Cruising the lake in electric luxury – 1st boat delivered

March 7, 2019April 4, 2019 Jeff Butler 4270 Views 0 Comments Canada, Templar, The Gussies, Torqeedo, Vector

UPDATE: TEMPLAR BOATS 1ST CRAFT DELIVERED

KELOWNA, British Columbia, March 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Templar Marine Group Ltd. is pleased to announce the launch of its first plugin electric 29-foot boat for the North American pleasure craft market. Its flagship Cruiser 26 is the first of five hand built electric propulsion vessels to roll off its innovative new assembly line located in Kelowna, BC.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

(Published January 27, 2019)

When Mark and Jennifer Fry couldn’t find the boat they wanted – a zero emission day cruiser, they decided to build it themselves. And Templar Boats was born!

Mark told the OkanaganEdge “We wanted a boat where we could go out and entertain friends in and have champagne and cocktails and caviar and be fully enclosed during the winter with a central heating unit.” We should point out here that the Frys live in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. “During the summer all the windows will roll up and fold up, and you’ve got a swimming platform off the back for kids and grandkids.”

Since no one had that kind of boat available, the Frys developed the general concept themselves, then enlisted famed yacht designer Neil Gilbert of Gilbert Creative Group and Vector Powerboats, (who recently helped smash the electric boat speed record) and decided on Torqeedo’s electric propulsion systems to build the first prototype.

Now, the Frys themselves weren’t exactly novices at this. Mark has been in the boat business for more than 40 years, and runs International Yacht Training, a marine training company that has 300 schools in 58 countries.

Orders are already streaming in

So he knew the boat of their dreams could be built. The result – the Templar Cruiser 26 – can hold 15 people, sports the fully enclosable cabin they want, full size bathroom with sink and vanity, a swim platform, USB ports throughout, refrigerator, and Bluetooth stereo. And the running cost is almost as low as the emission free motors: a mere .10 to .15 an hour to recharge at Kelowna rates.

The Cruiser has a range of about 36 miles on one charge, which breaks down to about 6 and a half hours operating at a leisurely and enjoyable 5 knots.

The price for the basic Templar Cruiser 26 will be “around $140-150,000”, according to Mark. The basic hull can also be outfitted with different options to act as commercial craft like water taxis.

Fry says that as of January 2019, “We’ve got 57 orders pending, and we’ve only just launched the first prototype”. Check out the Templar boats on their website.