2022 Candela C-8 electric boat revealed
Candela's newest boat is expensive, grand, and all-electricFirst, it was a new twin-motor electric outboard. Now it’s the boat that will use it, promising a range of more than 50 nautical miles at a speed of 24 knots.
Swedish electric boat maker Candela – the floating equivalent of electric car maker Tesla – has launched the 8.5-metre Candela C-8, an all-new model it hopes will make battery-powered boating more mainstream.
Importantly, it has a legally trailerable 2.5-metre beam, meaning that it could one day come to Australia – assuming a buyer here is willing to stump up the equivalent of almost $500,000 on it before adding any options. It will be sold with a bespoke trailer.
The all-vacuum infused carbon fibre Candela C-8 uses the torpedo-shaped C-Pod battery-fuelled pod-styled outboard motor producing the equivalent of less than 70hp – that’s half what you’d expect from a conventional petrol-fuelled outboard engine – to push the new boat up onto its foils.
The boat also boasts what Candela claims is “the best user interface ever seen in a boat”, based on a 15.4-inch touchscreen running the boatmaker’s bespoke software. We’re not given a look at the dash, but we do get to see a smartphone app controlling numerous onboard functions that go with it.
Candela claims that the C-8 was designed to be “the most efficient boat ever built”.
“At 20 knots, the energy usage per nautical mile is just 0.8 kWh,” it said. “To put that into perspective, that’s the energy content of 0.1 litres of gasoline.”
Basic features of the Candela C-8 include a below-decks berth in the bow, a two-seat helm station that spins around to face an aft table, a co-pilot’s seat, and a rear sundeck that also has a well for the top of the electric pod motor, which can rise out of the water to reduce draft and even tuck into the hull to protect its foils.
Either side of the lounge is a walk-through transom. The boat screams out for a swim deck, though, to help with getting in and out of the water.
The boat is also unable to travel on the foils in rougher weather, with Candela advising that the skipper will have to drop the C-8 down onto the hull like a conventional boat, reducing both its speed and its range.
One of the important options for Australia is an enclosed hardtop that attaches to the trailing edge of the wrap-around windscreen. It includes a sunroof – handy if you need to stand at the helm – and a retractable awning to give more weather protection.
Options include a premium audio system, a range of colours for the cushions, a mooring cover, and a trailer.
According to Candela, the C-8’s batteries can be recharged in just two hours via a three-phase outlet – although it is not clear if this is to 80 per cent of capacity or a full recharge.
Candela said it would start production of the Candela C-8 in January next year. Buyers can reserve a production slot with a $1600 deposit.
It will sell alongside the more conventionally styled Candela C-7, the boat that launched the brand to the world.
Specifications
Model: Candela C-8
Length: 8.5m
Beam: 2.5m
Draft: 0.5m (shallow mode); 0.9m (planing mode); 0.8m (foiling); 1.5m (not foiling, foils extended)
Weight: 1605kg
Motor: 60hp/67hp C-Pod dual-motor submersible
Recharging: 13h (240V single phase)/2.5h (240V three phase)
Speed: 24kt (cruise)/30kt (WOT)
Range: 50nm (3nm in 4kt-limited limp-home mode)
Accommodation: 2+2 (adults/children)
Passengers: 8
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