Designfax weekly eMagazine

Subscribe Today!

Archives

View Archives

Partners

Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight

Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops

Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants

Will a hydrofoiling center console boat fly in America?

Candela's C-8 CC model is the world's first foiling center console boat. It boasts a smoother, silent ride using very little electricity and an unmatched experience for anglers, families, and watersport enthusiasts.

 

 

 

 

Swedish boat builder and tech developer Candela aims to electrify America's No. 1 boat segment: center consoles for fishing, families, and watersports. The company's fast, efficient, and very pricey C-8 CC model flies on computer-guided hydrofoils, which are underwater wings that enable it to soar above chop and wake, using 80% less energy than conventional V hulls.

Candela C-8 CC.

 

 

Made from 100% carbon fiber, the 29-ft all-electric vessel (beam is 8.2 ft) with a single propeller touts an impressive range of 65 miles (57 nautical miles) at a cruising speed of 22 knots (25 mph) -- three times longer than any other electric boat on the market, and plenty of range for fishing trips, watersports, or cruising to your favorite sandbar. For mooring, the foils retract into the hull at the push of a button on the touchscreen. About 50,000 center console boats are sold annually in the United States, so even a tiny fraction of that market would be a big win for Candela. Top speed is 30 knots (35 mph). Weight is 3,700 lb.

VIDEO: Candela C-8 flies over the waves in Sweden.

Thanks to a unique technical partnership with premium electric car maker Polestar, all C-8 models are powered by 69-kWh Polestar batteries. The Center Console shares the same technical platform as the Daycruiser version of the Candela C-8, which was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2023 and is currently the best-selling electric boat in the United States.

With its hydrofoils retracted, the Candela C-8 CC can be stored on a trailer or beached.

 

 

Once foil-borne at 16 knots (18.5 mph), the vessel's Candela C-POD direct-drive pod motor is nearly silent in flight. Soaring over the waves, the C-8 CC is stabilized by its Flight controller computer, which continually adjusts the hydrofoils to ensure a steady and bump-free ride over the waves.

After five years of research and development, Candela began producing the world's first electric hydrofoil leisure boat in 2019, the Candela C-7 open "roadster of the seas." This was followed in 2021 by the high-volume market Candela C-8, which is just being delivered to its first customers in early summer 2023. Over 150 C-8 boats have been sold to date, and the vessel has been lauded as a "game changer" by Motorboat and Yachting magazine, winning numerous awards including the 2022 European Powerboat of the Year award for its superior seakeeping, long range, and high speed.

Candela Seven speed boat.

 

 

Company engineers drew from fighter jet and airplane industry design experience to develop the original Candela Seven model and its iterations. It uses software, sensors, and computers to enhance stability and efficiency. Traditional hydrofoils are static, but the Candela boat uses seven sensors to assess the position, velocity, and acceleration of the boat. The information is fed to proprietary flight-control software, and the wings are automatically adjusted to maintain the best height, roll, and pitch.

Candela launched its Candela C-8 Daycruiser model at the 2023 CES show in Las Vegas.

 

 

While traditional center console deep-V fishing boats are known for their appetite for fuel, the electric Candela C-POD motor efficiently converts the stored electricity in the batteries to thrust, resulting in minimal energy wastage to propel the C-8 forward. Combined with Candela's hydrofoils, the company says the result is unmatched efficiency.

When it comes to the C-8 CC model, while traditional 28- and 29-ft deep-V boats often have a pair of 400-hp outboards, the Candela center console model's single 100-hp pod motor is enough to take off with eight people on board -- at a cost that is less than 10 dollars for a full battery charge. The motor requires no maintenance for 3,000 hours, according to the company.

VIDEO: Candela C-Pod motor tech.

Once at anchor, Candela C-8 CC offers its passengers an open bow with seating, a wet bar, sofas for up to six passengers around a table, an enclosed head, sunbed, extended swimming platform with shower, 6-speaker in-hull stereo system, and angler features, such as rod holders and depth sounder.

For anglers, Candela's hydrofoil technology provides many advantages, including no wake when cruising. The rpm of the almost completely silent Candela C-POD motor can be seamlessly adjusted for any speed down to 0.2 knots, making it ideal for sneaking up on the big catch.

"It's really the best fishing machine at low speeds. With foils down, it doesn't drift and is incredibly stable. Our Candela C-POD motor is like a high-power outdrive combined with a slow-speed trolling motor in one unit," says Gustav Hasselskog, founder and CEO of Candela.

VIDEO: Candela C-Foil system.

Hydrofoil boats are not new. Back in 1898, the Italian engineer Enrico Forlanini experimented with a small "ladder" hydrofoil that set a speed record of 50 km/h (31 mph) on Lago Maggiore. It was driven by a steam engine. Alexander Graham Bell also created a hydrofoil craft called the HD-4 that set a world marine speed record of 114 km/h (70.86 mph) in 1919. That boat used two V12 airplane engines.

As far as pricing, your deep commitment to watersports needs to be as deep as your pockets. The C-8 CC starts at $390,000, which includes a 15.4-in. navigational screen and free over-the-air updates of the User Interface and Flight controller, which will unlock new features over the boat's lifetime. Hopefully, the price will come down as the technology matures. Pre-orders are available. Deliveries are targeted for summer 2024.

In 2023, Candela is launching its first commercial vessel -- the Candela P-12 Shuttle ferry that can hold up to 30 commuters. Candela says, "It is poised to set multiple world records for being the fastest and longest-range electric ship ever built, with a top speed of 30 knots (35 mph) and a range of up to 60 nautical miles. It will also be the most energy-efficient fast ship ever made in its size class." Substantial operational cost savings are expected. The first unit is water launched during summer 2023.

Candela's two wholly-owned factories in Stockholm, Sweden, produce the Candela C-8 and P-12 vessels. The company also has leisure boat resellers in 12 countries and a wholly-owned sales office in San Francisco, CA.

Learn more at candela.com.

Source: Candela

Published April 2023

Rate this article