol.XI, No.255, 14 October 1882, pp.296 and 297</ref> The boat had a steel hull.<ref name=Batteries/> It was about {{convert|26|ft|m}} long, with a beam of about {{convert|5|ft|m}} and a draught of about {{convert|2|ft|mm}}. It was fitted with a {{convert|22|in|mm}}  diameter [[propeller]].<ref name=BDP300982>{{Cite news |title=An Electric Launch |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Post |location=Birminghamn |date=30 September 1882 |issue=7564 }}</ref> The batteries and electric equipment were hidden from view beneath the seating area, increasing the space available for the accommodation of passengers. The boats were used for leisure excursions up and down the River Thames and provided a very smooth, clean and quiet trip. The boat could run for six hours and operate at an average speed of 8 miles per hour.<ref name=Batteries>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marygordon.org.uk/?page_id=68 |title=Batteries |publisher=Mary Gordon Trust |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606220737/http://www.marygordon.org.uk/?page_id=68 |archive-date=6 June 2014}}</ref>

[[Moritz Immisch]] established his company in 1882 in partnership with [[William Keppel, 7th Earl of Albemarle]], specializing in the application of electric motors to transportation. The company employed [[Magnus Volk]] as a manager in the development of their electric launch department. After 12 months of experimental work starting in 1888 with a randan [[skiff]], the firm commissioned the construction of hulls which they equipped with electrical apparatus. The world's first fleet of electric launches for hire, with a chain of electrical [[charging station]]s, was established along the [[River Thames]] in the 1880s. An 1893 pleasure map of the Thames shows eight "charging stations for electric launches" between [[Kew]] ([[Strand-on-the-Green]]) and [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] ([[Caversham, Berkshire|Caversham]]).<ref name=thames_map>{{cite book|title=The Oarsman's and Angler's Map of the River Thames from its source to London Bridge|publisher=James Reynolds & Son, London|year=1893|edition=1991. Old House Books, Devon}}</ref> The company built its headquarters on the island called [[Platt's Eyot]].

From 1889 until just before the [[First World War]] the boating season and [[regatta]]s saw the silent electric boats plying their way up and downstream.<ref>'Electric Boats on the Thames 1889-1914' by Edward Hawthorne, 1995 Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd; {{ISBN|0-7509-1015-1}} : many references to Moritz Immisch's pioneering work with electric boats on pages 14-29; pages 30-40; pages 149-150, 166-169, and certain other pages</ref>

The company's electric launches were widely used by the rich as a conveyance along the river. Grand ships were constructed of teak or mahogany and furnished luxuriously, with stained glass windows, silk curtains and velvet cushions. William Sargeant was commissioned by Immisch's company to build the ''Mary Gordon'' in 1898 for [[Leeds City Council]] for use on the [[Roundhay Park]] Lake – the boat still survives and is currently being restored.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marygordon.org.uk/marygordon.htm |title=Mary Gordon Electric River Boat |access-date=31 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607094901/http://www.marygordon.org.uk/marygordon.htm |archive-date=7 June 2010}}</ref> This 70-foot long luxury pleasure craft could carry up to 75 passengers in comfort. Launches were exported elsewhere – they were used in the [[Lake District]] and all over the world.

In the 1893 [[World's Columbian Exposition|Chicago World Fair]] 55 launches developed from [[Anthony Reckenzaun]]'s work carried more than a million passengers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sunboat.com/history/history.html|title=The story of solar powered boats|access-date=31 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608142345/http://www.sunboat.com/history/history.html|archive-date=8 June 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History of our Classic Motor Yachts|url=http://www.elcomotoryachts.com/history.shtml|publisher=Elco|access-date=21 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710175018/http://www.elcomotoryachts.com/history.shtml|archive-date=10 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Electric boats had an early period of popularity between around 1890 and 1920, before the emergence of the internal combustion engine drove them out of most applications.

Most of the electric boats of this era were small passenger boats on non-tidal waters at a time when the only power alternative was [[Steam engine|steam]].

===Decline===
With the advent of the gasoline-powered [[outboard motor]], the use of electric power on boats declined from the 1920s. However, in a few situations, the use of electric boats has persisted from the early 20th century to the present day. One of these is on the [[Königssee]] lake, near [[Berchtesgaden]] in south-eastern [[Germany]]. Here the lake is considered so environmentally sensitive that steam and motor boats have been prohibited since 1909. Instead the [[Bayerische Seenschifffahrt]] company and its predecessors have operated a fleet of electric launches to provide a public passenger service on the lake.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.behoerdenwegweiser.bayern.de/dokumente/aufgabenbeschreibung/76666130115 | title = Bayerische Seenschifffahrt GmbH | language = de |trans-title=Bavarian Lakes Maritime Ltd. | publisher = Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior | access-date = 11 July 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110929074446/http://www.behoerdenwegweiser.bayern.de/dokumente/aufgabenbeschreibung/76666130115 | archive-date = 29 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seenschifffahrt.de/de/unternehmen/geschichte.asp |title=Geschichtliche Hintergründe |language=de |trans-title=Historical Background |publisher=Bayerische Seenschifffahrt |access-date=11 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210004130/http://www.seenschifffahrt.de/de/unternehmen/geschichte.asp |archive-date=10 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siemens.com/innovation/en/home/pictures-of-the-future/mobility-and-motors/electric-mobility-quiet-cruising-on-koenigssee.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021033011/http://www.siemens.com/innovation/en/home/pictures-of-the-future/mobility-and-motors/electric-mobility-quiet-cruising-on-koenigssee.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-10-21|title=Electric Mobility: Electric Boats on Bavaria's Lake Koenigssee – Mobility & Motors – Pictures of the Future – Innovation – Home – Siemens Global Website|date=21 October 2014|accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref>

The first electrically powered submarines were built in the 1890s, such as the Spanish [[Peral Submarine|Peral submarine]], launched in 1888.<ref>{{Citation|journal=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=General Dynamics Corporation|year=1993|edition=15th}}</ref> Since then, electric power has been used almost exclusively for the powering of submarines underwater (traditionally by batteries), although diesel was used for directly powering the propeller while on the surface until the development of [[diesel–electric transmission]] by the US Navy in 1928, in which the propeller was always powered by an electric motor, energy coming from batteries while submerged or diesel generator while surfaced.

The use of combined fuel and electric propulsion (''[[combined diesel–electric or gas]]'', or CODLOG) has gradually been extended over the years to the extent that some modern liners such as the [[Queen Mary 2]] use only electric motors for the actual propulsion, powered by diesel and gas turbine engines. The advantages include being able to run the fuel engines at an optimal speed at all times and being able to mount the electric motor in a [[Azimuth thruster|pod]] which may be rotated by 360° for increased manoeuvrability. Note that this is not actually an ''electric boat'', but rather a variant of [[diesel–electric transmission|diesel–electric]] or [[Turbine–electric transmission|turbine–electric]] propulsion, similar to the diesel or electric propulsion used on [[submarine]]s since [[World War I|WWI]].

===Renaissance===
[[File:Koenigssee Schoenau-Anlegepier.jpg|thumb|right|An electric passenger launch on Lake Königssee in Germany]]
The use of electricity alone to power boats stagnated apart from their [[Outboard motor|outboard]] use as [[trolling motor]]s until the Duffy Electric Boat Company of California started mass-producing small electric craft in 1968. It was not until 1982 that the [[Electric Boat Association]] was formed and solar powered boats started to emerge.<ref>{{cite book | author = Kevin Desmond | title = Electric Boats and Ships: A History | publisher = McFarland Books | date = 2017}}</ref> To reduce friction and increase range, some boats use [[hydrofoil]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Toll |first1=Micah |title=I tested a flying electric boat and it was even cooler than it sounds |url=https://electrek.co/2021/10/18/i-tested-a-flying-electric-boat-and-it-was-even-cooler-than-it-sounds/ |website=[[Electrek]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211019214536/https://electrek.co/2021/10/18/i-tested-a-flying-electric-boat-and-it-was-even-cooler-than-it-sounds/ |archive-date=19 October 2021 |date=18 October 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The eWolf tugboat that launched in March 2024 has a 6.2 megawatt-hour main propulsion battery and two electric drives and is more powerful than the diesel tugboats at the port.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-11 |title=The little (electric) engine that could: The Port of San Diego unveils the nation's first all-electric tug boat |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2024-03-11/the-nations-first-all-electric-tug-boat-arrives-at-the-port-of-san-diego |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>