Alison Langley
ISOBEL, a 26′ runabout from Stephens Waring Design of Belfast, Maine, was conceived as a commuter boat serving an island property on a Maine lake. A tight set of parameters—a short commute, readily available charging on both ends of the commute, and occasional watersports outings of an hour or so—made the boat a ready candidate for clean, quiet electric propulsion.
Every now and then, the stars align and every element falls into place for a very special project. In the spring of 2021, during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, a good friend telephoned me for some boat advice. Mary Jane was considering purchasing a lakefront property, and she asked me to advise her about an appropriate small motorboat to serve as a tender to the property. She had a trial run scheduled with a local dealer for a small production outboard launch and wondered if I would like to take a ride.