Sparky is a brand new boat inspired by a 1907 gasoline launch designed by Edson Schock. His goal was to get the most speed from a 500 pound, 10-hp engine. My goal was to get speed, classic lines and picnic accommodations with a 6 hp electric motor powered by 500 pounds of batteries.

Sparky was conceived to be the optimum boat for quiet, environmentally responsible cruising. She can carry eight people out for a ride or four people for a placid nautical dinner. She is quiet enough to enjoy conversation with classical music in the background or sneak up on a heron. Her hull is so slippery that she only consumes a tiny bit of energy; top speed with the six hp motor is 8.5 mph and two hp is all that is needed to cruise at seven mph. The batteries will provide 40 miles, range at this speed. Slow just a little to 6.5 mph and she can cruise for 50 miles. Plug the boat into a regular 120v household outlet and recharge the batteries overnight for about $1.00.

The hull is high performance composite construction using ¾" cedar strips sandwiched between layers of 10 oz fiberglass set in epoxy. The "canvas" decks are Dynel cloth / epoxy. Brightwork is Sapele marine ply or Spanish Cedar; the natural surfaces of seats and cockpit sole are Garapa, a Brazilian hardwood similar to teak in hardness and weather resistance.

Specifications: LOA 25', LWL 24'6", Beam 5"11", Draft 1'5", Empty weight with batteries 1720 lbs. Design displacement 2000 lbs, 430-lbs/inch immersion at designed displacement. 11x12 three blade bronze propeller, 2:1 speed reduction.

Features: MARS brushless AC motor rated for 100 amps, 6 hp continuous duty. Sevcon PMAC controller, Sevcon 12/48 DC-DC converter, eight 6 volt 220 ah Concorde Lifeline AGM deep cycle batteries, Link 10 energy monitor, DeltaQ 48 volt 1kw charger. Jensen four speaker marine stereo / CD player with iPod jack, Humminbird color GPS / depth sounder. Brass hardware. Custom dual axle aluminum trailer.