Nimbus teases a boat that floats on air

The Alukin Ocean Air 8 concept works by fitting the bow of the boat with a fan that switches on as soon as the boat starts moving. Similar to a hovercraft, the fan creates a slight overpressure between the hull and the water, reducing friction.

Alukin, which is owned by Nimbus, claims the new technology reduces the amount of energy needed to push the boat through the water while up on the plane by 33 percent, which in turn can help yield an increase in range as much as 50 percent.

The 8.0-metre Alukin Ocean Air 8 is designed to be an electric boat, with a hull designed for efficient running. The concept uses an electric outboard motor and battery system supplied by fellow countryman Evoy.

Alukin brand manager Maria Nikula said the group was aiming its technology at Generation Z, the boaters of the future. 

“We named the concept boat Ocean Air 8, which signals the area of use and function,” Nikula said.

The boat's very rounded bow appears to enclose a fan mounted close to the waterline, with reversed chines forming a concave centre section along which the air is forced.

This will greatly reduce the wetted surface in contact with the water, in turn reducing drag and increasing speed. Another benefit of the technology is that it produces very little wake.

 The boat will have its official launch at Boot Dusseldorf tomorrow.

Other boatmakers have mixed air in with the water running beneath the hull using “steps”, channels cut into the hull’s underside that are designed to passively suck air in as the boat rises onto and sits on the plane.

Water is quite viscous, or sticky, so the water close to the surface of a hull moves much slower than the water passing further away. It is this stickiness that turns a boat’s forward momentum into a wake.