September 8, 2026

Are your customers planning to replace their boat batteries with Lithium-Ion units? Lithium-Ion batteries are now ubiquitous showing up in everyone’s cell phone, in all sorts of power tools, the portable computers that we all use every day right down to kids toys. More than just being close to a universal power source, these are impressively powerful and light weight too.

But can a consumer just switch out their old lead acid battery and replace that with a Lithium-Ion? There are great systems on the market but if I think about a Mastervolt system for example – that’s a sophisticated and expensive system. The Brunswick Fathom-E system can literally replace a generator for some boats but again, this is a specially engineered system, not a simple replacement part. There can be significant safety issues for the boat owner if the change to Lithium-Ion is not well researched and the new battery is not properly adapted to the boat.

It seems to me that the fall is when your boaters would most likely consider an upgrade to a Lithium-Ion power system. Are your techs educated in this technology and have you researched products that can accomplish the change-over?

Your boaters are almost certain to see Lithium-Ion systems at the boat shows this winter and they will likely see displays in the big box retailers offering Lithium-Ion (or batteries featuring other advanced chemistries) on display.

You would be doing everyone a favour if you contact your suppliers, research the subject and promote a safe solution for your customers. And, share an admonishment against simple DIY solutions too.

See the CanBoat story, “Fire on a Vessel Caused by a Lithium-Ion Battery Failure “ in Boating Industry Canada News Week Digest this week and use that in your own customer communications as a way to get the conversation started with customers. It’s a simple cut’n’paste to your website and newsletters.

On another note, our team at Boating Industry Canada News Week Digest hope you had an enjoyable and beautiful Labour Day Long Weekend! The sun is shining, the water is warm and it looks like we have more great boating weather yet to come.

We hope the summer of 2026 has been good for your business and that you are looking forward to a great summer in 2027!

Andy Adams – Editor