“There’s no technology that can enable you to replicate that experience outside of an internal combustion engine.” Bring on the water taxis?īoth Candela and Navier are planning for a secondary market of electric ferries that could compete with the gas-powered vehicles that now carry commuters around populated regions such as the Stockholm archipelago or along San Francisco Bay. “You’re not anywhere near the type of electric boat where you can go 50 miles offshore and go fishing for a couple of hours and come back,” Swartz said. Swartz said they might make more sense to use electric motors - such as a new CES offering from Brunswick-owned Mercury Marine - to power a fleet of small rental boats, perhaps at the widely-used boating clubs also run by Brunswick. ![]() “How safe is it for me to go out in the middle of the week with no one around, miles from shore, in an electric outboard engine?” Swartz said. ![]() These early electric boat models are expensive, heavy and could instill more serious “range anxiety” than what drivers have felt about electric cars, said Truist Securities analyst Michael Swartz, who follows the leisure boat industry. Navier's investment backers include Google co-founder Sergey Brin, which means he's probably getting one, too. “They tend to be tech enthusiasts, if you like, with an optimistic view about the future and the ability of technology to solve all kinds of societal challenges.” “They tend to be entrepreneurs,” Hasselskog said of Candela's first customers. They've been described as Teslas of the sea, with hopes that what starts off as a luxury vehicle could eventually help transform the marine industry. The Stockholm-based startup has been scaling up its workforce from 60 employees a year ago to about 400 later this year as it prepares to ramp up production.īut with a roughly $400,000 price tag, neither the C-8 nor Navier's N30 is aiming to replace the aluminum boat used to fish on the lake. ![]() You can have a conversation, unlike on a gas boat.” When can you get one?Ĭandela CEO Gustav Hasselskog said his company has already sold and manufactured 150 of its brand-new C-8 model. “You can have a wine glass and it does not spill,” Navier CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya told The Associated Press last month. But electric-powered boats - particularly with the sleek foiling designs that lift the hull above the water's surface at higher speeds - can also offer a smoother and quieter ride. Why electric?Ī chief reason is environmental, as well as to save on rising fuel costs. California startup Navier tried to outdo its Scandinavian rival by bringing an electric hydrofoil that's a little bit longer, though Candela is further along in getting its products to customers.Įven the recreational motorboat conglomerate Brunswick Corporation tried to make a splash in Nevada this week by showing off its latest electric outboard motor - an emerging segment of its mostly gas-powered fleet. Swedish company Candela on Thursday unveiled a 28-foot (8.5-meter) electric-powered hydrofoil speedboat that can cruise for over two hours at 20 knots, or about 23 mph. Teslas of the sea? CES showcases electric hydrofoil boats Environmentally friendly, quiet, and you won't spill your wineįlying cars and self-driving vehicles always get attention at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas, but this year electric recreational boats are making bigger waves.
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