History
‘The Gussies’ were created in 2020 to recognize the inventors, designers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and visionaries who are making advances every day to develop clean, quiet, zero emission technologies and innovations to reduce reliance on fossil fuel for marine propulsion.
The awards are named to honour Gustave Trouvé, a prolific French inventor with over 75 patents – among them the world’s first outboard boat motor, which he devised so that he could detach the motor from his prototype electric boat ‘Le Teléphone’ and take it home for further work in his Paris apartment.
In the first award in 2020 there were 50 boats nominated from 19 countries and in last year’s Gussies more than 160. There is every reason to believe even more will be nominated this year.
The 42 Gussies Winners thus far represent 22 different countries: Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA.
Nominate a boat
Boats can be nominated through a Nominations page that will be found on Plugboats.com.
Anyone, including boatyards and manufacturers, can nominate a boat in any of the 9 categories, however only one boat from any manufacturer is eligible in any one category.
Categories
Electric Boats Up To 8 metres/26 feet:
• Two categories: Boats in Serial Production and Boats In Development
Electric Boats Over 8m/26 ft:
• Two categories: Boats in Serial Production and Boats In Development
Electric PWCs / e-Foils, e-Boards, Water Scooters, Water Toys
Electric Sailboats
Work Boats
Retrofitted / Customized Electric Boats
Electric Work Boats
Commercial Passenger Electric Boats
• Two categories: Boats in Operation and Boats In Development
Voting
Finalists in each category are decided by the International Judging Panel of representatives from national electric boat associations and other organizations such as Foiling Week and the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, along with representatives from past Gussies winners.
Finalists are voted on by the public with the Final Winners determined by weighted votes of the public and the Panel: 75% Panel, 25% Public.
After nominations close, the International Judging Panel selects Finalists by selecting 3 boats in each category. Depending on the number of entries in the category, the Finalists will be the top 6, 9 or 12 top vote-getting boats (plus ties). The exception is the Retrofitted / Customized category, in which all entries are automatically Finalists.
After the selection of the Finalists, public voting begins. At the end of the Public Voting, the Judges will vote again, but this time voting for only 1 boat in each category. (This is because a Judge’s ‘favourite’ boat or boats may not have made it to the finals.)
The Judge’s votes in deciding the eventual winners are weighted 75% and the Public votes 25%.
One of the refreshing things about The Gussies is that it reflects the competitive camaraderie in the electric boat industry. The Judging Panellists appreciate the role of rewarding excellence as everyone pushes themselves and others to promote zero emission boating and literally help change the world.
A big thank you and shout out to all the Judges.
Schedule 2026
Nominations Open September 8, 2026
Nominations are accepted until Midnight EST, Sunday, October 11, 2026
Panellist Selection of Finalists: October 12 – 18, 2026
Finalists will be announced and Public Voting begins October 19, 2026
Voting ends Midnight EST, Sunday, November 15, 2026.
Winners will be announced Wednesday November 18, 2026.