Teslas of the water: Electric boats come of age

Think electric mobility – the industry buzz words for a new generation of electron-fuelled cars – and Tesla springs to mind.

The boutique Californian electric car-maker vehicles have become the environmental poster cars of the modern age, displacing the former enviro-warrior of the 2000s, the petrol-electric hybrid Toyota Prius.

But while the electric revolution is well and truly taking shape on land, on the water it’s still pushing new frontiers as boatbuilders start to dip a toe in the water. And some are even tapping car-based tech to help them lead the charge.

Strict European vehicle emissions standards, and some US by-laws banning conventionally engined boats from some waterways, are forcing a rethink of the way we motivate boats.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at the upcoming 2018 Yachting Festival of Cannes, where electromobility on the water will have a significant presence through a number of global reveals.

And just like for cars, the high-tech, potentially high cost, line-up at Cannes shows battery-fed boat technology is not yet quite mainstream.

The 8.0-metre Liso Aquamare 750 GTE is one electric entrant to make its debut at Cannes. Defined as a “high-speed luxury boat”, it features a 300hp (224kW) electric motor powered by a bank of 140kWh batteries – about the same storage capacity as the fossil fuel-free primemover (truck) under development at Tesla.

Liso has placed a cap on performance to extend the battery life. It said it could have tapped even more performance from the Aquamare’s electric motor, but it wanted to guarantee at least three hours’ run time at cruising speed, and all-day tooling around the marina. Still, if you want to draw on its full potential (read as: flatten the batteries as quickly as possible) top speed is rated at more than 51kt (95km/h).

Recharging time is said to be five hours form a normal household powerpoint, or an hour via a rapid charger. But what about the all-important electric range? That’s still being assessed.

Q-Yachts, meanwhile, has tried to steal some of Liso’s limelight, last week releasing the first images of its clean looking, smartphone-simple Q-Yachts Q30 electric motorboat using a drive system branded Oceanvolt.

The 9.3m Q30 uses an adaption of a system developed for sailboats, and just like Tesla does with its cars, offers buyers a choice of batteries that give either a shorter 42nm of range via a 30kWh pack, or an extended 80nm range via a 60kWh pack.

But while the Liso lays it down thick on performance, the Q-Yachts Q30 tempers its pace. Maximum cruising range comes if you stick to a top speed of just 9.0kt, but tap the 20kW motor’s full potential and hit 15kt, and the range drops to either 32nm or 40nm, depending on the size of the power pack.

Cannes will also host the premiere of the what’s claimed to be the world’s first electric power ski.

The Narke Electrojet is described as the world’s first series production, environmentally friendly zero-emission power ski, a carbon-fibre clad skin wrapped around a battery-powered, water-cooled motor.

The craft’s geodesic, sharp-edged visual punch isn’t really backed up on paper, with the Narke limited to a top speed of 55km/h from its meagre 45kW drivetrain, with enough juice onboard to provide about 1.5 hours of fun.

In between those bursts of fun, the Narke will take about two hours to charge the battery up to 80 per cent of capacity. However, a hot-swappable battery is in development, which could potentially cut the turnaround time down to minutes.

Danish boat builder Rand meanwhile will introduce its Play 24 at Cannes featuring a 50kW electric motor. The 7.4m centre console boat looks a bit like an extended, softer chined version of the 5.35m Picnic 18 that has a picnic table built forward of the console.

XShore is a Swedish boat builder who also aims to find some space in the emerging electric boat world.

The 8.0m tender-style, deep freeboard XShore eElectric 8000 is all Scandinavian minimalist chic in an environmentally friendly package.

It stands out as the only craft here to feature dual inboard motors, with each of the Torqeedo Deep Blue 80i 1800 engines delivering 80hp to push the eElectric 8000 along at more than 25kt.

Rather than reinvent the battery technology needed for its motors, XShore has tapped BMW to supply its energy store using the same units developed for the i3 electric hatchback.

No details have yet been released on recharging times or range.

The 2018 Yachting Festival of Cannes starts on September 11.