Den nya modellen Candela C-8 har börjat flyga. Företaget har släppt de allra första bilderna av den nya, succéartade båtmodellen.
På bilderna känns linjerna igen väldigt väl från de dataskisser som Candela i Stockholm presenterade i höstas. Trots att båten då enbart fanns i renderingsstadiet har den nu alltså visats som färdig båt som är redo att testas i verkligheten.
Nya C-8 benämns av företaget som ”Iphone moment for electric boats” och är en 8,5 m lång daycruiser med mer plats än i den första modellen, Candela C-7.
Mottagandet på marknaden blev mycket positivt för C-8, som enligt uppgift har förhandsbokats i minst ett hundratal exemplar. Den Nordamerikanska marknaden har till exempel visats stort intresse.
Enligt en pressrelease får C-8 den längsta räckvidden som någon elbåt har i dagsläget med batterier som räcker till över 50 Nm körning.
Det är med den här modellen som Candela hoppas kunna nå riktigt stora volymer i försäljningen av sina elbåtar. Candela C-7 ligger redan i topp iförsäljningsmässigt, men företaget siktar ännu högre.
– Med C-7 bevisade vi att vår bärplansteknologi inte bara ger lång räckvidd utan även ger en bra upplevelse på sjön med sina mjuka egenskaper i vågorna. Men C-7 var mer som en handbyggd sportbil som aldrig var avsedd för stora volymer, säger Candelas grundare och vd, Gustav Hasselskog.
– Med nya C-8 lyfter vi tekniken till en ny nivå. Samtidigt fokuserar vi på att bygga en båt med all den komfort som kunderna förväntar sig och detta i en båt som är konstruerad för massproduktion.
Med sina 8,5 m totallängd är C-8 en eldriven premium cruiser. Den har en stor förarplats och plats för åtta personer, solbädd och en rymlig förkabin med dubbelsäng för två vuxna och en barnkoj för två samt en toalett.
Priset är satt till 290 000 Euros plus moms (cirka 3,7 Mkr). Det är ett pris som bör kunna utmana många andra båtar i storleken 28–29 fot. En av finesserna med en elbåt är dock att de är mycket billiga att äga tack vare låga driftskostnader. Enligt Candela är ”bränsleförbrukningen” 95 procent lägre än för båtar med konventionell förbränningsmotor.
Den nya modellen är utrustad med Candelas egenutvecklade elmotor, Candela C-POD, som varken behöver underhåll eller service. Den är avsedd att klara 3 000 timmars drift utan regelbunden service.
C-8 ska kunna cruisa i över 50 M på batteridrift i en fart kring 22 knop. I den farten drar C-8 16 kW/21 hk. En motsvarande bensindriven båt utrustas ofta med en 300 hk utombordsmotor.
Fakta Candela C-8
Längd: 8,5 m
Bredd: 2,5 m
Marschfart: 22–24 m
Toppfart: 30 knop
Batteri: 44 kWh litiumjon
Räckvidd: 50+ M
Motor: Candela C-POD, 55 kW
Vikt: 815 kg
Djup: 0,5 m (med bärplanen indragna)
Laddtid: två timmar med trefasladdning
Info: www.candela.com
Candela C-8: The “Iphone moment” for electric boats
Absolutely silent, with superior seakeeping, fully connected, maintenance-free, 95% cheaper to drive and sporting the longest electric range of any boat in history. With Candela C-8, the Swedish electric boat maker aims to bring electric boats to high-volume production.
(Press pictures here)
Building on its first, successful sports craft, the Candela C-7, the Swedish tech company is now launching its second-generation hydrofoiling leisure boat: the Candela C-8, a larger and more comfortable craft designed to bring electric boats to the wider market.
– With the C-7, we demonstrated that our hydrofoil technology not only allows for long range on electricity, but also provides a better experience than conventional boats. In a hydrofoil boat, you get a smoother, nicer ride. However, the C-7 was more like a hand-built sports car; never intended for volume production, says Gustav Hasselskog, Candela’s founder and CEO.
– With the new C-8, we’re pushing the technology to the next level, and at the same time focusing on making a boat that has all the comfort you would expect, while designing it for efficient mass production.
At 8,5 meters length, the C-8 features all the amenities anticipated in a premium cruiser: A large, comfortable cockpit with seating for eight persons, a big sunbed, a spacious front cabin equipped with beds for two adults and two kids, and a marine toilet.
99% cheaper to own
At 290 000 euros excluding VAT, the C-8’s asking price is on par or lower than many conventional fossil fuel powerboats in the 28-29-foot range.
However, once purchased, the C-8 is virtually free to own and use. Thanks to the company’s efficient hydrofoil system, the cost of driving Candela C-8 is 95% lower than for combustion engine boats.
Equipped with the newly launched Candela C-POD direct-drive pod motor, the C-8 requires neither oil changes nor regular maintenance. The C-Pod is rated for 3 000 hours service-free use, which is the equivalent to 50-100 years of recreational boating – without any maintenance whatsoever.
When moored, the C-8’s hydrofoils can be retracted above the waterline, minimizing growth and the need for antifouling.
– It’s basically free boating, and hassle-free boating, for the first time in history, says Gustav Hasselskog.
Longest electric range ever
The C-8 features a new and improved version of Candela’s revolutionary hydrofoiling technology that cuts energy consumption by 80 % compared to conventional boats, thereby allowing long all-electric range at high speeds.
Combined with Candela’s newly developed drive train, the C-POD, the C-8 can cruise for longer distances than any electric powerboat before it: over 50 nautical miles on battery power at a speed of 22 knots. The C-POD makes the C-8 the most efficient powerboat ever. At a speed of 22 knots, it only draws 16 kW/21 hp from the battery. For comparison, a conventional, planing, 28-foot cabin cruiser is typically equipped with a 300-horsepower gasoline outboard motor.
Elevated driving
Candela C-8 is designed to be the first totally silent motorboat. Unlike other motorboats, there’s no transmission noise and no sound from waves hitting the hull. Only the faint whisper of the wind will remind you that you’re cruising at a speed of 30 knots.
The C-8’s Flight controller automatically and instantly adjust the foils to keep the boat level and steady, even in adverse weather conditions. In an industry-first for leisure boats, the C-8 is equipped with true fly-by-wire steering and has Autopilot features for more relaxed driving over long distances. When the driver lets go of the wheel, the boat will automatically steer the set compass course. More features will follow as the C-8, like every Candela, is upgradeable Over-The-Air.
– With all learnings from C-7, a new, even more efficient foil system has been developed for C-8. A planing boat has a lift to drag ratio of 4, a seagull is at 10 and an albatross, with its long sleek wings at 20. C-7 reached 15. With quite some re-thinking, C-8 ended up at 17, making it the most efficient boat ever.
– Maybe even more important, we put a lot of effort into understanding how to translate the feeling of a very tight driving experience into mechanics, electronics and software. To shorten the system’s reaction times we developed our own height sensors. Also, we have taken out the mechanical play of the entire system. In terms of driving experience, it is a world of a difference – the boat reacts to changes in the steering wheel within a split second.
– Take-off is where we use the most energy, so equipping a foiling boat with a really good planing hull actually makes sense. I think we have pushed the hull performance as far as is possible, says Gustav Hasselskog.
The Candela engineering team has also spent considerable effort on optimizing the C-8’s hull. Using advanced CFD, the C-8’s stepped hull is designed to use very little energy from standstill up until 16 knots, which is when the boat becomes foilborne.
Fully integrated experience
The Swedish tech company employs 25+ engineers from various fields, such as mechanical engineering, control systems, machine learning, software, electronic engineering and hydrodynamic design.
All sub-systems and software in C-8 are developed in house, making for a seamless human-machine interaction.
All settings – from turning on the cooler to navigation – are controlled from the 15,4” inch screen running Candela’s proprietary user interface. The Candela app lets the owner control the boat’s various systems from ashore.
– Making an integrated user experience was really important for us. We don’t rely on third party suppliers for software and we make most hardware ourselves. This may be the Iphone moment for boats, says Gustav Hasselskog.
Boosted by large investments from the TED foundation’s Chris Anderson among others, Candela has been able to scale up R&D at an exponential rate over the past two years. The C-8 project was initiated to finally bring electric boats to the masses.
Combining a price that is on par with fossil fuel boats with the benefits of electric hydrofoiling – superior seakeeping, total silence, very low operating costs, zero maintenance and a seamless user experience – Candela is expecting C-8 to be the first electric boat than will outsell fossil fuel competitors by a wide margin.
– We believe we will make several thousand Candela C-8’s over the coming years, says Gustav Hasselskog. Once you have tried it, you realise that this is the way boats must look like in the future.
Candela C-8 production starts this fall at the company’s Stockholm factory, and the first customers will take delivery during spring 2022.
C-8 Facts
Length 8,5 meters
Beam 2,5 meters
Speed 22-24 knots cruising, 30 knots max
Battery 44 kWh lithium ion
Range 50+ nautical miles
Motor Candela C-POD, 55 kW
Max take-off load 815 kg
Draft 0,5 m in shallow mode (foils retracted)
0,8 m while foiling
Charging time 2 hours, with 3-phase charging
Accommodation Sleeps 2 adults, 2 children, seats for 6+2 people
Selected options
Cooler
Fresh Water shower
Marine toilet with septic tank
Underwater LED lights for foil illumination
