Boating Business

Electric Outboard Builder Acquires Pontoon Boat Company

The Breeze is the newest pontoon model from ELUX boats, which is based in Minnesota.

Pure Watercraft, a relatively new company making its own electric outboard motors, has acquired ELUX Marine, a manufacturer of electrically propelled pontoon boats. Pure Watercraft is based in Seattle and ELUX calls Mayer, Minn., home.

Complete Package

ELUX Marine was founded in 2017 by Howard Root, a former medical device entrepreneur and lifelong Minnesota boater, and Bart Jones, who was building boats in the state. “Our mission at ELUX was to build a small, but focused electric-boat manufacturer that would redefine the Minnesota pontoon experience,” Root said in a statement.

Last summer, ELUX tested Pure Watercraft’s electric outboard and was impressed by its performance. The two companies decided to join forces. Starting with the 2021 model year, ELUX will focus on the launch of Pure Watercraft’s electric motors in the Upper Midwest market. Minnesotans spent $924 million on boats in 2019, an increase of 6.5% from the prior year.

The ELUX Stealth looks more look a performance catamaran than a pontoon boat.

 

ELUX currently has two full-sized models, the Stealth, which is one of the sleekest looking pontoons we’ve seen. She measures 24’6” long with an 8’6” beam and is rated to carry 10 people. The newest model is a more conventional-looking pontoon, the Breeze, which is 21’ long with an 8’6” beam. ELUX also builds two smaller models, the Fusion and the Vortex.

Investing for the Future

Pure Watercraft was founded in 2011 and the company developed a 50-hp electric outboard and offers it as part of a complete propulsion system including the motor, battery pack and charger, throttle and rigging cables. The company also offers boat and engine packages including an aluminum Tracker Pro Team 175 bass boat, Rigid Hull Inflatables from Highfield, a Sun Tracker pontoon and a Still Water 25X launch.

 

The Pure Watercraft electric outboard makes 50 hp and was built from scratch at the company’s Seattle location.

 

Pure Watercraft also developed its own proprietary battery pack.

In September 2020, the company raised $23.4 million from investors. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing posted in mid-December 2020 showed that the company raised a total of $37.5 million in the Series A round of investing. The funding was reportedly led by L37 Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. Rebele told the website geekwire.com that its first production outboards will be released early this year with a price of $6,000 for the motor, $8,500 for the battery and $2,000 for the charger.

 

Pure offers fully rigged rigid-hull inflatables from Highfield Boats that could be ideal as a tender.