Centre consoles are so hot right now, so it makes sense that Candela, the Swedish foiling electric boat maker, adds a version of its C-8 featuring the world's most popular design feature.
The Candela C-8 Centre Console adds a second option for electric boat pioneers and will sell alongside the dual console model that launched the brand to the world.
The design features an open bow with a lounge, a walkaround dual-seat centre console, and an aft cockpit that can flip-flop between forward-facing seats for passagemaking, or creating a dining space to enjoy while anchored.
Importantly, the design of the carbon-fibre Candela C-8 uses a retractable C-Pod electric motor that can raise or lower, as well as a forward set of foils that can tuck into the hull when not used and allow the boat to be slipped on a trailer, or even beached while out on the water.
“Centre console boats are the most popular recreational vessels on the water, with around 50,000 sold annually in the US alone and many more globally,” Candela said in a statement announcing the new interior layout.
“The Swedish-made Candela C-8 Centre Console is designed to electrify the world's best-selling boat segment, offering unprecedented electric speed, range, and energy efficiency that is several times higher than traditional gas boats, providing an unmatched boating experience for anglers, families, and watersport enthusiasts alike.”
Candela claims the foils under the C-8 CC allow it to use up to 80 per cent less effort to cut through the water when compared with a conventional hull design, giving it a range of more than 55 nautical miles at a cruising speed of around 22 knots.
The Candela C-8 CC uses a string of sensors along the hull to read the boat’s height above the water and make microscopic adjustments to the forward foil’s angle of attack to keep the boat trimmed level.
Other features on the boat include an enclosed head, sunbed, extended swimming platform with shower, six-speaker in-hull audio system, and fishing features, such as rod holders and a depth sounder.
The electric pod motor is especially useful to fishing enthusiasts, allowing the Candela C-8 CC to move silently through the water at speeds as low as 2.0 knots.
Candela’s boats use battery packs developed by Polestar, the performance electric car division of global car brand Volvo.