11-Dec-16 – The fleet of electric boats on the Chicago River will get bigger next year. Chicago Electric Boat Company is adding a 22-foot Duffy Sun Cruiser, a larger electric boat that will take as many as 12 people on as long as a 14-hour tour of the river, starting on the Riverwalk across from Marina City.

Acquisition of the bigger boat is based on feedback from customers over the past four years.

“Our feedback from the Riverwalk is people loved to boat,” says Ron Silvia (left), president of Chicago Electric Boat Company, “they just did not want to be limited to six people and having a captain.”

Silvia’s company at Marina City started with two electric boats in 2012 and now offers 11 boats for rent, including an electric pontoon boat. Customers can rent a boat by the hour and either hire a captain or, after watching an orientation video and receiving some training, drive the boat themselves.

In 2015, Silvia opened Downtown Docks on the Riverwalk between State Street and Dearborn Street, giving them a longer dock than the 45-foot-long pier at Marina City. A 22-foot Sun Cruiser was introduced this year and the second Sun Cruiser will be added in 2017. Both boats will dock on the Riverwalk during the day, then go back to Marina City overnight for charging and maintenance.

Silvia says most of their rentals are for two hours. He expects the new boats will be rented out four or five times a day on Saturday, their busiest day.