Electric Center Console by Arc: The Arc Coast
Electric propulsion allows a reimagined center console layout and Arc boats used that as a foundation of the design of its Arc Coast center console. This new boat also features a reimagining of the traditional center console helm.
The Arc Coast design process began not with engineering schematics but with a question: “What do people love about their center console and what do they just tolerate?” This user-centered approach led Arc’s team to conduct extensive field research—talking to owners, walking docks, and observing real-world boat usage patterns.
This research revealed that people use center consoles for much more than just fishing. They gather at sandbars, swim with family, and enjoy sunrise cruises with friends—activities for which traditional center consoles aren’t optimized. The Arc Coast addresses these limitations by incorporating spacious seating, improved water access, and thoughtful features that enhance the captain’s confidence.
Arc’s electric powertrain provided designers with unprecedented freedom to reimagine the boat’s layout. Without the spatial requirements of a traditional gas outboard, the team extended usable space to the very edge of the hull, creating a transom that’s “flat, clean, and open.”
As David Imai, Arc’s chief of design, explains, “It sounds simple, but removing the outboard changes the whole visual flow of the boat.” This redesigned flow improves movement between different areas of the boat and creates new possibilities for hosting and lounging. Importantly, these improvements don’t come at the expense of utility features that center console owners value—rod storage, livewell, and fishboxes are all preserved but better integrated into the overall design.
“It’s not about being minimal,” says Dylan Anderson, one of Arc’s industrial designers. “It’s about removing anything that doesn’t add value.”
Courtesy Arc
Traditional center console helms often suffer from a fragmented, cluttered layout with screens and switches that lack coherent organization. This visual complexity creates hesitation and makes operation unnecessarily complicated.
Ted Herringshaw, Arc’s product lead, notes that “Most people don’t want to feel like they’re in an airplane cockpit. They want to feel confident and comfortable at the helm.” By developing their control systems in-house, Arc created a cohesive helm where navigation, boat controls, and performance data are unified in a single intuitive interface. The system is designed to be easily readable, responsive, and capable of evolving through software updates.
Read Next: Arc Boats Optimizes Electric Power
Arc Boats is transforming electric boating from a compromise-laden alternative to a superior boating experience. By rethinking fundamental aspects of boat design around the capabilities of electric propulsion, both the Arc Sport and Arc Coast represent significant leaps forward in performance, efficiency, and user experience.
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