An Electrifying Future

COULD WE BE ON THE CUSP OF AN ELECTRIC PROPULSION REVOLUTION?

- Jeff Moser

There seems to be something significant about “going electric” in Newport, Rhode Island. Bob Dylan plugged in his Fender at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, alienating a certain portion of his fan base but also launching his career into the stratosphere.

Did Hinckley premiere its all-electric Dasher at last year’s Newport Boat Show as a nod to Dylan? Probably not, but as a fanatic of his music and career, I like to think that Dylan’s influence enters all realms. Bob did write of his experience at Newport, saying that he “failed to sense the ominous forebodings” of his quantum leap in sound. Likewise, Dasher is a good omen of the sea change that could reimagine propulsion in the marine industry.