The Boat Yard and Shred Electric deliver a new standard in clean, commercial marine power
YARMOUTH — When it comes to working the water, reliability isn’t optional — especially in a Maine winter. Over the past season, The Boat Yard LLC’s all-electric workboat clocked over 150 hours hauling freight, towing vessels, and delivering materials to offshore islands — demonstrating that clean marine power is ready for real-world commercial deployment.
“We were out in every kind of weather,” said Chad Strater, co-founder of The Boat Yard. “The boat performed flawlessly. With nearly 4,000 pounds of payload capacity and 18 feet of open deck space, it’s become a reliable workhorse in our daily operations.”
This milestone is the result of a four-year collaboration between Strater and Nick Planson of Shred Electric, focused on electrifying workboats for coastal operations. Together, they’ve refined a line of U.S.-built aluminum workboats designed specifically for working waterfronts. Available in three popular styles — Garvey-style, landing craft and fast barge — each vessel features a self-bailing, slight-vee hull and is built to order in just 3–4 weeks.
The design includes protected below-deck housing for the battery and electrical system. Power comes from Rhode Island-based Flux Marine, whose electric outboards and battery systems round out the fully U.S.-made offering.
Speed and endurance — once the primary concerns for electric propulsion — have now been validated. With a 100-horsepower electric outboard, the vessel reaches up to 35 mph unloaded, with a cruising speed of 22 mph. “We were doing service work off Harpswell,” Strater shared, “and we beat the truck back to Yarmouth that day.”
Charging is simple: at the end of the day, the boat plugs into standard shore power and is ready by morning. “It’s virtually silent too,” said Strater. “All you hear is water under the hull.”
Funding for the prototype came from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Maine Technology Institute, the Island Institute, and Coastal Enterprises, Inc. through its Marine Green loan program. The prototype vessel — still in daily use — now doubles as their strongest sales and marketing tool.
Planson added, “This is about delivering zero-emission tools that meet the demands of working waterfronts. We’re not compromising on performance — we’re just cutting out the gas.”
The Boat Yard has already sold several boats and continues to expand its operations. In addition to marine construction and logistics services, the team works with boat owners and operators to evaluate electrification opportunities across the sector.
Founded in Yarmouth, The Boat Yard provides marine construction, freight logistics, and vessel electrification services, specializing in dock and pier repair, seawall construction, barge operations and materials transport to offshore islands. For more, go to www.theboatyard.me.
Established in 2021 in New Gloucester, Shred Electric partners with manufacturers and marine and farm businesses to electrify equipment for quieter, cleaner, and more reliable operations. For more, go to www.shredelectric.com.
Flux Marine is a marine technology company pioneering high-performance electric outboard propulsion systems. Designed from the ground up to deliver clean, powerful alternatives to traditional gas engines, Flux Marine’s systems are engineered for reliability, efficiency, and ease of integration. Based in Rhode Island, the company supports both recreational and commercial applications across the U.S. For more, go to www.fluxmarine.com.
