Erik Eklund, Chief of Commercial Vessels at Stockholm-based Candela said the P-8 Voyager offers a new level of luxury at sea.
“You get the seakeeping ability of a 100-foot ship in a 28-footer. 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.”
The system is ideal for areas that are sensitive to boat wakes, such as Venice, since the hydrofoils leave almost zero wake. According to Candela, the wake left by its hydrofoils is no larger than that of Venice’s famous gondolas.
The company’s fifty engineers combined their experience from the drone, aerospace and software industries.
Importantly for commercial vessel owners and operators, the P-8 Voyager is designed to be as maintenance-free as possible. The vessel 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.
When moored, the hydrofoils retract into a hull recess above the waterline to prevent marine growth. The P-8 Voyager is also fully connected and able to take advantage of over-the-air (OTA) updates, enabling Candela’s 24/7 service department to perform remote troubleshooting.
candela.com