The super-fast, super-sleek
25-foot speedboat uses a combination of electric and diesel engines to
produce a low-emission vessel that should warm the hearts of the
greenest motorboat sailor.

"Everybody knows about hybrid cars, but hybrid boats are different,"
said Michael Frauscher, managing director of the company that built the
boat.

Most air pollution from motor boats comes in the harbor, when the
boat is idling or running at low speed, said Michael Chrisman,
California's secretary of resources, who went for a demonstration ride
on the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

The hybrid solves the problem by starting and running in the harbor
under electric power. The demonstration boat's electric motor was so
quiet Friday that no one could hear it.