Photo: YuJet
For people without access to a large body of water, the thing in the gallery below is just a piece of nicely-shaped carbon fiber, priced about as high as a motorcycle. For others, fewer in numbers but more accustomed to water sports, it is the next cool thing in the world of surfing.
The contraption is called YuJet, and it’s manufactured by a Florida-based company that believes a $9,900 price tag is exactly what this surfboard really needs to take off on a market flooded with lesser boards.
What’s different about the YuJet is the fact that it's powered, not unlike a jet ski, and that means you don't need to wait for that perfect wave, nor do you need a boat or something to drag you along on an otherwise calm water surface.
YuJet stores its power in removable lithium-ion batteries that can hold enough electricity for rides lasting up to 40 minutes. If you need that in miles, that would be around 16, considering the speed the board can achieve.
The batteries help the board suck water in one end, through a carbon intake, and spit it out the other with enough force to give the YuJet a top speed of 24 mph (close to 39 kph). The means to steer, accelerate or brake the board is a handheld wireless controller.
The market for powered surfboards is not particularly big right now, and the current health crisis doesn't help either. YuJet will also have to fight a number of other similar products, including the Jetsurf, for instance. Unlike the YuJet, though, the Jetsurf uses a conventional engine that runs on an oil/fuel mixture.
“In the past few years we noticed there hasn’t been a revolutionary product for some time in the powered water sports line,” says YuJet in a statement.
“With years of passion and commitment to watersports combined with our experience in using existing and emerging technologies Yujet is the right company to bring new and revolutionary products to a market hungry for innovation.”
What’s different about the YuJet is the fact that it's powered, not unlike a jet ski, and that means you don't need to wait for that perfect wave, nor do you need a boat or something to drag you along on an otherwise calm water surface.
YuJet stores its power in removable lithium-ion batteries that can hold enough electricity for rides lasting up to 40 minutes. If you need that in miles, that would be around 16, considering the speed the board can achieve.
The batteries help the board suck water in one end, through a carbon intake, and spit it out the other with enough force to give the YuJet a top speed of 24 mph (close to 39 kph). The means to steer, accelerate or brake the board is a handheld wireless controller.
The market for powered surfboards is not particularly big right now, and the current health crisis doesn't help either. YuJet will also have to fight a number of other similar products, including the Jetsurf, for instance. Unlike the YuJet, though, the Jetsurf uses a conventional engine that runs on an oil/fuel mixture.
“In the past few years we noticed there hasn’t been a revolutionary product for some time in the powered water sports line,” says YuJet in a statement.
“With years of passion and commitment to watersports combined with our experience in using existing and emerging technologies Yujet is the right company to bring new and revolutionary products to a market hungry for innovation.”
Google News