Silence where there used to be noise

I got a firsthand taste of this shift on my last annual sailing trip in the Adriatic. My family, my boyfriend, and I chartered a Bavaria Cruiser 56 out of Dubrovnik - beautiful boat, for the sailing nerds among us - and joined a flotilla of five other families. Normally, evenings in a Mediterranean bay follow a predictable routine: you drop anchor, the world goes still for a while, whilst people take a rest after a long day at sea. Then, like clockwork at eight o’clock, the dinghies roar to life in a noisy rush to the shoreline for dinner. But this time, for the first time in 12 years the rush was… quiet.

Our dinghy was fitted with an electric outboard motor, and so were most of the others bobbing around the bay. No coughing engines, no fumes clouding the sunset, just smooth, silent gliding. Early morning grocery runs didn’t wake the entire anchorage anymore. Even the local fishermen slipped out silently at dawn, saying the catch was better without the noise. And the biggest surprise? My boyfriend - born and raised on the rugged shores of Lake Superior in Canada (where motor boats are basically a way of the "lake life“) - even he was impressed. For someone who grew up with the comforting rumble of gas-powered motors, admitting an electric outboard was better is nothing short of a revelation.

Torqeedo, the quiet revolution on water

And this is exactly where Torqeedo shines. Based in Starnberg, Germany, the company has been rethinking marine propulsion since 2005. What started as a niche experiment has grown into the world’s most comprehensive lineup of electric and hybrid drives. From ultra-light motors for tenders and dinghies, like the ones quietly ferrying our flotilla ashore, to the Deep Blue inboard systems powerful enough to push ferries and commercial vessels with up to 200 kW of clean torque, Torqeedo doesn’t just swap engines for batteries - it redesigns entire systems for efficiency, integration, and longevity.

This year alone has been big for them. At the Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo in Amsterdam, they unveiled the Deep Blue 200i, a heavy-duty 200 kW inboard motor designed for serious commercial use. Paired with intelligent fleet software that monitors battery health and predicts maintenance, it’s a peek into how large-scale marine operators could electrify without compromise. On the leisure side, Torqeedo is taking sustainability beyond propulsion - they’re now producing propellers made from recycled ocean plastic, reducing CO₂ emissions by up to 88% during manufacturing while still matching traditional performance.

They’re also reimagining how sustainability connects with people. At Boot Düsseldorf, Torqeedo set up a virtual “trash-fishing” simulator - every bit of digital waste you collected in the game translated into real-world water cleanups through their partner everwave. It’s a small but clever way to make the connection between technology, play, and impact tangible.

And while competitors like Finland’s Oceanvolt or the sleek newcomers at Arc Boats in the US are making noise (quietly, of course) in the electric marine space, Torqeedo still leads in both scale and variety. With Yamaha now distributing their Travel and Cruise motors across Europe, those iconic orange propellers are more accessible than ever.

Back in Dubrovnik, I realized this isn’t just about the tech. It’s about how electric propulsion changes the experience of being on the water. Without the roar and smell of combustion, you notice the sea itself - the gentle slap of waves, the echoes of laughter from the shoreline. Even crowded anchorages feel calmer. And yes, I could finally hop into the dinghy in a long white holiday dress without worrying about smudges of oil.

From the still waters of Lake Starnberg to the harbors of the Mediterranean - and yes, even the vast Canadian expanse of Lake Superior - Torqeedo is proving that cleaner marine mobility isn’t just about saving the planet. It’s about making life on the water better. If a Lake Superior motorboat traditionalist can be converted, imagine what it could do for the rest of us.

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