Inside Arc: how electric power transforms speed and wake systems

Ask most people about powertrain and you'll probably get a few different answers.

At its simplest, the powertrain is everything that turns stored energy into motion. In a traditional boat, that means an engine, transmission, driveshaft, and propeller. In the Arc Sport, it's something more innovative and efficient: the battery, motor, software, sensors, and propulsion system all working together as one intelligent platform.

To understand why that matters, we sat down with Ryan Cook (Arc's Co-founder and CTO) and Karan Kaushik (Senior Systems Engineer) to learn how our powertrain system became one of the biggest opportunities to rethink boating from the inside out.

Built from a clean slate

For Ryan, designing an electric wake boat was a unique opportunity to rethink the entire system.

"We're not trying to make an electric version of yesterday's boat," Ryan says. "We're building the best possible boat, and we believe the best boats are electric."

That philosophy shaped every decision from the team. Instead of designing the motor first and finding a place for everything else, the team engineered the battery, hull, software, propulsion, and controls together — looking for opportunities that simply don't exist in a traditional wake boat.

And one of the biggest advantages was the battery itself.

"The battery isn't something we worked around," Ryan explains. "It became one of the tools we used to make the boat better."

Unlike a fuel tank that grows lighter throughout the day, the Arc Sport's battery stays consistent from the first ride to the last. That stable center of gravity helps create a more predictable wake while giving engineers far more control over how the boat performs.

Power you can actually use

Electric vehicles are famous for instant torque. But when you’re on the water, that's only half the story.

Send maximum torque to a propeller all at once and it simply spins faster than the water can keep up. Instead of accelerating, you lose efficiency. So with the Arc Sport, the challenge was how to deliver exactly the right amount of power at exactly the right time.

"We're always riding right at the edge of what the propeller can do," Ryan says. "That's where software becomes just as important as horsepower."

Behind every throttle input, hundreds of sensors are constantly monitoring speed, motor output, battery performance, and changing water conditions.

"The driver doesn't have to think about any of that," says Karan. "The boat is constantly making those adjustments in the background so the experience feels effortless."

The result is instant acceleration, remarkably consistent speed, and the same predictable wake — session after session, rider after rider.

Built to keep getting better

On the Arc Sport, the powertrain moves beyond mechanical, creating a digital ecosystem that connects both hardware and software. What’s the benefit? For starters, the Arc Sport’s performance can improve long after it leaves the factory.

"We can make improvements through software that owners experience immediately," Karan says. "The boat you buy today isn't necessarily the same boat you'll have a year from now."

And that’s a very good thing. But this philosophy extends well beyond data and software updates.

Every powertrain is validated through extensive durability testing, including harsh saltwater environments, to ensure it performs reliably no matter where it's used.

For Ryan, though, success is more than just positive test results. It's measured by the feeling people have every time they put the throttle down.

"When everything works together, the technology disappears," he says. "You're simply left with a better day on the water."

Explore more Inside Arc

If you want to learn more about the technology behind the Arc Sport, make sure to check out our YouTube page for more Inside Arc stories and shorts.