New Seattle Electric Boat Club Looking to Shake Up Pleasure Cruise Industry

Pleasure  boating has been a stable in Seattle and Puget Sound for  a number of years, and now a new electric company seeks to carve out it's own niche.

  New electric cruise boat company rises from ashes of startup

In 2011, a company called Pure Watercraft, backed with $27 million from GM, was founded. The firm sought to change or challenge the pleasure boat industry by using electrics.  Their  fleet will look like our picture, except having an electric  motor.

Pleasure boat clubs involve members paying to have access to smaller cruise boats without having to own them.

But in 2024, Pure hit some hard times, went out of business, and sold off its assets. Some of them were purchased by new contender Aurelia Boat Club.  One of the founders is a former financial analyst at Pure. The other is a tech executive and startup investor.

Get our free mobile app

These smaller pontoon-style boats usually seat anywhere from six to 12 people, and operate at low speeds. Geekwire reports the new founders are pointing at the savings members would achieve by not having to pay for fuel for the boats they charter, they say members could pay as a much as $8,000 less per year.

The company plans to start operations using 2 marinas, one in Ballard and one on Lake Union. Besides membership one-time fees, the average outing would cost about $25 according to company officials.