Electric hydrofoil boats, or "flying" boats as some call them, are all the rage right now, aiming to revolutionize sea travel and promote sustainability on the water. Candela C-8, designed for both leisure and commercial use, is seen by many as the coolest-looking e-foiler, but the boat is not just about aesthetics but also extreme efficiency.
According to the Swedish electric boat maker, the Candela C-8 Polestar Edition electric boat has set a new world record for the longest distance sailed in one day by an electric boat. The 28-foot foiling watercraft covered 420 nautical miles (equivalent to 483 miles or 777 km) in 24 hours, comfortably crushing the previous record of 79 nautical miles (90.9 miles) in 20 hours set by the Voltari 260 e-boat.
The impressive feat was the result of a collaboration between Candela and battery maker Northvolt, which supplied a Voltpack mobile battery and a Plug charger. The record attempt took place in the inland waterways around Stockholm, with the C-8 electric boat setting sail from the Frihamnen port in the capital city and traveling to Tynningö and back. This was basically a 20-nautical-mile loop, and the boat stopped after each lap to juice up.
Of course, that doesn't exactly emulate the kind of boating customers will do in real-life scenarios, but the company says the aim of the experiment was to illustrate how simple and effective a DC charging network could be and how much cheaper electric boating is compared to the internal combustion alternative.
Photo: Candela
"This feat shows that fast, electric waterborne transport over long distances is viable today, not a distant future," said Candela CEO and founder Gustav Hasselskog, who was at the helm during the record run.
"With a relatively modest investment, charging stations could be built to fully electrify marine transport in the Stockholm archipelago. For a few hundred million euros, a charging network covering Europe's coastal passenger transports would become a reality," he added.
The e-boat maker estimates that their C-8 used a total of 685 kWh of electrical energy during the challenge, with each charge taking only 18 minutes. This would amount to a total cost of €120. To offer you some perspective, the brand says a conventional fossil fuel-powered boat would have cost $1,483 for the same journey.
During the 24-hour run, the electric boat cruised at an average speed of 17 knots (charging interruptions included), but most of the time, it ran at full speed (27 knots), putting the previous record holder to shame, as Voltari's boat crawled along at a meager 4 knots during its record attempt.
The Canela C-8 electric hydrofoil boat is equipped with a 69 kWh Polestar battery (the same that powers the Polestar 2 electric fastback) and a 75 kW electric motor that allows it to reach a top speed of 30 knots and a range of 57 nautical miles at 22 knots.
The carbon-fiber boat, which has proved its extreme efficiency, is also equipped with submerged hydrofoils that let it fly above the waves, with less than 1% of the boat actually touching the water. As such, it uses just 20% of the energy needed by conventional boats.
After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors. Full profile
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