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There are 15.7 million recreational power boats in the US alone (1 for every 10 households), 70% of those in the installed base are powered by outboard motors.

There are 15.7 million recreational power boats in the US alone (1 for every 10 households), 70% of those in the installed base are powered by outboard motors. This is not the car market, but it is not tiny.

andyrebele 7y ago
While it's not a small market, it's in the Bay Area's blind spot. Fishing is the 2nd most popular outdoor activity in the US, behind running. In the US, there are 20 million people who fish for freshwater bass alone (1 in 16 Americans). Bass Pro Shops is the Missouri unicorn that grew from nothing to be big enough to buy Cabela's for $5 billion, based largely on their boat sales.
ElKrist 7y ago
If you have numbers about how often these recreational boats are used I'd be interested
- andyrebele 7y ago
  There are all sorts of surveys, but the best source I've found for real data on how much these boats are used is this official report on fuel usage (2013): https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl17012.pdf https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl17012.pdf Basically, it indicates that recreational boats use 1% of the fuel of all passenger cars.
jillesvangurp 7y ago
In terms of pollution you also have to consider that these boats are being used a lot less than cars. However, another thing to consider is that some of the diesel, petrol, and oil inevitably ends up in the water. In terms of maintenance and cost, I think it is interesting that battery electric is becoming competitive here. It wouldn't surprise me if some countries start putting rules in place to ban dirty engines from some sensitive areas. Apparently the EU already has a lot of rules around boat engines already that are complicated and hard to enforce and not that effective yet. But like the car industry, boat engines are subject to emission standards, inspections, certifications, etc. and the rules are getting stricter. I imagine that once battery electric becomes cheap/common enough, a lot of boat owners will choose to go electric rather than buying a cleaner engine just to ensure they stay on the safe/legal side with their boats and avoid fines. Also, doing the right thing when you are actively enjoying nature is probably going to motivate a few people.

andyrebele 7y ago

While it's not a small market, it's in the Bay Area's blind spot. Fishing is the 2nd most popular outdoor activity in the US, behind running. In the US, there are 20 million people who fish for freshwater bass alone (1 in 16 Americans). Bass Pro Shops is the Missouri unicorn that grew from nothing to be big enough to buy Cabela's for $5 billion, based largely on their boat sales.

ElKrist 7y ago

If you have numbers about how often these recreational boats are used I'd be interested

andyrebele 7y ago
There are all sorts of surveys, but the best source I've found for real data on how much these boats are used is this official report on fuel usage (2013): https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl17012.pdf https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl17012.pdf Basically, it indicates that recreational boats use 1% of the fuel of all passenger cars.

jillesvangurp 7y ago

In terms of pollution you also have to consider that these boats are being used a lot less than cars. However, another thing to consider is that some of the diesel, petrol, and oil inevitably ends up in the water. In terms of maintenance and cost, I think it is interesting that battery electric is becoming competitive here. It wouldn't surprise me if some countries start putting rules in place to ban dirty engines from some sensitive areas. Apparently the EU already has a lot of rules around boat engines already that are complicated and hard to enforce and not that effective yet. But like the car industry, boat engines are subject to emission standards, inspections, certifications, etc. and the rules are getting stricter. I imagine that once battery electric becomes cheap/common enough, a lot of boat owners will choose to go electric rather than buying a cleaner engine just to ensure they stay on the safe/legal side with their boats and avoid fines. Also, doing the right thing when you are actively enjoying nature is probably going to motivate a few people.