I haven’t been there CES 2025 with the goal of getting wet in the cold water of Lake Mead in January. But when I discovered Los Angeles-based boat startup Arc was bringing its new sport boat to Las Vegas, I thought it was worth the risk. It is.

The Arc Sport is a joy to drive, even on a 30-minute jaunt across a choppy lake. It maneuvers like a heavy jet ski – weight that helps it feel stable. I have driven many heavy electric cars, trucks, and SUVs where the weight is like a drag. In this case, I was glad to have a little weight under us.

Like its boats, the Arc performed strongly as a starter. Arcfounded by former SpaceX engineers, out of the blue in 2021 with the backing of Andreessen Horowitz and Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital. It raised a $30 million Series A a few months ago, led by Eclipse Ventures partner and former Tesla executive Greg Reichow. Startup ships first $300,000 Arc One boats in early 2023, raises another $70 million in the same yearand set to work on the $258,000 Arc Sport.

Following that momentum, Arc delivered its first Sport boat to a customer last year. That’s a “very strong period of growth,” founder and CEO Mitch Lee told TechCrunch as we zipped by Lake Mead. And it’s only possible because Arc took the time to figure out how to build the limited-run One boat before moving on to something with less mass appeal, according to Lee.

“The Arc One for us is the (Tesla) Roadster. The first step is, let’s go build this boat. Let’s do it on a small scale, and we’ll learn from what people want to have these boats. in the field of customers,” he told TechCrunch in November. “We’ve had boats that have gone through hurricanes. We’ve had boats launched in 95 degree water learning is extremely valuable.”

When I arrived, Lee was shivering in the winter wind next to Lake Mead, but clearly still enjoying showing off the Arc Sport and what it can do. We got on and hit the water.

It’s an impressive boat before you even hit the throttle. The fit and finish of the boat I piloted, which is still technically a production-intent car, is remarkable, especially since CES is not known as a place for polished prototypes.

There are elements that might surprise people, though. There’s a Tesla-style horizontal touchscreen with smart, fluid software that doesn’t scream “legacy manufacturer.” A second screen sits behind the steering wheel, showing speed, battery level, and a view from the front-facing camera.

The Sport is quieter than the average gas boat. It is not quiet. I could still hear the motor moving under our feet; but it was easy to listen to Lee, his two colleagues, and another journalist on board. It’s not louder than the wind and the sound of the sail thrown behind us — a unique feature of Arc’s boats compared to many other hydrofoil-based electric boat startups.

When you combine that with the other quality-of-life enhancements the Sport offers over other gas competitors — like smoke-free, robust software updates over-the-air, twin thrusters that makes it easier to rotate and park the boat, a strong canopy that lowers to protect from the elements, and the lack of winterization required – it makes sense why watersports lovers can pay a premium for this boat.

Boats don’t have to be difficult to ride. The real learning curve comes from knowing how to navigate and behave on the water. Driving the Sport on an empty Lake Mead, even in choppy waters, is no challenge. Put one hand on the wheel, lift the lock on the throttle knob, and push it forward to have 500 horsepower of fun.

The 226 kWh battery pack kept the boat planted, and also helped the relatively short 23-foot frame make quick pivots as I turned the wheel. These turns are the most fulfilling part of the wind and chop experience. True, we were slapped by the waves, splashed by the icy blue water provided by the Colorado River at Lake Mead.

It’s worth it, though. Everyone should be able to have a lot of fun.

On the way back to the dock, while toweling off, it was hard not to notice the decline of Lake Mead. A powerful combination of seemingly endless drought and human activity has reduced the reservoir to only 27% of its total capacity, according to in. In every direction I could see where the water line used to be, a known phenomenon referred to as “bathtub ring.”

This has a direct impact on boaters who use the lake for recreation – exactly the kind of people Lee hopes to sell to. Lake Mead has had to close several boat launches and ramps over the past few years, according to the National Park Serviceand extend the rest to reach newer, lower lake levels.

I didn’t ask him if the evaporation of freshwater lakes is a risk for the addressable market of the Arc – that’s an ugly idea that I will definitely raise next time. What I do know is that Lee said his goal is for every watercraft to be electric powered. That includes looking beyond powersports, perhaps even to government and defense — an idea that seed investor Andreessen Horowitz is very fond of these days.

When I asked Lee about this in November, he declined, but left the door open.

“We cannot afford to be interrupted early, because if we do, we will fail as a company,” he said. “The reason we developed Arc Sport so quickly was because of the work we did with Arc One. I could go down a long list of all the carryovers and IPs, but the same thing applies to going commercial, -go to the government sectors, and our aspirations as a business will definitely lead to that. We’re not ready to discuss anything there.”