To celebrate the longest day of the year, I’m taking you for a ride on the ECOPULSE (Prao version) amidst the magical calm of early morning, between Cap Isolella and Cap Muro. Electricity cost for the one-hour trip: 10 euro cents.
With summer and the holiday season, more and more visitors, curious onlookers and friends are coming to try out ECOPULSE (shown here in the Trio version). Electricity cost for a one-hour ride: 12 euro cents.
ECOPULSE is a 5.20 m electric boat with very low energy consumption. It comes in two versions: Trimaran and Prao. It is lightweight, safe, seaworthy, multi-seater, silent, demountable and easily transportable. It can be fitted with a 3.6 m² sail, allowing it to operate either in pure sailing or in hybrid mode and save battery. Its carrying capacity is 200 or 170 kg (440 and 385 lbs), depending on the version. A few figures to illustrate its excellent performance: At 12 km/h: - It consumes 0.06 kWh per kilometer travelled, or approximately 1 cent per kilometer. - The power used is 760 watts, or one "horsepower", which is one third of a hair dryer consumption. This record consumption can be significantly reduced even further by using the sail. Given its very low power consumption, its range is exceptional, with a 60 Ah battery :
|
Speed
in km/h
|
Autonomy
in hours
|
Range
in distance travelled in Km/Mile
|
|
5
|
23
|
115
/ 71
|
|
8
|
6,5
|
52 /
32
|
|
11
|
2,6
|
29 /
18
|
|
14
|
1,2
|
17 /
11
|
ECOPULSE is certified compliant with European Directive N° 2013/53/EU of 20/11/2013 on recreational craft, in category D.
The tester's opinion :
When out on the water, you'll be surprised by how quiet, smooth and gentle it is, but also by how nervous and responsive the propulsion is when needed, which is common with electric propulsion systems in general. In rough seas, ECOPULSE doesn't "bump" like a wide hull, but "piercing-waves", making for a smooth and safe ride.
