E-boating at its best
At the latest after a long day of swimming at the lake, you dream of owning your own boat. But that's not so easy in the Fünfseenland. The 150 permits for boats with combustion engines have long been exhausted for Lake Ammersee, as have the 250 permits for the Starnberger See. For electric boats, on the other hand, the number of permits is not limited. Accordingly, demand has risen significantly in recent years. The fact that this trend protects the local environment is undoubtedly fantastic. But can an e-boat reach the "glamour" of a motorboat? How does it feel to drive and steer? Time for a test ride.
The electric boat that MY-Electroboat GmbH provided us with for a day is about seven metres long and two and a half metres wide. A permanently mounted roof provides shade and a wide seating area invites you to sunbathe. I take the wheel, push the speed control forward and the boat rises out of the water. It reacts to every move I make and gently curves into the water. I enjoy the wind, but don't push the top speed of 60 kilometres per hour for the time being. What a feeling: we fly over the surface of the water, I can hear the waves, the wind whistles - at the same time everything seems to be very calm.
We stop in front of St. Alban's Church in Dießen. In the evening sun I unpack our picnic. With watermelon, grapes and baguette we toast to our trip, it almost has something sophisticated about it. The wood of the boat heats up and we spread out an extra sun awning. But we still feel like cooling down. Via the ladder that can be folded out at the stern, we slowly climb into the cool lake. The first swims are wonderfully refreshing, and as we emerge from the water again, a few wild geese fly over our heads towards the eastern shore. My senses are sharpened, I am completely with myself, completely in the moment - a moment of great happiness. On the SUP boards we brought with us, we finally drift in the evening light.
On the way home, I start dreaming. Taking a boat like that out in the morning before breakfast, having a piece of the lake to yourself whenever you want - that would be great. However, buying an e-boat is an expensive pleasure. You have to calculate the price of the purchase (comparable to a new high-end car) as well as annual fees for the Schlösser- und Seenverwaltung. And even if that doesn't matter, you still need a berth with a loading facility in addition to the permit and the official licence plate from the district administration. So maybe you should just rent it for the time being. But I'd prefer to do that as often as possible – for a little more distance from everything and a little more closeness to myself.
You can find the entire article in SeeMagazin 2021.
We love the Fünfseenland in the south of Bavaria. That is why we capture the distinctiveness of the region once a year with beautiful pictures and stories in our SeeMagazin. We meet interesting people who are enthusiastic about what they do and turn their passion into a profession. The motto of the 2021 issue is "Time for pleasure" - with delicious ideas and inspiration for everyone who celebrates life.
