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Water Ways
IT'S often been said that it takes years to become an overnight sensation. So it's my guess that such will be the case with a fellow in our maritime community named Gary Brookins. New launch
electrifying,
eco-friendlyOwner of Brookins Boatworks, Ltd., he has recently branched out with a new company called Brookins Electric Launch Company which will produce a product I believe is sure to focus general community attention on him.
For something like 18 years, Brookins has been known around Oahu's waterfront as both a skilled craftsman and teacher in the arts of woodworking and boat building.
But now that he has been seen on TV with his latest boat design, it seems likely he will soon reach celebrity-at-large status.
After all, who cannot find the idea of small, quiet, non-polluting, boats shuttling people from Waikiki to the Convention Center a compelling thought?
The vessel Brookins envisions plying the Ala Wai Canal, and beyond, is a boat he calls the ElectroLaunch 25. As its name suggests, it's 25 feet long and is electrically powered.
The boat meets or exceeds U.S. Coast Guard and American Boat and Yacht Council commercial boat safety standards, as well, and can carry up to 20 passengers.
In collaboration with naval architect Robert Armstrong, Brookins has created a vessel he believes will both capitalize on the current nostalgia craze and provide a unique mode of transportation for Honolulu.
"Our quiet, non-intrusive, environmentally sensitive vessels will offer a high use, alternative transportation mode, with a magnetism and attractiveness matched only by San Francisco's electric cable cars," Brookins said.
AT first glance, the boat's fantail design has a styling that harkens back to Hawaii's Victorian era, but beneath its classic exterior, its hull fabrication and propulsion unit is all contemporary technology.
The ElectroLaunch 25's lightweight (approximately 3,500 pounds) displacement hull design is considered ideal for commercial passenger vessels due to its exceptional stability.
The design also lends itself to low powered electric motor propulsion. For his prototype, Brookins will utilize a four horsepower shunt-wound DC motor from the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) of New York.
As one horsepower from an electric motor is the equivalent of about three horsepower from a diesel engine, Brookins says he will have more than enough power to drive his vessel.
"Our optimum cruising speed of about five miles per hour is roughly 70 percent of the boat's capability," Brookins said. "Moreover, federal and state regulations impose a "no wake" (five miles per hour) speed limit on inner coastal waterways like those we have targeted in our plan."
The power for the motor will come from eight "absorbed glass mat" batteries which are maintenance free and can be submersed without discharging. They are also compatible with rapid charging systems and, as they emit no gases, there is no threat of explosions.
"Electro-technologies offer the right answer to a growing public awareness and concern regarding the gasoline, oil and noise pollution caused by traditional marine propulsion technologies," Brookins said.
And, of course, eliminating dependence on the internal combustion engine has been but one of Brookins' concerns.
"In an economy largely sustained by the tourist industry, we can provide an alternative transport, for visitors and residents alike, that is very attractive, economical and environmentally compliant," Brookins said.
Ray Pendleton is a free-lance writer based in Honolulu.
His column runs Saturdays in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached by e-mail at raypen@compuserve.com.