Boka Marine joins American Recreational Products portfolio, launches fiberglass boat line
The National Composites recreational watercraft line features battery- or solar-powered technologies with a fiberglass frame and room to hold four people.
Boka Marine fiberglass boat. Photo Credit: ARP
Boka Marine (Troy, Mich., U.S.), a division of American Recreational Products (ARP, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., U.S.), is launching its new four-person battery-powered pontoon product line in July 2022 with a direct-to-consumer business model. ARP is a division of National Composites (Troy), focused on
the development and production of National Composite’s proprietary and recreational watercrafts, Paddle Wheeler and Boka Marine.
Boka e-boats use the same fiberglass frame technology of its cousin, Paddle Wheeler, but are powered by a battery-powered, three-horsepower Torqeedo Ultralight 1103 motor that weighs less than 20 pounds. Each fully charged battery can provide up to four hours on the water and reach speeds of up to six miles per hour, according to ARP. For interruption-free boating, additional batteries are easily swapped out on the fly. Boka e-boats can also be customized with a solar-powered electronics package that includes bluetooth speakers, navigation lights, and LED interior and exterior accent lights. The e-boats also offer customizable options such as a built in cooler, canopy, table and storage cover.
Boka e-boats can accommodate up to four people and nearly 700 pounds. The boats are also said to be easily transportable with a customized trailer.
“National Composites is to expand into the city of Fenton [Michigan]. The opening of American Recreational Products will be a new step for our company,” National Composites Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Adam Fenton, says. Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer announced in June plans to build an ARP manufacturing facility in Fenton. “It allows us to have a more targeted focus on the production of our proprietary boat lines, Paddle Wheeler and Boka Marine, as well as open up more capacity and job creation opportunities at our other Michigan facilities.” Until the new Fenton plant is
complete, Boka Marine Products will be built in Joplin, Mo., at Able Manufacturing while Paddle Wheeler boats will continue to be built in Owosso, Mich., at Great Lakes Composites, all divisions of National Composites.
Related Content
-
Running shoe insoles get a lift with thermoplastic fiberglass tapes
FlexSpring insoles take advantage of unidirectional, continuous fiberglass and thermoplastics to enable next-level performance for the everyday runner.
-
Al Seer Marine, Abu Dhabi Maritime unveil world’s largest 3D-printed boat
Holding the new Guinness World Record at 11.98 meters, the 3D-printed composite water taxi used a CEAD Flexbot to print two hulls in less than 12 days.
-
Real-time assessment of thermoset composites curing
The combination of material state management (MSM) software and an encapsulated sample rheometer (ESR) enables real-time cure recipe management or cure model development inside the autoclave.
