New electric foiling powerboats
After 16 months of development, the world’s most anticipated electric boat recently completed its maiden flight, up on foils.
The foiling Candela C-8 features a unique combination of long all-electric range, high speed, and industry-firsts.
Its maiden flight took off from outside the Swedish tech company’s headquarters at Lidingö, Stockholm. After reaching its designed take-off speed of 16 knots, the prototype P-01 lifted off smoothly, and flew noiselessly above the water at a cruise speed of 20 knots.
“Smooth, and very, very silent,” said Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s CEO afterwards.
The C-8 has been designed to be the best electric boat on the market, and to provide emission-free boating. The transition to zero-emission boats has been hampered by the inadequate performance of conventional electric boats. Propelling a planing, conventional speedboat through the water requires enormous amounts of energy, which drains even the biggest lithium-ion batteries after only 30-45 minutes of spirited driving.
Flying above the waves on computer-controlled hydrofoils – underwater wings – Candela’s craft use 80 percent less energy than conventional boats, which translates into far longer range and higher speeds on pure battery power.
What makes hydrofoils so effective is the dramatic reduction in drag. A typical planing hull has a 4-to-1 lift-to-drag ratio, while the Candela C-8 has a 20-to-1 lift advantage. Cruising at 20 knots, the C-8 can fly for 50 nautical miles on its 44 kWh battery – 2-3 times longer than conventional electric speedboats with 300 percent bigger batteries.
Other features include actively stabilised hydrofoils that leave no trace; pollution, noise, or wake.
The C-8’s digital flight control system automatically adjusts the foils to keep the boat level and steady, even in adverse weather conditions, and silent, thanks to Candela’s newly developed Candela C-POD direct-drive electric pod motor.
In an industry-first for leisure boats, the C-8 is equipped with fly-by-wire steering and has autopilot features for more relaxed driving over long distances. When the driver lets go of the wheel, the boat will automatically steer the set compass course.
The company has received more than 100 orders since launching the C-8 concept last year, despite it being being priced at around NZ$489,000.
