Newport International Boat Show was exhilarating for the Green Yachts team. Not only was the Salona S46 selected out of the largest number of entrants ever as the best green boat of the show, but the interest and enthusiasm in the Salona S46 and electric sailing was amazing! Hundreds of boaters who visited Green Yachts were excited and enthralled by the Salona S46 and electric propulsion.
We would estimate that 1/3rd of our visitors had seen the Sailing Uma video about the Salona S46 and came to the Newport Boat Show to see the Salona S46. 1/3rd of our visitors were open to electric propulsion, but didn’t know much about it. 1/3rd of our visitors had never heard about boats being electric and it was all new to them.
The first third tended to be younger and not yet ready to buy a performance cruiser sailboat. But they were 100% committed to buying an electric sailboat when they are able to buy one. These are the folks who told their friends to come visit Green Yachts and after seeing the Salona S46 in person, many of them wanted to go back and watch the Sailing Uma video again about the Salona S46. Regardless of whether it is 10 years before this group buys a sailboat, the passion of this group helps makes a difference.
With the second third, we saw their openness in electric propulsion turn to appreciation and admiration. From this group, we heard over and over that based on what they were seeing on our boat, electric propulsion technology is here. Not only did they love getting a chance to operate the twin Oceanvolt electric propulsion system, they loved the innovation, design and features on the Salona S46.
The third group may have been the most interesting. They hadn’t heard much if anything about electric propulsion or Salona. Seeing their reaction was a true testament to electric propulsion. For example, one couple came aboard that was looking at another performance cruiser. After operating the Oceanvolt system and spending a half hour looking at the Salona S46 interior, the woman in the couple turned to her husband and said, “This is the boat I want, I want this boat right here,” as she pointed emphatically to the Salona S46. This group has a lot of questions about range and evolution of technology – both great questions – and we appreciate the opportunity to answer these questions for them.
Our experience at Newport reaffirms that the majority of boaters will be ready to buy an electric boat and enjoying the silence, no fumes, ease and reduced maintenance of electric sailing as their familiarity increases. Everyone who gets an electric sailboat and shares the experience of electric sailing is likely responsible for five other sailors going electric. It is these sailors who go electric before others, that help grown the electric revolution on the water. To these sailors, thank you. To all the boaters who visited Green Yachts, we are grateful for the chance to share the benefits of electric boating with you and we look forward to helping you join the electric revolution on the water.