Electric Cruising

Stuff We Love

By Lynda Wheatley | June 25, 2022

Elk Rapids Marina—and by extension, all of us who love our sweetwater seas—has just received a jolt of good news: Swedish electric boat manufacturer X Shore has named the marina the official Midwest distribution center of its Eelex 8000, a 26-foot electric boat that can reach a speed of 30+ knots. In turn, the marina is leading efforts to create a “supercharging corridor” along Northwest Lower Michigan waters. Elk Rapids and Northport will be among the first to install charging stations with AQUA superPower, a pioneer in environmentally conscious, ultra-fast marine charging networks. Soon to follow this summer and fall: additional superpower charging stations in Charlevoix, Traverse City, Torch Lake, and Petoskey. Says Susie Cooper, the president of Elk Rapids Marina, “We were excited to help and supply the local knowledge needed to bring all of this together in our home state first. We hope to bring further allocations of boats and charges to other Midwest markets in the years to come, as all three of us ramp up production and capacity to lead the way in the electrification of boating.”