The Chill Out Island Watercraft Is Your Very Own Luxurious Private Island (For Two)

Luxury can be a feeling, the state of absolute comfort and ease. While a superyacht is, in all respects, a most luxurious means of transportation, something like the Chill Out Island can also be that, even though it doesn’t provide the same kind of amenities. And it isn’t even much good in terms of transportation, since you’re not going anywhere specific.

Can you imagine anything better than drifting away for hours, drink in hand and your significant other by your side, as you chill, work on your tan, and spend quality time?

One Vienna-based company hopes your answer will be in the negative, because that would make you the perfect customer for this peculiar watercraft they call the Chill Out Island. Introduced in 2014 as a concept and then produced as Chilli Island, the watercraft was showcased at some of the biggest trade shows in the world.

It was only recently renamed, rebranded, and upgraded, and is now called the Chill Out Island. This was in early 2021, when Chilli Island GmbH was also saying that the final production version was still in development. It’s been radio silence ever since, and all our calls for request have gone unanswered (so far). The fate of the project is unknown, but that shouldn’t stop us from having a more thorough look at it.

The idea for this watercraft is simple: delivering total relaxation on smooth, shallow water. The Chill Out Island looks like a floating pool chair and is created for two occupants looking to spend a few hours out on the water. Unlike a floating pool chair, this watercraft has a fiberglass hull and is motorized, so you get to slowly putter away as you sip your drinks and take in the scenery.

The polyethylene body integrates two ergonomic, full-body seats that initially doubled as waterslides. That last part was included in the official description, but no other specifics were made available. Presumably, you could just slide off your seat and into the water, and then use the handrails to hoist yourself up again.

The design of the watercraft was minimalist from the start. Since this was a watercraft that would be accessible to anyone without any kind of license, dimensions and functions were kept to a minimum. In the original model, there was a 0.5-kW and a 1-kW motor option, powered by a pair of 300 Ah batteries that delivered up to six hours of carefree sailing.

There wasn’t much space on deck, and there wasn’t any need for it either: you had the two comfy-looking seats, cup holders on each side, a sound station, and a joystick for controls. The Chilli Island, as it was called back then, had three speeds and, while specifics were never offered, it’s probably safe to assume none was of the mind-blowing kind.

The list of features also included running lights and a stacked, three-panel palm tree-shaped shading system that you operated manually.

As noted above, the product was presented at the Dusseldorf Show in 2016 and was then sent on a showcase tour to Dubai. Reactions to it were mostly positive, and it was widely covered in the international media. With company branding possible and a unique design, it seemed like the Chilli Island was a perfect match for exotic locales and exclusive resorts, whether by the sea, on the shores of lakes, or as the next hot water toy for the world's richest.

Surprisingly, though, it did not catch on. Pricing might have played an important part in that, even considering the target demographic: the lower-specced version was retailing for €9,985 ($10,620 at the current exchange rate). For a motorized pool chair, it was expensive.

You know what they say about not giving up on an idea when you’re confident it’s a good one. In early 2021, the Chilli Island was renamed Chill Out Island, and the specifications were upgraded for a more demanding market. The hull is still fiberglass, but you could now order the kevlar/carbon hull as an upgrade, and the motor was replaced with a pair of Fisher motors of 1.5 kW 24v 4 hp. Range is dependent entirely on the kind of battery you choose, because the watercraft ships without one – an odd choice, at best.

The design has also been tweaked and improved, so the overall look is more streamlined and more luxurious. Maximum payload is 250 kg (551 pounds), and the hull now integrates an ice bucket, stainless steel stairs, a smartphone-controlled Bluetooth touchscreen for the audio system, and a waterproof storage box. Splurge some more, and you could add a cooling box, a video camera, underwater lights, and radio control for the lights.

From what we can tell, the plan was to develop a network of dealers, which would also provide a trailer for the new Chill Out Island, so transport to and from water would be taken care of. It would be just the first step towards launching a new lifestyle slash leisure watercraft, one that would provide ultimate luxury and relaxation. Whether the plan still stands is unknown, but rest assured that we’ll update the story if we hear back from the maker.