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10 months ago

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Chinese electric boat alibaba

My regular readers may remember that two years ago, I was winning so hard at life that I bought myself a brand-spankin’ new boat as a treat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still on an independent journalist’s salary here though, so when I say that I had “boat money”, I mean I scraped together enough to buy a $1,000 electric boat directly from China. It’s now been two years since that Alibaba delivery, so let’s see how it’s held up and what it looks like now.

As a bit of a refresher first though, here’s what I got at the time. Inside of a surprisingly well-made steel frame and plywood-lined crate (that probably would have cost $1k by itself to have made in the US), my five-seater fiberglass boat awaited me.

It was powered by a cute little 500W inboard motor with a belt and pulley drive connecting it to a rudimentary prop fashioned out of 1/8″ (3mm thick) steel plate bent and welded onto a section of pipe.

The boat didn’t have batteries, so I added my own pair of 12V 200Ah LiFePO4 batteries to create a 5 kWh battery pack that was likely way bigger than I needed.

You can check out my unboxing and testing video here, which went viral with nearly four million people having now joined me at the beginning of this crazy adventure.

The boat seemed to work, in that it stayed above the waterline of our local lake and could move both fore and aft under its own power, fulfilling the major requirements of what it takes to be a motorboat.

However, its performance left a lot to be desired. The prop was only around 75% submerged, meaning there was a lot of cavitation and wasted power churning air through the water. Not only did that make it inefficient, but also slow.

It was hard to travel over a single knot, though I did briefly hit 2 knots on my GPS speedometer app (and I’m counting that, even if I can’t be sure it wasn’t a fluke).

In other words, the boat was surprisingly decent, yet the performance was underwhelming.

For a while now, I’ve been chipping away at a few upgrades to the boat each time I visit my parent’s house, where I keep it. It’s been a fine little boat for my dad to take the grandkids out on and teach them about boating, but it has been due for some deferred love, maintenance, and upgrades.

Taking off two years of marine grime with a little elbow grease

First of all, here’s how it has aged. Without regular cleaning, there was some serious marine grime building up, but the fiberglass has actually held up surprisingly well in two years of harsh Florida sun and UV.

After two years, the chrome railings had a decent amount of corrosion and what looked like pitting, though it pretty much all buffed right out when I disassembled the canopy to clean everything really well.

After buffing the shine back into the rails, I applied a clear coat so that the rails will hopefully keep their shimmer and I won’t have to re-scrub the life back into them next year. The rest of the boat’s hull and canopy got a simple soapy scrub down.

As I put the canopy back together, I finally made a big addition I’ve been planning ever since I got the boat: solar panels. I put a pair of 100W solar panels on the canopy and wired them into an MPPT solar charge controller that feeds back into the batteries. The panels don’t charge quite as quickly as the boat drains, but it has meant that I never need to pull the boat out to charge it anymore since it just slowly charges up all day while it’s floating around at the dock.

Solar panels on electric boats are a game changer, especially those used for only a few hours a week, such as a Sunday cruise. You can run your battery nearly empty on the water in a day, then let it charge itself up over the next few days.

The next big upgrade I’ve been planning is more power. To get there, I had a slick idea that would let me replace the old rudder and motor in one fell swoop.

The rudder was horribly rusted out at this point, though amazingly that terribly inefficient propellor looked nearly as good as new, so I suspect they actually used stainless steel to fabricate it.

The rudder was a rusty mess, though the propellor appears to have been made out of stainless steel
Below deck, the inboard motor doesn’t look like much but it held up fairly well (even if the pulleys are super rusty now)

Since the design of the propellor shaft meant that its angle forced the propellor to be too high, I decided to simply replace that entire system with an alternative. Instead of yanking out the propellor shaft and needing to seal the stuffing box, I left the existing seals in place and just cut off the propellor. It ain’t pretty, but it’s below the waterline. It was also a rare case of the easiest solution and the safest solution converging on the same answer, since the shaft is already perfectly sealed against water ingress.

I found an 80 lb thrust Minn Kota trolling motor used online and snagged it for around $200 (it cost over $1,400 new for this American-made motor). It has what Minn Kota refers to as an indestructible shaft, which I believe since it was hard as hell to cut it down to length using a pipe cutter, which was necessary to preserve the wires that run down the shaft.

I removed the rudder and replaced it with the entire trolling motor, now with its shortened shaft, and welded up some new linkage to connect it to the old rudder controls. After yanking out the Minn Kota’s control board and wiring it into my batteries, I had a Frankenstein setup that I figured would give me much more power and also some effective thrust vectoring since I could control the direction of the motor from the wheel, like a real outboard.

Ignore those wire nuts, they were just temporary for the testing. That blue potentiometer is still the throttle though!

I hadn’t yet run the wires up to the helm, so the boat temporarily required a crew of two when I put it back into the water. My dad took the wheel while I stayed in the ‘engine room’ in the back to control the throttle.

It was immediately apparent how much more powerful the boat was now, actually leaving a wake. Unfortunately, it was also immediately apparent why boats have rudders, since this flat bottom boat now had the worst case of oversteer I’ve ever seen.

With the powerful thrust, the boat basically shoved its ass-end all over the place with just a bit of nudging. The cool thing was that it could literally turn in its own length, though we were basically always turning until we could find neutral on the wheel.

My dad described what we had done as “like putting an outboard motor on a pie tin”, and I have to say that felt pretty accurate. It made for some great laughs (see the testing video here, highly recommended!) but was barely controllable. It felt like a bumper car on water.

To fix it, I added a simple bolt-on rudder on the motor shaft. Putting the boat back in proved that there was more control, but it still tends to oversteer a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun as hell, but it’s still doesn’t have the precision control I was hoping for. Oh well, it’s good enough for a $1,000 Chinese boat with nearly half as much added into it as part of the upgrades!

Now, the boat is solar-powered, so it never needs charging, and the power is much better to allow for some actually fun cruising at speeds of up to approximately 5 knots. I don’t think we’ll be pulling a water skier anytime soon, but we’re definitely leaving a wake now.

The last thing I need to do is add a pair of bilge pumps (it’s got two sponsons that create low points on either side, so I need two pumps). I had been putting off that project because I never thought I’d really need them, and it was more of a precaution in case of some type of freak accident where I rammed something submerged that holed the hull. I was also dreading putting a hole in a perfectly good fiberglass boat for the pump outlet, even if it was going to be well above the water line.

However, what I didn’t account for was Hurricane Milton, which put so much rain into the boat at such a steep angle that it actually started working its way under the rear bench and filling up the “engine room” area below deck. The boat is self-bailing, at least in normal rain, and has a central scupper that funnels rainwater down through the hull. With around a foot (30 cm) of freeboard, it’s never been an issue, even in hard Florida rains. But a Cat 3 hurricane is a different animal, and once enough water worked its way under the rear bench and the sideways wind/rain duo started tipping the boat, physics took the wheel and the below picture is how things looked after the storm passed.

Not as bad as it looks, though I’ll admit this doesn’t look good

Fortunately, this was pretty much the only damage my parents’ place took. The boat had probably 100 gallons 380 liters) of water below deck and so my dad couldn’t right it by himself. It sat that way for around six weeks until my next visit, when we pumped the water out. The hull was still secure and she floated right back to her former self.

Having survived two years of use and a Category 3 hurricane, it was time to finally give the old girl’ a name. I asked my subscribers for their recommendations and received hundreds of great ideas (including dozens of Boaty McBoatface) but finally decided on what I felt was the best name of all.

As you read this, the Sunny Side Up still floats, basking in the battery-charging sun and cruising the local private waterways at speeds fast enough to get a fist shaken at you in a no-wake zone.

She ain’t the prettiest boat out there. Nor the fastest. But she’s mine, and she’s beautiful to me.

Two years late, but I finally chose and applied a name during a christening ceremony at the lake

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Jackery Early Prime Day sale with up to 65% discounts + bonus savings from $129, EcoFlow 48-hour sale, Anker solar cams, more

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7 mins ago

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September 23, 2025

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Jackery Early Prime Day sale with up to 65% discounts + bonus savings from 9, EcoFlow 48-hour sale, Anker solar cams, more

Headlining today’s Green Deals is Jackery’s Early Prime Big Deal Days sale that is taking up to 65% off power stations, solar generator bundles, and accessories, with bonus savings, free gifts, and more starting from $129. Among the offers, we spotted the Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station coming with a 200W solar panel for $649, with an additional FREE bundle option available too. From there, we have Anker’s eufy SoloCam S220 Solar Security Camera back down at $65, as well as EcoFlow’s first Early Prime Day 48-hour flash sale, which has dropped the DELTA 2 Max power station and 800W alternator charger bundle to its $1,049 low, along with three other offers. We also have leaf and snow clearing solutions from Greenworks and other EV/backup power solutions waiting for you below. And don’t forget about all the hangover deals collected at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s EcoFlow Early Prime Day Sale lineup, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Jackery’s Early Prime Day sale drops Explorer 1000 v2 with 200W panel to $649 (50% off) + free bundle offer, more

Jackery has launched its Early Prime Big Deal Days sale running through October 6, with up to 65% discounts on its power stations alongside bonus savings, free gifts, and more. If you’re gearing up for fall adventures outdoors and off-grid, one of the best budget-friendly bundles to score right now is Jackery’s Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station with a 200W solar panel at $649 shipped, which is also matching over at Amazon and is eligible for a FREE refurbished Explorer 290. This combination of station and add-on equipment would normally cost you $1,299 in full, though over 2025, you’ve had the chance to score it between $749 and $699 with regular discounts. If you’ve waited until now to pick it up, you’ll get it at the best price we have tracked this year, behind the $599 low that appeared last year for only a few hours. Head below for more on this bundle, the sale’s promotions, and the full lineup of deals.

Before we jump into the details of pricing, let’s go over the many special promotions being offered during Jackery’s Early Prime Big Deal Days sale. First, orders that reach a $1,500 threshold can use the code OFFER5 for an additional 5% savings, though this does not include the HomePower 3000 series of deals. Next, you can score up to $830 in trade-in bonuses, with reminders that the 30% federal tax credits may be ending with the year, so don’t miss the opportunity to jump on that while equipping yourself with reliable backup power support. Lastly, there are some free gift promotions on the larger units in the sale, with the Explorer 5000 Plus series purchases getting a free refurbished Explorer 300 Plus, while the HomePower 3600 Plus models get a free refurbished Explorer 300, and the Explorer 2000 v2 gets a free refurbished 100W solar panel.

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Ever since its late 2024 release, Jackery’s Explorer 1000 v2 power station has become one of the brand’s best camping-focused backup power companions for folks not wanting to shell out too much money on larger units/combos. It brings a 1,070Wh LiFePO4 capacity to your trips and boasts 62 forms of charging protections from its ChargeShield 2.0 tech. Your devices and appliances are covered with up to 1,500W of steady power, which can surge up to 3,000W and offers seven ports for connection options.

When plans are known in advanced, all you’ll need is 1.6 hours charging from a standard AC outlet to get it back to full battery, and for more last-minute plans, you can activate the emergency charging feature with the in-app controls to cut that time down to just one hour. You can also charge as you drive through your car’s auxiliary/cigarette lighter port, and the 200W panel coming with the bundle puts you a third of the way towards its max 600W solar input, which can get the station back to full in three hours with proper sunlight.

***Note: The following prices have not had the extra savings taken into account, so be sure to use the code OFFER5 once your cart totals $1,500 or more to score the absolute best prices.

Jackery’s Early Prime Day deals for off-grid support:

Jackery’s Early Prime Day deals for appliance backup:

Jackery’s Early Prime Day deals for home backup:

Jackery’s Early Prime Day transfer switch deals:

You can browse the entire Jackery Early Prime Big Deal Days sale on the landing page here.

Anker eufy solocam s220 installed to outdoor wall in rain

Install Anker’s solar-powered eufy SoloCam S220 for year-round security while at $65

Over at Best Buy we spotted the older Anker eufy SoloCam S40 included as part of the Deals of the Day, which is getting beaten out in price by the newer SoloCam S220 Solar Security Camera at Amazon that is down at $64.99 shipped, with it also beating the individual costs from the multi-cam bundles while matching the price direct from the brand’s website. This model usually goes for $100 in full, which we’ve regularly seen brought down to $70 with discounts, and more recently to $65, only beaten out by the one-time $62 low that popped up during July’s Prime Day event. You’re looking at the next-best price while the rates hold strong, as they’ve been since last week, saving you $35 off the going rate and upgrading your home security with 24/7 solar charging.

If you want to learn more about this solar security device, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

ecoflow delta 2 max power station sitting on counter with toaster oven and condiment bottles

Charge on the go with EcoFlow’s DELTA 2 Max 800W alternator charger bundle at its $1,049 low (58% off), more

As part of its Early Prime Day Sale running through October 6, EcoFlow has launched the first of this event’s flash sales, with this one taking up to 58% off four units and lasting for 48 hours. Among the bunch, for folks living out their nomadic dreams, you can’t go wrong with EcoFlow’s DELTA 2 Max Portable Power Station bundled with an 800W alternator charger for $1,049 shipped, which beats out Amazon’s pricing by $850. This bundle normally fetches $2,498 at full price from the brand and $1,899 over at Amazon (where it’s currently listed), with discounts having only gone as low as $1,049. You’re looking at another chance to score it at its best price here, with this two-day only deal giving you a total of $1,449 off its MSRP. Head below for more on this unit and the others seeing flash savings.

If you want to learn more about this bundle, or the other units seeing discounts, be sure to check out our original coverage of this 48-hour flash sale here.

man clearing path in front of home with greenworks 80V 12-inch cordless snow shovel

Prep for snow with Greenworks’ 80V 12-inch cordless shovel kit at the best price in six months for $233

Amazon is offering the Greenworks 80V 12-inch Cordless Snow Shovel with 2.0Ah battery at $232.74 shipped, which beats out the brand’s direct website pricing, where it is sitting at its full $350 MSRP. At Amazon, though, we’ve been seeing it hold out at $308 since March, and falling to $280 since late July, with the total 33% markdown off the MSRP that’s being offered here giving us the best pricing of the last 6 1/2 months, saving you $117 over buying it directly from Greenworks, and landing $33 above the annual low we last saw in January.

If you want to learn more about this snow clearing solution, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here.

woman clearing leaves in yard with greenworks 80V 750 CFM cordless handheld blower

Get up to 750 CFM clearing power with this 80V Greenworks handheld blower kit at $175 (Today only)

As part of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the Greenworks 80V 750CFM Cordless Handheld Blower with a 2.5Ah battery at $174.99 shipped, with it even beating out the renewed offer direct from the brand’s website by $25. This model with this particular battery usually goes for $250 at full price, but you’re getting a $75 markdown through the rest of the day that lands it $5 under the usual $180 rate we’ve seen pop up over 2025 in these one-day sales. This is the best price we’ve spotted in 2025, with it only beaten out by the $170 low we last saw during Black Friday last year. What’s more, you won’t find this package at Amazon right now, with the closest models being either the 80V 500 CFM model with a 2.0Ah battery or the 80V 750 CFM backpack blower with a 4.0Ah battery.

If you want to learn more about this handheld leaf blower, be sure to check out our original coverage of this one-day-only sale here.

man sitting on Rad Power's RadRunner Cargo Utility e-bike

Best Fall EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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What we know about Rivian software update 2025.34 including highway assist upgrades

Published

1 hour ago

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September 23, 2025

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What we know about Rivian software update 2025.34 including highway assist upgrades

Rivian software update

A new software update from Rivian was sighted earlier this month, and it’s being prepared for a full rollout to Gen 2 R1S and R1T EVs. The latest Rivian update includes upgrades to the American automaker’s Enhanced Highway Assist driving, more energy-conscious home charging capabilities, and a slew of other improvements outlined below.

Like most software-defined vehicles, Rivian models like the R1S and R1T receive periodic updates over-the-air (OTA). As a Rivian owner and an enthusiast, software updates are often exciting news to report on, as they usually result in new features or abilities to existing technology or enable various efficiencies (and bug fixes fixes, of course).

Over the past six months, we’ve seen updates like 2025.10, which rolled out to the public in early April, and 2025.14, which updated the BEV’s Highway Assist feature. In late May, RivianTrackr shared that software update 2025.18 was rolling out internally before launching wide to Rivian owners, and it was one of the more robust rollouts we had seen for a while.

Most recently, a similar site called RivianRoamer has reported on a new software update, 2025.34, which has already been spotted before it makes its way out to the public

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Rivian software update
Source: Rivian.com

Rivian software update adds new “Co-Steer” feature

Per reports, Rivian software update 2025.34 is in the works in a beta version before it inevitably makes its way to the community of R1S and R1T owners. That being said, please note that any of these listed features or improvements could change or be removed altogether before the update goes out wide.

The first notable upgrade pertains to the Enhanced Highway Assist ADAS in Gen 2 Rivian models. Right now, the pending software update will enable a new assist feature called “Co-Steer,” which will allow a driver to adjust their given position within a lane using “gentle steering inputs” without the Enhanced Highway Assist disengaging.

Speaking of Enhanced Highway Assist, Rivian shared that the availability of the ADAS feature has increased by up to 50%, particularly on urban and suburban highways. Lastly, the 2025.34 update includes a new perception model that improves lane centering performance, especially on curves.

Additionally, Rivian’s latest pending software update will allow your vehicle to automatically charge itself during off-peak times at your home when electricity is cheaper, ensuring your vehicle is ready when you need it.

According to the report, “smart scheduling” can cut annual home EV charging costs by 20% or more and increase your use of clean energy. You can enable this feature and monitor everything through your account in the Rivian app (version 3.5 or later).

Other updates and big fixes from 2025.34 (subject to change)

  • Audio improvements (Gen 2 Rivian models)
    • Fine-tuned equalization and delays to make the bass feel richer and more impactful
    • Soundstage improvements for better localization, separation, and layering
    • Improved blending of Dolby Atmos content for all listening positions
  • Performance improvements
    • Updated and improved media apps, including increased touchscreen responsiveness
    • Improved Navigation stability and responsiveness
    • Improved responsiveness to mobile commands while vehicle is asleep
  • Resolved rare issue that prevented users from accepting the terms of service for Rivian Navigation with Google Maps
  • Fixed issue that kept Gear Guard video thumbnails from displaying properly on the Motion Cam and Incidents screens
  • Resolved rare issue where the tonneau cover position is displayed incorrectly on certain screens of Gen 1 R1T models
  • Resolved rare issue that caused fog lights to turn off and exterior lights to revert to Auto mode (Gen 1)
  • Fixed issue that caused trip energy and efficiency data to fluctuate unexpectedly
  • Improvements to the accuracy of battery range on arrival estimates, including adding location air density as a factor for locations at higher elevations
  • Resolved rare issue that prevented the door handles from presenting for an unlock request while Car Wash mode is active (Gen 2 EVs)
  • Reduced excessive blower noise during climate control start-up in mild conditions while maintaining cooling performance in extreme temperatures (Gen 2 EVs)
  • Fixed rare issue that caused cabin conditioning requests initiated from the Rivian mobile app to fail on the first attempt (Gen 2 EVs)
  • Additional improvements for 12V battery health detection, including in-vehicle and mobile app notifications to alert you when the 12V battery needs to be replaced (Gen 2 EVs)

That’s all for now. As a reminder, the above release notes pertain to a beta version of the software update, and 2025.34 could be different when it reaches Rivian owners in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for it!

In the meantime, I recommend scheduling a test drive with Rivian if you haven’t done so yet. See if you can get behind the wheel of an upcoming R2. It’s a winner!


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The Ford F-150 Lightning can now handle more of the driving for you

Published

3 hours ago

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September 23, 2025

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The Ford F-150 Lightning can now handle more of the driving for you

Ford-F-150-Lightning-BlueCruise-update

After rolling out a new BlueCruise software update, Ford said F-150 owners can now drive in hands-free mode up to eight times longer. The update is available for all 2022-2025 Ford F-150 Lightning models equipped with BlueCruise.

Ford rolls out BlueCruise 1.4 update for F-150 Lightning

Depending on the model year, the software update will take some Lightning drivers from BlueCruise 1.0 to the latest version, BlueCruise 1.4.

Ford said those who receive the update will notice a more natural driving experience and more time in hands-free mode compared to earlier versions.

According to the company’s internal testing, F-150 Lightning drivers can stay in hands-free mode on the highway eight times longer on average compared to the first version of BlueCruise. Even compared to BlueCruise 1.2, the update offers five times more hands-free driving time.

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For those with BlueCruise 1.0, the upgrade will offer a few notable improvements. For one, Ford said you will feel “a more continuous experience,” like when driving around tight corners.

Ford-F-150-Lightning-BlueCruise-update
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum Black (Source: Ford)

You will also feel more centered in your line with less side-to-side movement. Ford said the update reduces deviations from the center of the lane by nearly 80% from the first version.

The update adds new features, such as In-Lane Repositioning, which automatically adjusts when you’re next to a large semi-truck to give you more space. With Lane Change Assist, you can now make a hands-free lane change by simply tapping the turn signal.

Ford-F-150-Lightning-hands-free-driving
The 2026 Ford F-150 Lightning STX (Source: Ford)

Ford is rolling out the new BlueCruise 1.4 update to 2022-2024 F-150 Lightning and 2022-2023 F-150 vehicles. The 2025 model year is being delivered with the update straight from the factory.

Earlier this month, Ford introduced a new STX trim for the 2026 F-150 Lightning. The new STX variant replaces the current base XLT model, offering more range and power for the same price.

As more updates become available, the company plans to extend the improved hands-free driving software to nine Ford and Lincoln vehicles. Ford has already deployed BlueCruise 1.3 to 2021-2023 Mustang Mach-E vehicles.

With the new 2026 Lightning around the corner, current models are available for lease starting at just $258 per month. You can use our link to find offers on the Ford F-150 Lightning near you (trusted partner).


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