Boat fishing: To Friesland with an E-Pick-up and an electric fishing boat

​The outstanding invoice

It’s raining in Sloten, the Netherlands. That fine, steady rain that makes the cobblestones glisten and blurs the lights of the houses along the canals. We’re sitting in the restaurant De Mallemok. Warm lighting, exposed brickwork, wood. On the plates in front of us lies pike-perch. The skin is crispy, the flesh so succulent it makes your mouth water. “How do you do it?” we ask the head chef. He smiles. “A bit of temperature, a bit of timing,” he says. “And, of course, the right sauce. But that remains a secret.” We press him. Anyone who catches fish wants to know how to cook it properly. The head chef looks at the empty plates. “All right, next time bring me your own zander. Then we’ll go into the kitchen together and I’ll show you.”

A zander we caught ourselves in exchange for his recipe? We’re up for it. A few months later, we’re in the car on our way to Friesland. The prospect of the recipe alone would be motivation enough. But we’ve set ourselves another goal: we want to travel using only electric power. On the water and on the road.

Shopping with obstacles

“Oh man, we need to charge up.” We’re at a motorway service station somewhere between the Rhineland and Friesland. There’s a fast-charging point free in front of us. Behind us is a 5.20-metre-long fishing boat. In between stands an electric pick-up, whose charging port is situated exactly where the cable just doesn’t reach. We can’t reverse close enough to the station. So we unplug and release the tow bar. Whilst next to us someone simply plugs in their car and pops off for a coffee, we start setting up our own little rig in the car park. Boat here, car there, and in between we’re improvising. That wasn’t the plan. The KGM Musso EV rolls up to the charging point on its own. The car is charging at over 100 kW.

Charging pause:

• Car: charging
• Boat: 100 per cent
• Zander target: 0%

Three hours earlier

Early in the morning, the plan still sounds astonishingly simple: hook up the boat, drive to Holland, launch it, catch some zander and, in the evening, get the recipe at De Mallemok restaurant. Off we go. The Musso is fully loaded in front of the trailer. The electric pick-up can tow up to 1.8 tonnes. In the rear-view mirror: a Tracker Grizzly 1754 Utility – flat, open-top and welded. Not a floating living room, but a no-fuss fishing boat. At the stern, a Mercury Avator 7.5e with a tiller. At the bow, a Garmin Force. Just like the car, the boat is electric too. There are over 80 kilowatt-hours stored beneath the vehicle floor. Later, there will be exactly one kilowatt-hour under the outboard motor’s cowling. The pick-up is designed to take us swiftly through two countries. The boat is designed to take us slowly to those nooks and crannies where speed tends to be a hindrance.

At the start:

• Car: 100 per cent
• Boat: 100 per cent
• Zander target: 0%

Back at the pillar

We drink coffee next to the unhitched Grizzly. The fast charging is working. It’s just that the space isn’t quite right for the combination. Plenty of power. Hitch it up. A quick check. Off we go. Once across the border, the landscape opens up. Water appears alongside the road. First as a ditch, then as a canal, and finally all around us. Sloten welcomes us with low bridges, brick buildings and gabled roofs. On the bastion, the De Kaai windmill turns. Old cannons serve as a reminder of the strategic importance of the waterway between Sneek and what was then the Zuiderzee. The smallest of the eleven Frisian towns feels like a living open-air museum. Neighbours chat on a bridge. A boat disappears between the houses, as if the water were a road. Our log cabin stands in the harbour, with a terrace and its own jetty. It’s barely twenty steps from the coffee machine to the tiller. Golden light lies on the water. Tomorrow evening, the kitchen, the cook and the long-awaited recipe await us. Only one little thing is still missing: the zander.

Arrived:

• Car: 32 per cent
• Boat: 100 per cent
• Zander target: 0%

Electrification opens up new possibilities

On numerous German inland waterways, internal combustion engines are prohibited or subject to restrictions. In some places, electric boats are permitted where petrol-powered vessels are not. Otherwise, rowing is the only option. The reasons are obvious: less noise, no local exhaust fumes, and reduced impact on sensitive areas. However, electric power is not a universal free pass: permits, power limits and restricted navigation areas may also apply. Checking local regulations is part of the preparation. In Sloten, combustion engines are permitted. Nevertheless, we opt for the battery. Out of curiosity about what happens when a motor is barely audible.

The next morning, the Grizzly glides off the Pega trailer. Launching it is effortless. Thanks to its four-wheel drive, the pick-up pulls the empty trailer back up just as uneventfully. We open the cowling on the electric outboard, fit the battery and lock it in place. No petrol can, no fuel pump, no smell of petrol. We cast off. A turn of the tiller. The jetty recedes, water runs along the hull. After the roar of tyres on the motorway, this first minute seems almost unreal. A bird in the reeds. A bicycle on the bridge. Voices from a terrace. The silence on board makes other sounds audible. Meanwhile, the electric car is plugged into a domestic socket. The displayed range increases by about eight kilometres per hour. Slowly, but the car’s stationary anyway. Whilst we’re fishing, it’s already working its way back home.

Under the bridge, the world seems smaller in an electric fishing boat

Canals, lakes, little side channels: Sloten offers plenty of options. Even if you take a wrong turn, you’ll probably still have a lovely day. We put our rods down before a low bridge. The open-top Grizzly doesn’t need a high windscreen or a roof to accommodate. We duck down anyway.

At walking pace, the Avator pushes us into the shade. For two seconds, the world consists solely of aluminium, damp brickwork and a soft hum. Then sunlight streams back into the boat. Behind it, a narrower stretch opens up off the usual route. This is just right for our boat: room for three anglers, low headroom, no unnecessary superstructure. Now we just need to find out where the zander feels at home.

A harsh truth on soft ground

Fishing starts with a hunch. The water is shallow here, and the seabed is mostly soft. We look for differences: shells, firm sand, a small ledge. Something that’s different from the surrounding area. A hard patch is visible on the Garmin Echomap. We pass over it again. Then the Force takes over at the bow, holds our position and moves us along the structure. The bait sinks. Its trail appears on the LiveScope. Next to it, a signal close to the bottom. It’s moving. Following. Stops. Turns away. Technology can show with astonishing precision exactly how a fish isn’t biting. We change the bait, the colour, the retrieve. The display tells of life, but the rod tip remains silent.

After the first lesson:

• Car: charging
• Boat: 73 per cent
• Zander target: 0%

The sun is almost too kind. The sky is reflected in the water, with our aluminium boat in between. No headwind is eating into our range, no waves are slowing the hull. For our mission, the beauty is of little help. A lack of wind means no movement at the edges. The surface looks like a promise to holidaymakers and an excuse for predatory fish.

One last attempt

Friesland’s lakes, canals and polders form a regulated system. Pumps and culverts are as much a part of it as mills and dykes. Wherever water flows, we hope to find food, small fish – and zander. We spot some movement at an unassuming structure. Concrete, a dark opening, and in front of it a fine line in the smooth surface. The Force keeps us out of the direct current. Small signals appear on the fishfinder. First cast: nothing. Second cast: a contact. A stone? A fish? On the third cast, the bait pauses briefly. Nothing again. We glance at our watches. Then at the Avator. It’s not far to the harbour. Nor is it long until our appointment, though.

Later:

• Car + 16 km
• Boat: 34 per cent
• Zander target: 0%

Just one more spot. With a petrol engine, we wouldn’t hesitate. But with just one battery, we have to plan ahead. Look for another passage? Or head back to that tricky spot where a fish followed us this morning? Either one is fine. The battery won’t manage both. So, back under the low bridge. That brief stretch of darkness again, followed by calm water. The hot spot appears on the display. The bow motor stops us drifting. The landing net is still lying dry in the fishing boat. Back at De Mallemok, the chef is waiting to fulfil his part of the bargain. But the most important ingredient is missing.

A signal above the seabed

The bait sinks along the edge. A signal comes from the bottom. A tap. Nothing spectacular. But unmistakable. The strike is on, the rod bends. All thought of the display is forgotten. The fish stays deep, shakes its head, darts under the boat. We take in line, then lose another metre. Then a pale body appears in the water: a zander. The landing net dips in. One more turn, then the fish is in the net. At 69 centimetres, our catch falls within the legal size limit; he’s allowed to come on board. Just one more bite above the bottom and finally the day’s most important tally changes: Zander: ONE.

It’s getting dark:

• Car: continues to charge slowly
• Boat: 12 per cent
• Zander target: 100 per cent

The return journey feels easier. At least in my mind. The display on the Avator continues to count down. First into single figures. Then very low single figures. We glide through the canals, wave to people on a terrace and wait for oncoming traffic before a bridge. In between, I keep glancing at the display. Now it’s down to the last few watt-minutes. The roof of our log cabin comes into view in the harbour. Ease off the throttle, lay the tiller down, tie the rope round the bollard. Two per cent. Quietly, happily and drawing on our very last reserves, we’re back. Reserves that we’d plan more generously next time. We carry the almost empty battery and the Zander ashore. Meanwhile, the electric car has continued to rack up kilometres for the return journey. But for today, there’s only one place left to go: the restaurant.

Back at the harbour:

• Car: 41 per cent
• Boat: 2 per cent
• Zander target: 100 per cent

Out of the frying pan into the fire

Warm light, old brickwork, voices from the dining room. Everything’s just as it was back then. Only this time, we’re bringing the ingredients for dinner with us. The farmhouse, which is over 200 years old, houses not only the restaurant but also the apartment of the family who run it. The name ‘De Mallemok’ refers to a Nordic storm petrel. In the kitchen, the grill, fire, barbecue and smoke play a prominent role. The head chef examines our fish: “A deal’s a deal.” The knife glides along the bones, revealing a pale fillet. He explains freshness, skin, temperature and timing. Which sauce goes with it. When the fish needs to be taken off the heat. We take notes. Butter foams, herbs give off their scent. The chef drizzles the hot butter over the fillet. Outside, the canal flows darkly between the houses. Then the plate is set before us. It looks similar to the one from back then. And yet it is completely different. The skin crackles under the fork. Once again, there’s a brief silence. This time, we know just how many kilometres, casts and percentage readings have gone into this meal. That doesn’t automatically make the zander any better. But it gives every bite a story.

A summary of a trip on an electric fishing boat

The next morning, we take the Grizzly out, secure it and hook it up. The journey home begins with fewer uncertainties. We know the power consumption and understand what matters when charging with a trailer attached. Ideally, a cable that reaches all the way to the car. We wanted to know what it feels like when the journey to the water and the journey on the water follow the same concept. The electric car reliably took us, boat and all, all the way to Friesland. The electric outboard gave us a different rhythm. The electric bow motor held our position, whilst the fish finder showed where the fish were. We caught the zander ourselves.

The advantages remain: finely adjustable thrust, no warm-up period on the water, no smell of petrol, and no local exhaust fumes. Plus, minimal maintenance. For anglers, there is another crucial benefit: a quiet motor brings tranquillity not only to the boat, but also to the way we read a fishing ground.

The trade-offs: reduced driving range when towing a trailer, impractical loading points and limited on-board power. Two per cent remaining on the return journey is hardly a recommendation for planning a trip. But electric power is a serious and surprisingly attractive alternative. Especially when the aim isn’t maximum speed, but access, precision and a quieter day on the water. On some bodies of water, it’s the only way to travel by motorboat at all. In Sloten, it was our own choice. The car racked up kilometres whilst plugged in. The Avator took us back with that last two per cent. Only the zander didn’t stick to any charging schedule. It only turned up when almost everything else was already running on reserve.

Boat and Technology

​The Boat

Tracker Grizzly 1754 Utility: an open, fully welded Mod-V aluminium boat. Length 5.21 m, beam 1.98 m, moulded beam 1.37 m, 7° deadrise, dry weight approx. 304 kg. The low, unobstructed deck is ideal for fishing and for navigating shallow, narrow passages.

The rear-mounted engine

Mercury Avator 7.5e with tiller steering: 1,000 W input power and 750 W shaft power. The engine casing houses a removable 1 kWh lithium-ion battery. The digital display shows, amongst other things, the battery charge level and range information – on our return journey, it dropped to 2 per cent.

The bow thruster

Garmin Force, powered by a 100 Ah LiFePO4 battery. The brushless GPS bow motor handles quiet manoeuvring, keeps the boat in position and guides it precisely along small structures.

The electronics

Garmin ECHOMAP as the control centre. The GT56UHD transducer provides traditional CHIRP as well as ClearVü and SideVü; the Panoptix Live transducer displays bait and fish movements in real time. The transducers are mounted on HTC Mounts and can be precisely aligned for scanning and presentation.

Book recommendations

Electric mobility on the water By Jens Feddern, this guide provides the technical background to electric boating. It explains the fundamentals of electrical engineering, compares fully electric propulsion systems, hybrid solutions and fuel cells, and covers installation, operation and maintenance. Specific examples of conversions and cost-effectiveness calculations will help you assess the potential of an electric propulsion system for your own boat and better evaluate the effort involved in retrofitting it. (shop.delius-klasing.de)

Friesland By Manfred Fenzl and Anna Bunde, this guide expands on the topic of propulsion to include practical trip planning. The guide covers the inland waterways between the Ems, the Wadden Sea and the IJsselmeer, including Sneek and Sloten. Overview maps and detailed charts aid navigation; information on anchorages, marinas, provisioning facilities and places of interest helps you plan your own trips by motorboat, houseboat or sloop through the Frisian canals and lakes. (shop.delius-klasing.de)