If you sail you likely spend considerable time—and money—cleaning, fixing, and worrying about your diesel or gas engine. When it comes to safety, your backup propulsion is as important as your sails. Can you rely on electric motors for safety? What are the pros and cons of buying an electric sailboat?

Diesel engines are reliable, but they pollute. Diesel (and gas) engines emit greenhouse gasses and exhaust that includes particulate matter and carcinogens that are a risk to human health.

Until recently, alternatives to marine diesel engines were limited. Boat owners could carry out their own repower projects or purchase expensive commercial electric motors. Storage capacity was a problem.

Fortunately, the winds are shifting and there are now numerous high quality and economically competitive alternatives to traditional marine engines. In this article we describe the pros and cons of purchasing a new motor or re-powering your existing engine. We also describe the market for marine electric propulsion systems and identify leading boat builders, manufacturers, and installers.

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