This is the story of the Thinking Design 15' electric "Rascal" runabout.

There are no natural lakes in Maryland, but I live on a recreational resevoir where electric boats are allowed. Most of the boats are rowboats powered with trolling motors and pontoon boats with somewhat larger electric outboards.

What a kick, I thought, to build a small planing electric runabout.

After searching the internet a bit, I found out that there is no such thing. One fellow built a 48 volt ETEK conversion that almost planed out. See the SneakEasy

This project started a couple of years ago with a bunch of information gathering and research. The boat will have to be very light, hard-chined and nearly flat-bottomed. The batteries will have to be light, so the running time at full power will be only about 12 minutes. The motor will have to produce 8 HP and peak to 18 or so. The electric system will need to be 72 volts or higher.

In the spring of 2007 we finally began to construct a prototype. The hull is a very nice design by Ken Bassett of Vermont called the "Rascal" - a classic-looking 15 foot gentleman's runabout.

We have re-worked the plans and materials to come up with a hull weight of under 300 pounds. The motor and batteries will add another 350 pounds. This hull should plane with one driver using about 8 horsepower, or about 100 Amps @ 72 volts. The control and battery system is set to peak at about 200 Amps, which should give temporary peak power of about 16 HP.

The boat is nearly done. Sea trials will start this September of 2006. I will be posting pictures of the construction so far and detailed explanations of the various sytems.

	The building of the electric Rascal Click the image for the photo essay.		This is the builder with whom I collaborate on this project. Click for more about Jon Meek