This company claims that the boats can save Venice

(CNN) — It is indisputable that Venice is in danger. Whether it will be saved in the end is up for discussion.

Now, one company thinks they can make a difference in the floating, sinking city — with “flying” boats.

Swedish company Candela thinks its electric boats will help combat “moto ondoso” — the damaging phenomenon of waves crashing into buildings and sidewalks caused by boats driving around the city.

Candela boats aim to do just that. The Candela C-8 and P-8 Voyager were the first non-inertial, high-speed foil day cruisers. And while the C-8 is a classic boat, the P-8 Voyager was designed to carry passengers — like a taxi or a shuttle, he thought, so it could be taken around town on a wider scale.

The boats are raised on hydrofoils to glide on the water.

Candela

Designed by aviation and drone engineers, the boats produce just 5 centimeters (2 inches) of wake when “flying” at 30 knots — about the same size as a hand-rowed gondola, and are unlikely to rip off city foundations with waves.

Meanwhile, the larger 30-seater P-12, unveiled in June 2022, promises to be the world’s first “flying” yacht – with a range of 60 nautical miles and speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph), with the manufacturer’s option on wheels. They say rush hour traffic can hit the roads.

In the year Launched in 2022, Candela’s first boat, the Pilot C-7, was launched in 2019. Unlike other yachts, it does not have an enclosed cabin, making it a fun summer boat.

Electric dreams – and nightmares

Electric cars may have been popular for a while, but electric boats have come a long way. The drag of the water on the boat’s hull, combined with the weight of the battery needed to power it, is a double whammy on boats, meaning most speed or distance must be negotiated.

The 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack in a standard ship can only manage 30 nautical miles at 20 knots before running out, Candela said. But raising the hull out of the water solves the drag problem. These boats have 400% efficiency, and can travel for 150 minutes before needing a recharge, according to the company.

Candela’s “flying” boats were the brainchild of founder Gustav Hasselskog, who noticed his family’s ice cream run costing 10 times as much in gas while on vacation at Swedish lakes.

He calculated that standard boats use 15 times more energy than a car at a constant speed of 20 knots — which made it difficult to power a battery. Instead, he envisioned raising the boats out of the water, on hydrofoils, to make them “fly,” and hired aviation and drone engineers to make them a reality.

Quiet boats put riders at one with nature.

Candela

“Flying absolutely quietly, without any knocks and basically – this is an amazing experience. Once you try Candela, it will be difficult to go back to traditional power boats,” said Hasselskog about C. 8.

“Venice, dependent on motor yachts but suffering from their impact, is the perfect place to show how Candela craft can contribute to a better world, offering new levels of performance.”

The boat starts out like any other passenger, but – like an airplane – as it picks up speed, it starts to take off. The foils are also retractable, meaning the boats are not at risk of marine growth that would otherwise damage them.

“Boats with hulls like this don’t produce dead waves when they use their foils, but the foils only activate above a certain speed, which seems high for the current lake context,” he told CNN.

“Definitely not a suitable concept for vaporetto [waterbus] By Grand Canal or cargo boat.

However, he thought the ferries could have potential outside the city center, for example on the route to the airport, further north in the lagoon, or connecting Venice with islands such as Burano and Palestrina.

Rethinking Venice

Candela’s water bus can be used for longer trips around the lake.

Candela

But he warned that it would be difficult for the boats to move at high speed around the slow traffic and said that it would be appropriate to reconsider the city’s transport before making a decision.

“It will be interesting to do some experiments [with Candela]But before this possibility is widely offered, all lake water activities should be reconsidered, he said.

“Firstly, it is important to accelerate the transition to electric propulsion for all boats on the lake, secondly, to implement speed limits with technologies that can identify the type of boat, and thirdly, to adjust the speed limit to the type of boat.”

Meanwhile, while Venice waited, Stockholm rose. The state government has put the P-12 boats into trial use by using the boats on a commuter route from the city center to Ekero settlement. The boats operate at an increased frequency to compensate for their smaller sizes. The boats will go into production in the first half of 2023, with trials scheduled for fall 2022.