Stockholm-based Candela revealed p-8 Voyager in Venice. It is the world’s first flying electric taxi boat consuming significantly less energy. The electric watercraft was designed to replace traditional water taxis in Venice that relied on combustion engines. The P-8 will usher forward the world with new technology in maritime transportation.
It was unveiled on Sunday at Salone Nautico in Venice. The watercraft has the same foundation as Candela’s C-8 electric speedboat. It relied on a hydrofoil system that is also used in other Candela’s electric boats. Around 50+ engineers worked on the design, with experience from working in the drone, software, and aerospace industries. When the boat reached 16 knots, the onboard flight controller automatically changes the foil’s angle of attack. It allows the vehicle to lift off from the waves and fly.
There are various sensors in the gauge wave height that ensure smooth rides in tough conditions. The flight controller relied on these sensors. This system can handle four to five-foot chop and boat wakes (120m-150m). The high right height and quick adjustments made it happen. Its pitch, roll, and height can be made 100 times per second.
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As Candela’s chief of commercial vessels Erik Eklund explained, “You get the seakeeping ability of a 100-foot ship in a 28-footer, really. Foiling in bad weather will be the ultimate experience of nature. Taking in the dramatic scenery, breaking waves and all, while safely flying over it in absolute silence. This is a new level of luxury that, I dare say, has never been experienced at sea.”
The system is also ideal for areas that are sensitive to boat wakes, such as Venice since the hydrofoils leave almost zero wakes. According to Candela, the wake left by its hydrofoils is no larger than that of Venice’s famous gondolas. Importantly for commercial vessel owners and operators, the P-8 Voyager is designed to be as maintenance-free as possible.
That’s because the boat uses the Candela C-POD motor, which was specifically developed for the company’s hydrofoiling watercraft. A pair of submerged motors provide 50 kW of power and directly drive counter-rotating propellers without the need for any transmission in between. That means no noise, no oil, no cooling fluid – and virtually no need for maintenance. Candela says the C-POD drive unit can run for 3,000 hours without service (compared to many outboard motors with internal combustion engines that require maintenance intervals of 100 hours). The highly reduced maintenance schedule is ideal for operators in remote locations where technicians are hard to come by.
