Better Electric Watercraft - Clean Performance & Fun From SEABOB, Fliteboard & Flux Marine

Electrification is finally coming to watercraft. Auto Futures talks with innovators in the electric watercraft scene - SEABOB, Fliteboard and Flux Marine. They reveal how electrification on and in water can be good, clean fun while taking users to new heights, depths and speeds.

SEABOBs Dive Under With Fun

SEABOB-Jets are electric water jets that propel the diver through the water for snorkelling, free diving, scuba diving and fun.

"SEABOB is an electric underwater propulsion device that can dive up to 130 feet deep and go up to 14 miles per hour. It can take people places where no one else has been in the world," says Michael Miller, Events and Logistics Manager for SEABOB Americas.

"You control SEABOB with your hands. You can dive up and down. It's like point and shoot. It's like swimming in a pool with a kickboard. SEABOB is like, kicking with a kickboard and going," says Miller who previously participated in Olympic swimming trials.

SEABOB is operated by four buttons and control grips. Information is shown on the cockpit display. There are three models - the F5, F5S and F5SR.

Speed and depth can be limited through menus on the SEABOB that are protected by a PIN code. An underwater HD camera is available as an added feature.

"SEABOB batteries last for about an hour at full speed for the whole time. Each unit has different power levels, depending on what model you have. So, you can lessen your speed and get little bit more range than going at full throttle the whole time." 

Most water inhabitants are not bothered by SEABOBs.

"There are SEABOB videos online showing divers enjoying the water on SEABOBs with dolphins. I was in the water with the SEABOB with a school of stingrays swimming by. They did not turn around. I swam with them. Therefore, I don't think that there are issues with the water life with the SEABOBs being used nearby," explains Miller

SEABOB offers a two-year warranty on all the parts and labour. Maintenance is just fresh water to rinse off after use. SEABOBs are available for rent at resorts and can be purchased directly from the company website or through dealerships worldwide.

"We want people to know how much fun you can have underneath the water more than even on top of the water. A lot of water products are on the market, but-definitely nothing is as unique of an experience as SEABOB," says Miller, "If you have the heart of a child and want to explore the sea, SEABOB is definitely the product you want to use. You will see amazing things--- you do not usually see and maybe, you will see a shipwreck."

Surfing Foils Take Flight 

Fliteboards are award-winning electric hydrofoil surfboards. The concept was imagined by former kite-surfing world record holder, David Trewren, in 2016. The Fliteboard company started in Byron Bay, Australia, and now has additional offices in Nyack, New York and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

"One of our core values at Fliteboard is having ridiculous fun because Fliteboarding and flying across the surface of the water is a crazy fun feeling like nothing else," says Rudi Miklosvary, Managing Director of Fliteboard USA, LLC.

"The Fliteboard experience is a unique combination of electric and hydrofoil technology. It has battery technology and computer technology that enables a phenomenal user experience. You have the sense of freedom that you can go anywhere without wind or waves. When you're flying across the surface of the water, it sets off a visceral emotion in an individual that you feel completely free. You feel like you're flying it. It's incredible how you feel," says Miklosvary.

"Part of our business model is to open Fliteboard schools. We have over one hundred schools around the world where individuals can go and get a lesson with a qualified instructor on how to use Fliteboards and have that sense of freedom and flight in the water," he adds.

He says Fliteboarders don't get seasick, because there is no constant rocking motion like sitting in a boat and not being in control. Flightboarders need to have a sense of balance and are in control of the rocking itself by bending their knees. So Fliteboarding is not like rocking on a boat that makes some passengers seasick.

"A Fliteboard is an ocean-going vessel with a range of twenty miles. You are your own captain. So, you are in control of your destiny." 

Fliteboard offers four sizes of boards and two sizes of foil for many configurations. There are ten wing choices. There are different configurations for different uses and different skill levels. There are entry-level beginner and intermediate models. There is the advanced and professional model. Most Flieboards will fit in the back of a car or even a Porsche 911, says Miklosvary.

He says Fliteboards are safe due to an automatic cut-off switch in the hand controller and other safety features that are built into it. Fliteboards are easy to use because of the unibody design, aligned-forces create better balance by positioning the motor thrust in line with the main wing - like a mid-engine car.

"Fliteboard has an integrated tech platform. Through the app, you're able to connect to your Fliteboard, you're able to track your ride, you're able to look it up, find other people in your region to go ride with, you're able to see leaderboards, you're able to track the waves that you've ridden." 

"With the integrated tech platform. We're really taking that user experience, not just making it fantastic on the water, we are making it great off-water. When you're sitting at home or you're at the coffee table or you're at a friend's house, you're able to pull up the app and show them where you rode in Marina Del Rey or in Malibu. How many waves did you catch, what was the longest wave that you caught from the app. That's really a big advancement in where Fliteboard is going in the technology that's driving the product itself," he says.

"We are one of two major manufacturers right now that are at enterprise scale. We're still growing the industry. We're at the awareness and educational phase. These Fliteboards--they are incredible. They are super fun. But more importantly, they're remarkably easy to use." 

High-Performance Outboard Motoring & Recreational Boating

Bristol, Rhode Island-based Flux Marine is electrifying recreational boating.

Marine engines have not advanced as much as hybrid and electric cars. Many gasoline-powered marine engines discharge unburned fuel into waterways and lack catalytic converters to clean particulates from their exhaust.

"The ecological benefits of electrifying recreational boating could have far-reaching benefits. Electric boating not only can help mitigate air and water pollution but also improve the boating experience. Electric outboard motors run silently, so all you hear is the water lapping against the hull as you carve through the water," says Ben Sorkin, CEO of Flux Marine.

Sorkin started his career at Princeton University in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He led a project to build an all-electric outboard motor that won the Electric Board Association of America's Wye Island Challenge in 2019. In 2022 the company closed a series A funding ($15.5 Million) to build its electric outboard motors.

Flux Marine has redesigned its outboard motors from the ground up with the same power as internal combustion motors. Flux Marine's electric outboards also eliminate many of the maintenance pains of standard combustion engines like impeller replacement and winterization. Plus, owners never need to stop at a fuel dock again, says Sorkin.

"Boaters do not want to compromise performance for sustainability," says Sorkin, "Some of the early adopters of our electric outboards have been motivated by the ecological benefits of going electric. Because we outperform equivalent internal combustion outboards - the rest of the recreational boat owners are taking notice."

The Flux Marine lineup includes 15HP, 40HP, and 70HP electric outboard models that are available for preorder. The motors, along with their battery and throttle systems, can be installed on a new boat hull, or replace traditional internal combustion outboards. The company also offers complete boat packages including a 13-foot rigid-bottom inflatable (RIB) mounted with its 70HP motor and a 21-foot dual console vessel fitted with its 100HP motor.

"Cruising at speed with zero engine emissions reshapes the boating experience. In the long-term, we know we can make the boating industry more sustainable and provide a better boating experience for everyone," he says.