Smart Electric Hydrofoils - Recreational

Smart electric hydrofoils - recreational uses

While our focus at Maritime Impulse is on domestic commercial vessels, a review of smart electric hydrofoils would not be complete without considering the products being offered to the recreational boating market.

EDIT (13 Oct 2023): Added Poseidon AmphibWorks’ Trident LS-1.

Personal Watercraft

This group of hydrofoils are replacing jetskis and small watercraft that can take one or two people in some degree of comfort (i.e. you don’t have to get wet).

🌐 Boundary Layer Technologies Valo (USA)

Boundary Layer were going to produce a cargo hydrofoil that could carry containers in urban waterways, they pivoted in 2022 to create the Valo hyperfoil instead, a personal watercraft that could bring their technology to the water-based leisure market. Unlike the foil enabled electrical wakeboards or surfboards that have been popping up, the Volo is intended to be used by two people, and so sits in a really useful space where it can be used by someone not that interested in extreme watersports.

• Passengers: 2 people seated

• Length: 3.5 m

• Max speed: 42 knots

• Service speed: 30 knots

• Range: 68 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Jetski

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: No (50% in 1 hr, 95% in 3 hrs)

🌐 Electro Nautic WaveFlyer Volaré (Australia)

Electro Nautic’s WaveFlyer Volaré has already won an Australian Good Design Award and is the sort of small utility boat that you could only create with a battery-electric hydrofoil. Apart from the obvious ease of use, the watercraft also offers geofencing, and remote control for situations where a commercial operator wants to take back control of one that has been rented for the day.

• Passengers: 2 people seated

• Length: 3 m

• Max speed: 24 knots

• Service speed: 20 knots

• Range: 35 NM / 54 NM (optional)

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Unspecified

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Yes (30 min to 80%)

Day Boats

The day boat group is the largest for recreational electric hydrofoils as it obviously is they can take advantage of overnight charging and require a certain amount of performance to get where you want to be during the day.

🌐 Candela C-8 (Sweden)

Candela are the grand-daddy of this group, with a mature second-generation offering in the C-8 that ticks most of the boxes required for a luxurious day on the water. They also have the most experience in actually delivering boats to customers, which is likely to play out in terms of their control software’s sophistication (it’s seen a lot of people be silly).

• Passengers: 8 people seated

• Length: 9 m

• Max speed: 27 knots

• Service speed: 22 knots

• Range: 57 NM + 3 NM at 4 knots in ‘limp home’ mode

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Yes (35 min to 80%)

🌐 Navier N30 (USA)

Navier have just launched their N30 after prototyping with the N27, a slightly shorter boat. The design is fairly luxurious, and they boast the longest range of any of these day boats (when extended range is selected). They do not have fast DC charging, and have two larger motors in more of an outboard style - the better top speed than the Candela has a tradeoff of noise as the motor is above the water. Auto-docking is an optional feature which will be very exciting for anyone who is nervous about those last few meters of a day’s journey.

• Passengers: 8 people seated

• Length: 9 m

• Max speed: 35 knots

• Service speed: 20 knots

• Range: 45 NM / 75 NM (optional)

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: No (overnight)

🌐 SeaChange F8 (New Zealand)

SeaChange make their entire range (F8, F10, F14, F18) available to customise for any commercial or recreational need. However, their F8 is possibly the best suited as a day boat, so is here for that reason.

• Passengers: 2-8 people seated

• Length: 8 m

• Max speed: Unspecified

• Service speed: 25 knots

• Range: 45 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Catamaran

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Yes (1 NM foiling range per minute charging)

🌐 Edorado 8S (Netherlands)

Edorado has aimed their first offering squarely at the lake and river luxury boating crowd. The 8S has been a long time in development, but has only just launched and started taking orders.

• Passengers: 5 people seated

• Length: 8.35 m

• Max speed: 38 knots

• Service speed: 25 knots

• Range: 40 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Unspecified

🌐 Iguana Foiler (France)

Iguana is famous for their amphibious boats, and now have added a foiling model to that lineup. The Iguana Foiler has the brand’s famous retractable tracks, but also sports a retractable hydrofoil arrangement. Unlike some other designs these are the more traditional surface piercing hydrofoil design which retract by folding up alongside the vessel. These allow the design to forego smart control software to achieve stability, but also limit its usefulness to rivers and lakes. Unlike traditional static surface piercing hydrofoils, these can be folded up out of the way, eliminating one of the design issues of being unable to dock sideways at a quay.

• Passengers: 8 people seated

• Length: 10 m

• Max speed: 30 knots

• Service speed: 22 knots

• Range: 50 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: No

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: No (overnight)

Limousine Tenders

This group of boats would make great tenders for a superyacht or water accessible haven. Whilst you might want to take the wheel, they are also designed to be marvelous boats to just be a passenger in whilst sipping your champagne in serene comfort a few feet above the water.

🌐 Silent Yachts Speed S28 (Spain)

Silent Yachts are known for their solar catamarans, but with the Speed S28 they have created a foil-assisted monohull design. A rooftop solar panel helps offer charging whilst at sea, and it is surprising that other vendors don’t include something like this - after all a tender is often sat at anchor or towed behind its mothership. Unfortunately, this one might not handle the champagne as well, the foils are assisting by reducing displacement, not fully lifting the hull out of the water.

• Passengers: 10 people seated

• Length: 8.6 m

• Max speed: 60 knots

• Service speed: 30 knots

• Range: 70 NM

• Foil type: Foil-assist

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Yes (40 mins to 100% charge)

🌐 Tyde The Icon (Germany)

Tyde have created The Icon in conjunction with BMW and the automotive brand’s influence on the interior design and control software is evident. One of the most striking designs, The Icon is effectively a glasshouse on water, so may be less practical in some sunnier climates, but perfect for the German lakes or coastline. It does come with a robust air conditioning system. Each one of the boats can be tailored to the client’s needs, so this set of specifications is indicative only - but it would be tempting to match it to your BMW i4 electric Gran Coupé.

• Passengers: 6 people seated

• Length: 13 m

• Max speed: 33 knots

• Service speed: 24 knots

• Range: 50 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Unspecified

🌐 Cockwells Alte Volare (UK)

Cockwells have created the Alte Volare as much as a technical study as a product, as such the technical details are a little light on, but the styling of their design very much speaks to its role as a limousine tender.

• Passengers: 9 people seated

• Length: 12 m

• Max speed: 40 knots

• Service speed: Unspecified

• Range: Unspecified

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Unspecified

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Unspecified

🌐 BAR Technologies SpiritBARTech35EF (UK)

BAR Technologies and Spirit Yachts collaborated to create this sensational performance luxury power yacht. In a class of its own, I’ve put it with limousine tenders because it could be used for that, but it is most likely just a vessel to enjoy the performance of.

• Passengers: 6 people seated

• Length: 11 m

• Max speed: 30 knots

• Service speed: 22 knots

• Range: 100 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Unspecified

🌐 SeaBubbles The Bubble

SeaBubbles started with The Bubble design and it has found a place as a people mover on lakes and rivers. it comes in a closed top or an open version. It can foil at a mere 6 knots, and provides an elegant and car-like transfer option, if a bit small for a true limousine feel.

• Passengers: 5 people seated

• Length: 8.6 m

• Max speed: Unspecified

• Service speed: 12 knots

• Range: Unspecified

• Foil type: Fixed foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Yes

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric (fuel-cell options being considered)

• DC Charging: Unspecified

🌐 Poseidon AmphibWorks Trident LS-1 (USA)

Poseidon AmphibWorks have an unusual proposition, an electric foiling vessel that doubles as an electric three wheeled road vehicle. Unlike the Iguana Foiler it is designed to be actually useful as a road vehicle, filling that niche when you want a tender that does what you want on land as well as water.

Like The Bubble (see above) it is a little small for true limousine feel, but given the likely cost it is going to suit the clients that want to step into a car on land and then off a boat to their superyacht. The vessel design is being crowdsourced and crowdfunded, so it may end up being a bit of a camel rather than horse in the end.

• Passengers: 3 people seated

• Length: 4.9 m

• Max speed: 35 knots

• Service speed: 30 knots

• Range: 52 NM

• Foil type: Retractable foils

• Smart foiling: Yes

• Carbon-fiber hull: Unspecified

• Hull form: Monohull

• Power: Battery-electric

• DC Charging: Yes

Summary

We hope you have enjoyed this article on recreational electric hydrofoils. Check out our other article on commercial electric hydrofoils.

What do you think, will your next boat be an electric hydrofoil?