Candela C-7 vs. Persico 69F . Duel over foils
Candela C-7 and Persico 69F Race show what the future of boats will be like
The first time a flying electric boat competes with a flying yacht.
Both designs use hydrofoils that provide speed and energy efficiency superior to conventional boats.
The race points to a future in which most boats, sailing or motorized, will fly above the water.
The Swedish-made Candela C-7 electric motor boat and the Italian Persico 69F sailing monohull proved to be equally fast, both at around 30 knots in the light breeze from Lago di Garda, Italy.
The regatta was the first time that a motor boat and a foilator sailboat flew together.
Using foils, an innovation invented on the lake just over 100 years ago, they rose above the water using considerably less energy than conventional boats.
Hydrofoils are essentially underwater wings, which at certain speeds provide enough lift to allow the ship’s hull to rise above the surface, greatly reducing the friction of the water.
For the Persico 69F, a sailboat built for thrilling races, her hydrofoils mean that the boat can reach a top speed of 35 knots and sail at high speeds even with light wings, a performance unattainable for conventional sailboats.
Candela C-7, is an electric boat that is already in series production, the blades allow a long range with pure battery power at speeds that were previously only possible in boats with a combustion engine. With a cruising speed of 22 and a top speed of 30 knots, the Candela C-7 can fly for 2.5 hours before draining its relatively modest 40 kWh battery. This is 2-3 times more durable than conventional fast electric boats.
When hovering over Lake Garda, the two ships may appear similar, but their underlying technology is different. While the exciting Persico 69F needs a trained crew to control it during flight, the C-7 uses computers to make foiling accessible to ordinary boaters.
The C-7 has a new type of hyper-efficient hydrofoil that resembles the wings of airplanes. With just 25 horsepower when sailing over Lake Garda, even with a full 6-passenger load, the Swedish vessel is steered by a flight controller, a computer that analyzes the ship’s pitch and roll a hundred times per second and adjusts flaps automatically to keep it level. above the waves.
Thanks to the computer and software, the ride is artificially stable.
But the two flying ships also share many traits attributed to their blades: crossing the lake, one meter above the surface of the water, neither ship touched the crests of the waves. There were no knocks, no noise, and no wake from any of the boats, advantages that only foiling boats can offer.
These benefits have made hydrofoils a popular choice for budding electric boat builders, for whom the main goal is to reduce power consumption and gain range. So far, the Swedish firm Candela is the only company that has managed to bring a boat to market. However, the C-7 has been successful and is currently the best-selling electric motor boat in Europe, with 30 boats sold in just over a year.
