Kennedy's PT-109 as well as his lesser-known next command, PT-59.Īt the start of the Cold War, Elco was a small branch within General Dynamics Corporation. While the company continued to advance recreational craft, its production line built 550 Elco Motor Torpedo Boats for the United Kingdom during World War I and another 326 US Patrol Torpedo Boats in World War II. It even introduced the world's first boat showroom, Port Elco in Midtown Manhattan, and the offer of direct financing and post-purchase continuous care.īeginning at the turn of the last century, when Exide Battery founder Isaac Rice acquired both Elco and Holland Submarine, the newly formed Electric Boat Company advanced battery-powered propulsion beneath the waves to develop the US Navy's submarine fleet. The company was the first boatbuilder to adopt methods of standardized mass production. To this day, the company still builds luxury launches reminiscent of the golden age of yachting.Įlco has never been shy about adopting the newest ideas and technologies. Notables such as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and John Jacob Astor quickly became customers. Built by the Electric Launch Company, as Elco was known then, the vessels made 66,000 4.8km trips and carried more than a million passengers. Appropriate to the occasion, the industry leader kicked off its anniversary festivities at the Chicago Boat Show.Īt the dawn of electrification, steam still powered most boats, so riding aboard a battery-driven 11m boat at the World's Fair was a novel experience. This year, the company celebrates the results of 130 years of successful trailblazing. Since its first pleasure launches peacefully plied the man-made lagoons of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Elco Motor Yachts has pioneered clean electric marine propulsion.
World's first electric boat motors still trailblazing at 130 © Elco Motor Yachts
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