History Of Electric Boats At Adirondack Museum

Join Charles Houghton, former president of the Electric Launch Company, for a program entitled “Batteries Included: The History, Present, and Future of Electric Boating” at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York, and discover why quiet, non-polluting, and beautiful electric boats are “just the thing” for 21st century waters.

The presentation, part of the museum’s Monday Evening Lecture series, will be held on Monday, July 14, 2008 in the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. There is no charge for museum members. Admission is $4.00 for non-members.

Houghton’s illustrated lecture will trace the history of electric boats – and the explosive growth of the industry until Henry Ford’s gasoline engines overtook it around 1910.

He will also describe the unique characteristics of the Adirondacks that made these boats so popular regionally in the 1890s and early 1900s.

According to Houghton, the interest in electric boats had a resurgence in the mid-1990s. He will make predictions about electric boats of the future and the advances being made in lithium ion batteries and fuel cells.

Charles G. Houghton III became the President of the Electric Launch Company in 1996. The company builds electric motor boats and electric drives for boats and sailboats.

Houghton has been an officer, director, and founder of many civic and cultural organizations. He was President of the Anne and Charles Lindbergh Foundation, and currently serves on the boards of the New York Open Center and the Friends of Clermont, Robert Livingston’s house on the Hudson River.

Charles Houghton has a degree in economics from Harvard University where he was on the varsity crew and President of the Hasty-Pudding Institute of 1776. -- www.adkmuseum.org