Electricity is such a promising source of energy for vehicles that there seems to be no vehicular industry left untouched. Although the car market gets all the attention when it comes to electric drives, interesting things are happening elsewhere as well, like say in the world of aviation, and even that of boats.
To be fair, the boating industry has had a much closer relationship with electric motors than the automotive one, and several times down the ages, it toyed with the idea of electric propulsion. For one reason or another, it is only now though, that companies in this business, new and old, are seriously pondering the idea.
A new company doing so is Navier, which is eyeing a market entrance in 2023 with the Navier 27. That would be a hydrofoil 27 feet (8.2 meters) in length, powered by an undisclosed type of electric motor, and packing a battery that gives it a range of 75 nautical miles (86 miles/138 km) at speeds of 20 knots (23 mph/37 kph).
The carbon fiber 27 also comes with what seems to be an exciting piece of tech, although insufficiently detailed for now, a “highly-advanced autopilot.”
The contraption will be shown for the first time at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October next year, and production is expected to begin in 2023. We’re talking about this thing today because Navier announced the 27 will be assembled by Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding in Thomaston, Maine.
Navier will eventually end up making two versions of the 27, a Cabin and a Hardtop, with the former meant for all kinds of weather, and the latter suitable only when the sun is up and the sky clear.
At the time of writing, there is no info on price for the hydrofoil, but people interested in it can already register their intent on the company’s official website.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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