One hull of a design

When Duffy Electrical Boat Company introduces another innovation in boating design, officials there say they’re used to competitors following in their wake.

The company’s latest venture — eliminating the always-inconvenient swaying that comes with small party barges and boats — looks to be the foundation for the rest of their fleet in the coming years.

Nobody likes to spill their drink or tip their plate while trying to have a good time on the water; but with the company’s latest undertaking, they’re hoping to leave the competition high and dry.

Duffy Electrical Boat Company is celebrating its M-hull design, a simple yet effective new design for the hull of Duffy’s boats that company leaders say give the boats better stability to the fore and aft as well as side to side.

“It’s unlike any other boat that’s ever been built,” said Kevin Kearns, company spokesman.

Kearns said the company tapped a boating engineer who was looking to create something quiet and stable.

While the designer had a hand in creating stealth boats for the Navy, Duffy boats are the only commercial boats with his M-hull design, he said.

The M240 boat carries on Duffy Boats’ hybrid design. Powered by a pair of 48-volt, zero-emissions electrical motors mounted inside the rudder systems, the boat can cruise for up to 10 hours and recharge overnight.

The boat is in the style of the traditional catamaran, but company officials say its improved stability and maneuverability thanks to twin-drive motors set it apart.

For all the hype about its new hull design, when it comes down to it, what will attract many Duffy boat customers is its tradition of green technology.

“We’ve been building boats that are non-polluting, green, for 38 years,” Kearns said. “We wanted to put our best foot forward and introduce the electric technology and the M-hull technology together.”

Various options are available on the boat to make it extra green, if possible. Boat owners can purchase solar panels or even wind generators to store energy and stretch the boat’s time out at sea.

“We’ve just reinvented the wheel on [our] eight years,” Kearns said.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.