Marine

NOX SV speedboat melds timeless wooden design with fast electric drive

NOX SV speedboat melds timeless wooden design with fast electric drive
Rivers and Tides shows that not all electric boats are slow and quiet (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
Rivers and Tides shows that not all electric boats are slow and quiet (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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Rivers and Tides shows that not all electric boats are slow and quiet (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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Rivers and Tides shows that not all electric boats are slow and quiet (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
The NOX SV should be able to hit speeds of 75 mph by the time it's finalized (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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The NOX SV should be able to hit speeds of 75 mph by the time it's finalized (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
We first thought the racing fin might play an intricate role in the NOX SV's handling, but really it's just there for show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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We first thought the racing fin might play an intricate role in the NOX SV's handling, but really it's just there for show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
The NOX SV is powered by a 225-hp Kessler Energy motor (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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The NOX SV is powered by a 225-hp Kessler Energy motor (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
The NOX SV is a design of Germany's Rivers and Tides boatbuilding (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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The NOX SV is a design of Germany's Rivers and Tides boatbuilding (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
Timeless wooden style meets modern-day electric-drive technology (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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Timeless wooden style meets modern-day electric-drive technology (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
NOX SV partners (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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NOX SV partners (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
NOX SV info (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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NOX SV info (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
NOX SV info (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
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NOX SV info (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
View gallery - 9 images

Most of the electric boats we saw at the Düsseldorf boat show this past weekend were small, slow cruisers designed to putter around waterways with combustion engine bans. One boat stepped well beyond that model, though. Still under development, the all-new NOX SV promises speeds up to 75 mph (120 km/h) from a highly capable 225-hp (168-kW) electric motor. The boat packs that cutting edge drivetrain into a classic mahogany hull with a D-Type-like racing fin thrown in for good measure.

When we attended Boot Düsseldorf last year, a few different wooden boats caught our eye, flashing an aesthetic far richer than the typical white tubs you see rattling behind Ford F-150s all summer long. As great as those wooden boats looked, we couldn't really find a reason to cover them because they didn't feature any new technology or innovation. They just showed remarkably beautiful wooden construction. This year, the NOX SV from German boatbuilder Rivers and Tides gives us a compelling reason for a feature: a potent electric drivetrain that makes it one of the fastest e-boats on the water.

The NOX SV immediately reeled us in with its teak-and-mahogany construction and cockpit-trailing racing fin, a feature reminiscent of the classic Jaguar D-Type and the D-Type-influenced F-Type Project 7. While we know all about the stabilizing advantages the fin offers on the race track, we were curious how those advantages might translate to the open water. Turns out, they don't, as Rivers and Tides admits that the fin is just there to help enrich the unique look of the boat's body. Mission accomplished.

We first thought the racing fin might play an intricate role in the NOX SV's handling, but really it's just there for show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)
We first thought the racing fin might play an intricate role in the NOX SV's handling, but really it's just there for show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag)

The 22.3 x 6.9-ft (6.8 x 2.1-m) boat is powered by a 225-hp electric motor, supplied by Kessler Energy GmbH, driving an MSA Marine-Systems surface drive. Rivers and Tides says the drivetrain can currently power speeds up to around 50 mph (80 km/h), but it hopes to tweak the boat design further to open up a top speed in the neighborhood of 75 mph (120 km/h). That's not as quite as fast as the 100 mph (160 km/h) of the Cigarette Racing AMG speedboat – which is the world's fastest electric boat – but it's not that far off, either, considering the NOX SV has about a tenth the horsepower.

The NOX SV's potent motor provides the muscle, but it's the lightweight construction of the boat that really helps drive home its on-water capabilities. It may look like a solid block of wood, but the boat is actually a sandwich of marine plywood, foam and fiberglass, with wood veneers to keep it looking pretty. It weighs a total of 2,645 lb (1,200 kg) once the 70-kWh battery pack has been dropped into place.

Rivers and Tides plans to race the NOX SV when it's finished, showing exactly what electric power can do on the sparkling blue sea. It will also offer the boat as a highly limited edition, planning to sell just five examples worldwide at a base price just over €273,000 (US$311,000). For those that don't like electric power (or the price), it will also offer a version powered by the GM LS3 engine from the Corvette.

Source: Rivers & Tides

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9 comments
9 comments
windykites
How fast would this be if it had hydrofoils? It is a fantastically streamlined slippery looking boat!
I've just had a fantastic idea: instead of just a cheap looking white fibreglass hull on your boat, why not have a stick-on photo-realistic Mahogany wood grain vinyl skin? A good few layers of yacht varnish to seal the whole lot in, and Bob's your uncle, a luxury boat!
Bruce Williams
$300K for, what looks to be, a single seat boat? Let's just run that past the little lady and see how it floats.
Toby Seiler
I'm with you windykites. I think foils mounted, like on the front of a snowmobile so the runner on the surface controls the depth of the foil. You get steering and the ability to hold on tight turns, plus less resistance.
I like the basic design from the front but have to admit I don't understand what's going on with the rear and it's knife edge transoms.
How about wood veneer on a backer of fiberglass or canvas cloth? Or marquetry!!
A power -plant of engine with tranny and through-shaft electric motor may be interesting.
Streets
The last time I saw a multi-step hull was the unlimited hydro named Miss Pepsi in the late 1940's
Slippery
Dear windykites1, you have complettelly right! So let put some mahoogany vinyl on cheap plywood, work with foreign workers and sell it in "only 4-5pcs" IN THE WORLD!!!!
That's the receipe of fast growing business!
...or maybe the receipe of a slow death campaign...?!
That's not a Pedrazzini, not a Boesch, not any other classical-boatyard with hystory, to put on it a selling bill over €150.000.-
Thats a rat boat. Exactly as a rat car. It's interresting but poor assembling.
Feel sorry for the Fanatics.
steveraxx
What stunning work! Kudos.
Pat Pending
168 kw motor with a 70 kWh battery pack so should run for about 20 mins before needing a recharge. For €273,000 I'd want a bit more endurance than that.
Stephen N Russell
Mass produce, awesome. Sell & rent for Hawaii, Caribbean, Australia, NZ alone
catmando
I don't believe that boat will reach 75mph with a 225hp electric motor, regardless of a different boat design. It would have to be a catamaran weighing 1000lbs to get anywhere close to 75. The acceleration from idle would be strong but it won't reach 75.
Put two 225 motors in it and then it probly would.