By Amanda Olsen – The Suffolk Times
Long Island’s first retail electric boat dealer is now open for business at Atlantic Cove Marina, 215 Atlantic Ave., East Moriches. Founded two years ago by partners Luke Hickling and T.R. Ludwig, EMO Electric sells electric outboards, trolling motors and purpose-built electric boats. They also do electric repowers, where they take gasoline-powered boats and retrofit them.
EMO Electric began through an interesting twist of fate. Mr. Ludwig and his wife bought a house in East Moriches next door to where Mr. Hickling’s family has lived for nearly 100 years. Mr. Hickling, a 100-ton captain, used to work on yachts and teaches people to use boats. The pair became friends, and when Mr. Ludwig bought an old boat, he asked Mr. Hickling to teach him to use it.
“I have always been on the water, since I was a kid. I teach people how to sail and how to use boats. So T.R. went out and bought this crappy old Trophy with a really smoky, loud two-stroke on it, and asked me to help him learn how to use it,” said Mr. Hickling. “As I think most people find out pretty quickly with a motor like that, he spent a lot of time trying to get it to work, and not quite as much time enjoying it. And, you know, it was super loud and smoky.”
This experience led Mr. Ludwig to seek out alternative means of powering his boat. Electric motors were a natural fit as his other business is a solar company, and he had an established interest in electric vehicles.
“There were a lot less in the way of options than there are now for larger electric outboards, but there also wasn’t anyone who could really steer him in the right direction and help him out,” said Mr. Hickling. “It was like a little bit of a Frankenstein project, figuring it all out, getting solar on there to charge the batteries, but it worked. The boat was a success.”
That experience inspired Ludwig and Hickling to start EMO Electric.
Read the full story here
