The Charles River is about to get a new regular: the first modern ferry purpose-built for its twisty, shallow channel is just about ready to hit the water. The compact electric boat, designed to glide along without kicking up a wake, is being pitched for short commuter hops and event runs between Watertown and Boston.
Founder Drew Rollert recently walked reporters through the nearly finished shell at Inriver Tank & Boat's shop in West Concord. As of May 26, the hull was complete and could float. The vessel is set up to carry as many as 15 passengers, with a restroom, windows and twin electric motors. It will ride at about 14 inches of draft and use a system that can raise and lower the propellers as the river gets shallower. Rollert also said the boat will carry an AI object-recognition system to spot submerged hazards and will recharge at a Newton Yacht Club charging station, where a full charge takes about eight hours, according to Watertown News.
Built For The Charles
The hull was built by Inriver Tank & Boat, a Concord company that designs indoor rowing tanks and composite boats and runs a production facility in West Concord, according to the firm's website. Wada Hoppah describes the project as part of a broader push for zero-emission "eco-ferries" and notes that the design has already picked up an international electric-boat award.
Route, Testing And Events
The planned starter route is ambitious. It begins at Watertown Square, then makes stops at Herter Park in Brighton, Cambridgeport near Memorial Drive, Gloucester Street on the Esplanade, a Boston University stop aimed at Fenway Park trips, Commissioners Landing near Beacon Hill, Kendall Square and a stop by TD Garden via the channel near the Museum of Science. Rollert said the team expects to put the boat into the Charles within a couple of weeks for route and depth testing, followed by about two weeks of shakedown runs before starting passenger service, according to Watertown News.
How This Fits Into The City
Rollert is pitching the ferry as one more way to take pressure off clogged car routes and to move crowds to games and concerts without packing the roads. Earlier reporting on the concept has noted that plans once sketched out larger vessels and projected ticket prices in roughly the $15–$18 range. CBS Boston and other outlets have also pointed out how heavily the river is used by rowers and paddlers, which makes the wakeless, shallow-draft design central to getting buy-in from both the community and regulators.
If early tests and the short shakedown period go as hoped, the schedule for regular runs will be set by what those trials show and by any final operating approvals that are still pending. For now, Wada Hoppah is firmly in test-and-adjust mode as it gets ready to leave the Concord shop and make the Charles its new home turf.
