Xantrex, in cooperation with Yanmar Mastry Engine Center and other industry partners, completed a gas-to-electric repower on a 1985 34-foot Sea Ray owned by a non-profit that is part of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Scubi Jew organization uses the boat for Tampa Bay reef and marine restoration efforts in partnership with Repair the Sea.
The project started in 2021 when Repair the Sea founder and CEO Rabbi Ed Rosenthal contacted Mastry Engine Center’s electric hybrid manager Nancy Frainetti to ask about electric repower options for Scubi Jew’s dive boat. Frainetti reached out to representatives from sister companies Vetus Maxwell and Xantrex.
“What better way for the club and its certified divers to clean the Tampa Bay reefs than with clean technology,” Frainetti said in a statement. “It’s exciting to bring this project to fruition and to provide the latest technological advancements to benefit such a worthwhile organization that does so much to improve the area’s marine environment.”
Added Xantrex marketing vice president Mitul Chandrani: “Our sales and technical teams collaborated closely with all stakeholders to create an electric system for the organization’s truly noble cause. We are very pleased to have been part of this proactive effort to deliver an improved, emission-free propulsion system powered by Xantrex lithium-ion batteries.”
In addition to Xantrex and Vetus, four other companies contributed through discounts, reduced labor costs and providing facility access, including Glendinning, The Yacht Rigger, TRP Marine and the Harborage High and Dry.
